Hotel Figuroa - Patriotic

[kafin8ed]

I took this a month or so ago when I went to the LA auto expo and ran across it tonight. I wanted to get someone elses opinion on it. It was shot with a 10D and a 17-40 f4L (1/640, f4.5, 17mm iso400, RAW). I think it needs a fighter jet streaking across the sky or something...

[schrackman]

I took this a month or so ago when I went to the LA auto expo and ran across it tonight. I wanted to get someone elses opinion on it. It was shot with a 10D and a 17-40 f4L (1/640, f4.5, 17mm iso400, RAW)

I like it, mainly because the angle at which you chose to shoot it. I would have liked to have seen more of the flag instead of such a tight crop, but other than that I think it's a good photo.

Ray
Reseda, CA

[natatbeach]

I really like the shot (colors and angle) but I agree that it almost leaves me waiting for something more---like you said planes or a jet...

just a bizarro suggestion...have you tried maybe rotating it and cropping differently just to see what other angles you can achieve that have a little less sky.

really enjoy looking at your posts

[mtbbrian]

I think it works fine as it is Alan.
Yeah the contrails of jet would cause a bit more tension on to the flag, but with the flag being as colorful and prominent as it is. It works.
Not only that, the colors constasts against the sky.
Thanks for posting this patriotic photo!
SALUTE!
Brian

[Sebastian]

Alan,

The empty sky works against it IMO. Either clouds, contrails, flying cows or even tilting the camera to get the building more in there, would have helped.

[PuckJunkey]

Wow. That's pretty cool lookin'! I would suggest only that you try to reign in the perspective a bit on the right side of the image. You should be able to make the "skyline" more or les straight and the hotel wall as well... but it's a very minor adjustment. You could leave it as is and still have a pretty sweet photo IMO.

[LLMc]

I like this as is. If you had moved back to get less sky, it would have ruined the creative angle of the building. You can't help that there weren't clouds or jets, you did what you could with what you had. I really like the angle and perspective. I think I would have given the flag a little more room on the left, but that is minor. Good image.

[gahspidy]

Alan, This photo works for me. Only critique may be to adjust the top line of the building to even the sky, but not a big issue. The empty blue sky contrasts well with the vibrant colors of the flag, great perspective. I have a question for you . Why did you choose to shoot with such a fast shutter speed and wide apperture. Half the shutter speed would have easily frozen the flowing flag, and a smaller apperture would have made sure to get the whole building in clearly. The setting you selected did the job. I don"t have much experience yet with my camera, but just wondering how you knew that would work
Great job

[kafin8ed]

gary, actually I had just bought that lens the day before I shot this and i think was testing it out shooting wide open or almost wide open pretty much all day long. I wouldn't necessarily do that all the time, or use 400iso for that matter (i left it on 400 becasue I'd been indoors a bunch that day, and forgot to take it off).

[stew]

i like it as well. the striking colors of the flag are my favorite part, and the perspective makes it a very unusual image imo. to put in my 2 cents on the angle, my suggestion would be to make the flag pole vertical, keeping the building still at an unusual perspective.otherwise, the cropping is great.

thanks for sharing!

[another view]

I'm going to vote for turning the camera a little here too - like for the corner of the building on the right to be near the upper right hand corner of the frame. The back-lit flag really jumps out though - good eye!