A Little Urban San Jose

[PrevailingConditions]

I was going through an older section of San Jose the other day and captured some shots of this old Theater, but I'm not sure that they work. My wife doesn't like them (at all) and that's usually a good indicator that I'm shooting in the wrong direction. Any tips to be offered?

Thanks,

PC

#1


#2

[ChowChi-Ching]

I like those ALOT.... in the first one though, you might want to clone out the light part on the bottom, other then that, awesome pic! I like the second one as is......might be cool in b/w or possibly with even more saturation....

[PrevailingConditions]

Thanks ChowChi-Ching for the comments and feedback. I had my concerns about the triangular area at the bottom, but thought it was subdued enough to not cause a major problem. I'll have to try removing it to see how it looks.

PC

[Didache]

I really like these two .. the urban decay combined with the strong saturation makes for arresting images (I agree though about the triangle). I love the framing on the second too.

Cheers
Mike

[PrevailingConditions]

Thanks Mike. I also have noticed that the top one isn't quite straight. I'm going to have to straighten it when I remove the triangle.

PC

[Ptax]

I really like the second one. (My mind keeps trying to convince me the starburst is actually the floor and the shot needs to be turned upside down.)

[Greg McCary]

I like the first one but the slight lean to the right bothers me. Fix that and you have a nice keeper. The second one is great. I wish there wa a way to see the entire booth? The processing is perfect.

[PrevailingConditions]

Thanks ptax & Greg,

Here's a version without the triangle and straightened. I don't have one that includes the very bottom of the ticket booth - I was trying to catch the starburst coming out of the top and didn't have enough wide angle to catch everything. I may have to go back and try again because there's some graffiti around there that adds a little more character to things.

Thanks,

PC

[fjhleger]

These are great photos.

What disturb me in the second photo is the white line almost at the top of the booth window.

My brain don't understand if this is inside the booth or a reflection on the glass.

This puzzle my mind because it makes me beleive the booth glass is shorter, and then the continuated reflection above does not make sense anymore.

I just wonder if taking the photo at another time of the day may help reducing this effect.

[Greg McCary]

I like the edit. I hope you have some luck with the return visit. Nice work PC....

[GB1]

PC - These are Pop Art style photos and definitely are keepers. I like the first (top) one the best though I do wish there was a bit more negative space at the top of the image. I could see that shot in a museum in L.A. When's your art opening? All you need is a body of work similar to this, and you'll be there.

To improve it and make it even more 50sish, I would work on the image with some PP effects and create a flatter, old photo or painting look.

The bottom shot is OK but I don't care for the way the ends of the star are clipped off. If you could back out or use a wider lens I think I would like it. I would say not to worry about keeping the same aspect ratio - shoot for the pic first.

Btw, I prefer the straightened image.

Gb

[PrevailingConditions]

I could see that shot in a museum in L.A. When's your art opening?

Gb

I'm not sure if this says more about my photography or your taste
But seriously, thanks for the comments and feedback.

I had another version where the sign was positioned lower in the frame, but it felt like something was missing at the top. Maybe I need a happy middle shot.

Francois - I appreciate your feedback. I can see what you're referring to, but I'm not completely sure how I can address it. I will have to go back there and will try a different time of day.

Thanks again,

PC

[Len J]

Second one would be killer if the ends of the star weren't cut off.....back up & go wider.

Nice images.

len