A storm at sea

[readingr]

Does this work?

Roger

[donmash]

Roger,

I like the black and white and the subject, however the angle doesn't work for me looks like it is an accident.....MHO

[OldSchool]

Hey Roger,

I think it's good. I like how the how the light shows through the clouds in the bg.

But, I too have a comment on the tilt... What if you tilted it the other way a little to give it the looks of a chute broaching on a good puff?

Tim

[payn817]

I really like the lighting and tones. Not a big fan of the tilt though, although I am sure from the title it was your intent. That's an amazing building, if you do/have anymore, I'd like to see them. I'm really enjoying this new (to me at least) side of your work, keep it up.

[SirMike1983]

The tilt bothers me a bit. It seems almost as if somone hit the camera.

However the sky is great. It has an inverted effect where the bottom is very dark (far off) and the upper parts of the sky picture is lighter (closer above). Black and white is a plus in my book.

[readingr]

I really like the lighting and tones. Not a big fan of the tilt though, although I am sure from the title it was your intent. That's an amazing building, if you do/have anymore, I'd like to see them. I'm really enjoying this new (to me at least) side of your work, keep it up.

Jared, - Thanks - I have a load on my web site that never go on here so take a look and let me know what you think.

Tim, - I just scanned all the photos and its the only angle I didn't take, blast!

Don Mike - Thanks it was a cold and wet day in the end. This is just before the rain started.

All - I take it the tilt doesn't really work. However I still like it and will ponder on it some more to see if I still like it in a week or two.

However - Here is one which is as vertical as this building gets. Any better?

Roger

[cyberlord]

I liked the tilt. It gave the feeling of a ship tossed at sea in a storm.

I "scrolled cropped" the bottom off a tad and it helped with the illusion.

Tim

[ken1953]

I am with Cyberlord on this...I like the tilt, but not the crop. The building at the bottom right is distracting to me. All in all a good capture and a shot that can have many options. Good job!
Ken

[Ronnoco]

Actually, I see what you are trying to do. The tilt would actually work better with a looser crop at the bottom and getting rid of the stuff at the bottom right side by using Photoshop.
Then you would get the impression of being at sea and the sculpture being a modernistic sail boat tilting on a wave.

You have the right idea, but some Photoshop work is still necessary. Stick with it.

Ronnoco

[readingr]

Actually, I see what you are trying to do. The tilt would actually work better with a looser crop at the bottom and getting rid of the stuff at the bottom right side by using Photoshop.
Then you would get the impression of being at sea and the sculpture being a modernistic sail boat tilting on a wave.

You have the right idea, but some Photoshop work is still necessary. Stick with it.

Ronnoco

Ronnoco, Ken, Tim,

Its a ship in stormy seas is what I was going for.

The shops in the buildings on the right are a pain for photographing this place.

So taken advice and cropped and cloned. What do you think? Not that good at cloning so be gentle or more importantly tell me what I did wrong or a better technique I could use.

Roger

[molaselake]

I really like your very first photo, tilt and all. When you cropped it, you took away one of my favorite parts - the busy carnival stuff that makes you feel like you're on one of the rides looking out at the storm coming.

[cyberlord]

Instead of cloning in clouds at the bottom I would have cloned in darkness.

The first is fine, and I agree with what is provided it makes it difficult to get the shot you were after.

[Alison]

The first one works for me. I love the camera angle, your composition and the black and white works great here.
The structure in the bottom right hand corner doesn't bother me at all. It is there in real life and so should be left in the image.
Wonderful shot!

[Ronnoco]

This time you went wrong Alison. The title is "A storm at sea" and tilting the shot requires that the title fit. There is no reason for a shot of a tilted landmark and certainly no reason for a tilted landmark shot to be called storm at sea.

It has to look like a storm at sea and that can only happen with the Spinaker shape alone in the shot and tilted with a dramatic background. Readingr did exactly that and it works.

Remember every photographic decision including tilting has to have a reason that fits with the composition of the shot and the "message" that the photographer is trying to convey.

Tilting only works if the whole image conveys the "storm at sea". title. Readingr succeeded in his editing.

Ronnoco

[ken1953]

Roger, I like the edit. My only comment would go to technique...as with me, we both need a lot of practice with the whole technique. You have some ragged lines along the straight edge and the cloning of the clouds doesn't seem to match the above clouds very well. I think if you blurred the lines in the clouds a little more, you might have slightly better effect. All in all, I really do like both the original and the edit...I feel like Ronnoco tho' in that the title doesn't work as well with the first one as it does with the edit. Again...Great Job...
Ken

[freedom1500]

Hold on a minute! Is this a ship or a building??? If it's a building, it's wrong to call it Storm at Sea and it shouldn't be tilted. I find the edited version (straight up) makes a bold statement and lloks great. however, if this is a ship, you can exaggerate the tilt a bit but not as much as you did. As someone else sid, it looks like an accident happened or someone kicked the tripod. Beautiful tones and very strong lines. In my humble opinion, don't overdo the tilt otherwise your image will lose its credibility.
Robert

[molaselake]

See, that's why I hate titles. When you slap a title on, people then automatically ASSUME it has to convey exactly what you've said it should, which seems to be happening in this thread. Take the title away and then see if the picture works for you. If it does, then I think it's successful. That really should be all that matters. There's no need to force a photo that works into having a meaning it doesn't and hacking at it in the process. Just like painting or drawing or any kind of artistic endeavor, you need to know when to stop or you'll just end up ruining something that quite possibly could have been beautiful to begin with. So, to sum it up here, the picture works, the title doesn't.

[readingr]

See, that's why I hate titles. When you slap a title on, people then automatically ASSUME it has to convey exactly what you've said it should, which seems to be happening in this thread. Take the title away and then see if the picture works for you. If it does, then I think it's successful. That really should be all that matters. There's no need to force a photo that works into having a meaning it doesn't and hacking at it in the process. Just like painting or drawing or any kind of artistic endeavor, you need to know when to stop or you'll just end up ruining something that quite possibly could have been beautiful to begin with. So, to sum it up here, the picture works, the title doesn't.

Good point.

Thank you all for the response and this is what I call excellent feedback and making me look at thinks in a different way and also making me learn about post processing and titles

My thought processes when taking the photo -

I thought the roof line presented a rough sea (been out in rougher) along with the dark clouds which gave a good proximity to a storm. The Spinnaker tower looks like a spinnaker in full flight. The angle is close to ones I have been in very strong winds but not with a spinnaker up. (Yes I am a sailor - for those who hadn't guessed LOL)

I included the exaggerated tilt deliberately to give the impression of a heaving ship in the seas and included the boat at the bottom to tie in the actual sea which is part of its surroundings.

Hence the title, which I still think works unless someone comes up with a better one.

Personally for me the photo (original) still works but have been intrigued by the way people look at the photo and title to critique - I tend to look at the photo and create my opinion and then look at the title last. I have normally written my critique before looking at the title so propably falling into molaselake's regard for titles.

I changed the photo
1. to see if I could
2. to see if the photo could work with out the structures.
3. I personally don't like it without the roofs possibly because I didn't do a good enough job of removing the other items and it feels empty without the wace patterns
4. If you don't try you never make mistakes and therefore never learn

I posted it to get comment on technique and I have been grateful for everyone who has responded. I will be posting the original on my web site tonight and will try and modify the photo again to see if I can improve my editing techniques and if I get one I like then it will be posted too.

I still believe this is the best site on the net for learning photography and its thanks to all of you. Just makes me want to get the camera out and snap away.

Roger

[GB1]

Roger - I havent read the other critiques, but I do like the tilt. However, I think that for it to work that you'd have to show some of the water. That would place it. The sky's pretty scary here.. (have a slight fear of stormy sea)

GB

[readingr]

Roger - I havent read the other critiques, but I do like the tilt. However, I think that for it to work that you'd have to show some of the water. That would place it. The sky's pretty scary here.. (have a slight fear of stormy sea)

GB

GB

Thanks for spotting that - there is in the bottom left a rib on the water. Now dodged that area so that the ripples on the water surface is a little clearer. The print looked terrific until you pointed that out so here goes for another print.

The series of photos of the tower has taught me a load about PSE, PSP, and Canon software.

Roger