Loosing control

[Seb]

Here is a continuation of the Brickworks series. These broken electrical boxes were everywhere.

Seb

[2kids2shoot]

Seb,

I'm having a hard time with this one. I like the colors and the exposure and the subject is interesting, but I'm not getting much feeling from this one. I think what's throwing me is the painting on the middle one. It's as though that should either be more emphasized or I wish it wasn't there. I'll be interested to see what others think.

[gahspidy]

Seb, I too am having trouble with this and I'm not sure exactly why. My gut feeling here is thatthe lighting looks a little too good for and abandoned building. Almost looks like there was studio lights in there. I'm also seeing a different composition here. I would like to see only the right half of the picture done as a vertical comp. I'm getting the feeling that this picture , the way it is now, could be strengthened alot with a conversion to a gritty b&w.

[LeeIs]

I agree with cropping out the left side. To me it just throws the rest of the shot off with that bright light. Where as the right is beautifully lit. The panel with the face painted on gets the perfect amount of light with shadows behind it. Then you get the light seeping in from the top part illuminating some of the electrical components. The right side is great.

[Seb]

Hello everyone, thanks for the feedback.

I tried to take a little bit of all your critiques for this second version.

First of all, I felt comfortable with my original presentation but I must agree that the left side was too bright. On the other hand, I don't feel this picture with a vertical crop and I think that the colors are way too nice to turn it into a b&w.

So, I decided to move from a 8x12 ratio to a 8x10 one which allowed me to get rid of the brigther box. Then, I moderately burned the bright door that still show up and boosted the saturation of the painted face to make a little more distinctive. Here is the result, comments are more than welcome.

Seb

[LeeIs]

I don't know Seb. I can't seem to stop my self from glancing to the left side. I've looked at the image a lot of times and it's the 2nd thing I look at after the painted face. Then I find my self glancing at it again and again. If it comes down to the two crops, then I think the 1st one works better. It's sorta like if you're gonna include it in, might as well include the whole thing. I hope I'm not confusing you. But that area just acts like a magnet to my eyes. Even thought it is also supposed to be viewed, it just seems I look at it more than any other. Still love the instruments and the rest of it though.

[gahspidy]

I think the cropped edit is slighty stronger, but perhaps enhancing the lighting with a bit of flair to create some interesting feel.

[2kids2shoot]

I like this cropped version better.

[payn817]

The crop is better, and don't convert. The lighting does seem a bit bright and doesn't seem to quite fit the scene, however, I still like it. It looks like a punk band's album cover!

Awesome work Seb!

[swmdrayfan]

Seb, I don't know what to tell you other than I like the colors.

[Seb]

2kids2shoot, Gary, Leels Payn, swmdrayfan, thank you all for your support.

In the end, I think that this picture is a good example regarding why the critique forum is so important. I wanted this picture to work to the point that I just didn't saw its flaw. I will experiment with a vertical crop but I am quite sure that the second version is going to be the final one.

regards

Seb

[gahspidy]

2kids2shoot, Gary, Leels Payn, swmdrayfan, thank you all for your support.

In the end, I think that this picture is a good example regarding why the critique forum is so important. I wanted this picture to work to the point that I just didn't saw its flaw. I will experiment with a vertical crop but I am quite sure that the second version is going to be the final one.

regards

Seb

Seb,
the more I come back to this, the more I like the original better. Sorry to throw this new wrench into the cog. But there is still something not feeling right about it, but I do like the box on the left with it's tube coming out of the bottom. I'm not liking the color in this, even though the blue and yellow of the painted face is appealing. I cropped from the bottom, and from the right and converted to b&w and really like the final result. If you would like I could post it here to see how you feel about it. Anyway, I think a bit of tweaking from the original version is the best result.

[Seb]

Seb,
the more I come back to this, the more I like the original better. Sorry to throw this new wrench into the cog. But there is still something not feeling right about it, but I do like the box on the left with it's tube coming out of the bottom. I'm not liking the color in this, even though the blue and yellow of the painted face is appealing. I cropped from the bottom, and from the right and converted to b&w and really like the final result. If you would like I could post it here to see how you feel about it. Anyway, I think a bit of tweaking from the original version is the best result.

Gary, by all means, go ahead! You don't have to ask me to post your edit. I am really interested to see your take on this.

Seb