Suburbia

[rpiereck]

Of all pictures that I took during my September trip to California, this one struck me as one of the best, not only composition and lighting, but also it was a very spur of the moment picture, I didn't even notice I took it until I got home. It was taken en passant, maybe as my wife drove and I shot out the window. Call it luck, maybe... It was posted earlier on Flickr, now edited because the tonal range was too flat, let me know what you think:

Earlier post on Flickr:


Edited version:

[jgredline]

I think that if this is a snap shot it willnot really be fair to critique it, but since you asked...
First, my attention is drawn to the house on the left and the first thing I notice is all the ''noise''...I am guessing it was dark and you had the ISO cranked up...
There is also allot of shadows on the sign itself, and the pic is crooked,,
For me, it does nothing..Sorry..Don't feel bad either because I am sure there are folks who will like it...

[engineer]

I think the titel will make it, like "on my way home" or something. or "my wife driving"

[Tyson L. Sparks]

Did you have the camera set on auto? If so that might be why the sky is white. I would use a tripod lower the ISO and set it on manual so to get the sky back to blue.

[readingr]

rpiereck

I think I can see what caught your eye - the lighting on the sign, however, the execution has let you down.

For me you need to make a story out of the picture and the sign and the hotel are too far apart and the hotel looks to new to make it work.

Perhaps if you'd pull back a bit to give more context around the sign it could have worked, showing the entrance to the hotel, or an empty carpark in front of the hotel.

The other problem as Tyson said is the sky - it need a bit of colour in it to help it along.

Hope that helps some.

Roger

[rpiereck]

Thanks for all the comments/suggestions. This photo was truly spur of the moment as I said. I was travelling with the wife and going somewhere, so there was no setup time. My Rebel XTi was not on full auto, but on Program, so the camera chose the exposure. ISO was set at 1600, which is quite high, but due to fact that it was getting dark and I was shooting without a tripod I had it cranked up. Exposure time was 1/20, with a f/5 apperture. Again, thanks for the comments.