Waterfront road, Vancouver

[Seb]

Here is one more from Vancouver. I am mostly concerned to know if you find this picture to lack a focal point or not. The lighthing was my primary motivation to shot that specific scene.

Thanks

Seb

[Mando327]

Yes, i think this picture lacks a focal point, and shadowy areas seem a bit too dark (could be my monitor). Other than that, i guess it's an interesting play between light and shadows.

Mando

[Seb]

Yes, i think this picture lacks a focal point, and shadowy areas seem a bit too dark (could be my monitor). Other than that, i guess it's an interesting play between light and shadows.

Mando

Hello Mando,

Thank you for sharing your opinion.
I think that you are right on about the shadowy areas lacking details. I went too far with my levels adjustment.

Seb

[gahspidy]

Seb, great shot. I don't feel this is lacking a focal point at all. You've composed this shot quite well. When I look at this I feel like it all holds together nicely without any unbalance or distraction. My eye easily wanders around the entire scene on the street and then enjoys the beautifully lit building in the bg. The horizon (although not visible) is placed below center and the opening betweeen the buildings( which is eventually where the eye is led through) is off of the center as well. The lighting makes this very interesting and appealing and good eye for the shot on your part. I like this. Well Done. My only very minor nit pik would be a tad less contrast. btw, curious to know what Yoyo thinks of this, seems like his kind of thing.

[Seb]

Seb, great shot. I don't feel this is lacking a focal point at all. You've composed this shot quite well. When I look at this I feel like it all holds together nicely without any unbalance or distraction. My eye easily wanders around the entire scene on the street and then enjoys the beautifully lit building in the bg. The horizon (although not visible) is placed below center and the opening betweeen the buildings( which is eventually where the eye is led through) is off of the center as well. The lighting makes this very interesting and appealing and good eye for the shot on your part. I like this. Well Done. My only very minor nit pik would be a tad less contrast. btw, curious to know what Yoyo thinks of this, seems like his kind of thing.

Hello Gary,

Well wow! I am pleased to hear this, especially coming from you. I must say that I noticed the similarity betwen this shot of mine and Yoyo's street scenes, but only when I decided to convert it in b&w to submit it here.

regards

Seb

[readingr]

Seb,

I do like this photo a lot I love the contrast of light and dark; the clutter in the picture showing a busy area of a town/city; and the old and new architecture and the way the old seems to oppose the new.

My only criticsim is the title - where's the water?

[Yoyo Szeto]

Hi Seb,
I like this shot especially the capture of light. I think you took the shot at the right time as the buildings on the left were illuminated by the reflection. I wonder what the pic would look like if the shot were taken in a vertical position.
All the best.
yoyo

[Seb]

Seb,

I do like this photo a lot I love the contrast of light and dark; the clutter in the picture showing a busy area of a town/city; and the old and new architecture and the way the old seems to oppose the new.

Hey Roger. Thank you for your comments. I too enjoyed the contrast betwen old and new architecture.

My only criticsim is the title - where's the water?

Close enough! At the right of the scene although impossible to capture where I was located. Actually, this is the name of that street that runs along the Burrard Inlet on the north shore of the city.

Seb

[Seb]

Hi Seb,
I like this shot especially the capture of light. I think you took the shot at the right time as the buildings on the left were illuminated by the reflection. I wonder what the pic would look like if the shot were taken in a vertical position.
All the best.
yoyo

Yoyo,

Thank you for commenting. I have been somewhat lucky with that one. I happened to pass by as the light was setting as it is and I have shot only one frame. I'd like to provide you a second (vertical) frame but I can't.

best regards

Seb

[Steph_B]

Hi Seb,

I keep on coming back to your pic and I must say this is quite nice. The light really allowed you to fit everything in the limited dynamic range of your D70. Since there is no distortion, I assume that you used a 50mm?

Even though there is no main subject or focal point, I think that the whole pic holds well. I would maybe use the Curve tool to brighten slightly the darker tones.

Nice pic in any case.

Cheers,

Steph.

[mattp]

I like this shot as well, although I'm not quite sure why. It seems like a well balanced 'window' on a little slice of the world, happily going about its business. I can imagine it being the sort of shot whose interest keeps on growing with age as the cars and buildings change. Nice.

matt

[Seb]

Hi Seb,

I keep on coming back to your pic and I must say this is quite nice. The light really allowed you to fit everything in the limited dynamic range of your D70. Since there is no distortion, I assume that you used a 50mm?

Even though there is no main subject or focal point, I think that the whole pic holds well. I would maybe use the Curve tool to brighten slightly the darker tones.

Nice pic in any case.

Cheers,

Steph.

Hello Steph,

It's good to hear about. Did you finally managed to use your new filters??

About your question, I don't even own a 50mm (although I want to get the 50mm f 1.4 someday). This was shot with my trusty Tamron 28-75mm XR Di and there was strictly no perspective or distortion compensation work made in Photoshop. Sincerly, this thing simply doesn't distort. It's quite an amazing piece of glass considering its price tag. That lense is really prone to flare without the hood but I am not sure how better a pricier lense would be in this regard.

I don't have the curve tool with PS element 2 but I take good note of your suggestion. Maybe I'll go crazy and lay down the big bucks to get CS later next year.... We will see...
Thank your for your comments.

Seb

[Seb]

I like this shot as well, although I'm not quite sure why. It seems like a well balanced 'window' on a little slice of the world, happily going about its business. I can imagine it being the sort of shot whose interest keeps on growing with age as the cars and buildings change. Nice.

matt

Hello Matt,

That's an interesting point of view. You know what, I'll try to work on the darker areas and I will have this one printed.

regards

Seb

[Steph_B]

It's good to hear about. Did you finally managed to use your new filters??
Seb

Yep! Thanks for asking! They are just fantastic. I used them the other day while I was taking some street photos. The 2-stop soft grade gives a barely noticeable (in the viewfinder) effect, just enough to slightly tune down the most harsh lights, or to put the emphasis onto the main subject (same thing as burning). At the beginning, I used it for a few shots and put it back in its pouch each time. At the end, it was a permanent fixture on my lens!

About your question, I don't even own a 50mm (although I want to get the 50mm f 1.4 someday). This was shot with my trusty Tamron 28-75mm XR Di and there was strictly no perspective or distortion compensation work made in Photoshop.
Seb

You do not need to own a 50mm. I guess my question was actually which focal length did you use? Since everything is straight, I would guess 50mm. I believe this is the reason why you do not 'need' a focal point in this instance. If you take pics with a wide angle, you often need a strong subject in the FG.
You do not need to own the 50mm F1.4. The F1.8 does a good job already, even though this is not a D lens. Actually, when I think it better, your D70 will transform this into a 75mm... This could be nice (i.e. 75 mm F1.4!) on the other hqnd, 75 mm is hardly a focal that I use personally..... Sorry, I am just babbling!

I don't have the curve tool with PS element 2 but I take good note of your suggestion. Maybe I'll go crazy and lay down the big bucks to get CS later next year.... We will see...
Thank your for your comments.
Seb

I have Element 2 as well as CS (CS is fantastic by the way!). You can get the curve tool in Element 2 by going to Layer>New Adjustement Layer>Curve.... If you do not know how to manage layers, once you are done with manipulating your pic, you can just flatten the image (bottom of the Layer menu). I also noticed that they do not provide the Curve tool in the Image menu.

Is this making sense?

Cheers,

Steph.

[gahspidy]

'This was shot with my trusty Tamron 28-75mm XR Di' I have that lens, /Seb and it is on the camera most of the time. Exce;llent lens constant 2.8 lightweight compact and great price.

[Seb]

You do not need to own a 50mm. I guess my question was actually which focal length did you use? Since everything is straight, I would guess 50mm. I believe this is the reason why you do not 'need' a focal point in this instance. If you take pics with a wide angle, you often need a strong subject in the FG.
You do not need to own the 50mm F1.4. The F1.8 does a good job already, even though this is not a D lens. Actually, when I think it better, your D70 will transform this into a 75mm... This could be nice (i.e. 75 mm F1.4!) on the other hqnd, 75 mm is hardly a focal that I use personally..... Sorry, I am just babbling! Steph.

To answer to your question, this was shot at 28mm. My main motivation to get a 50mm f/1.4 lense is to benefit from some extreme aperture. My Tamron zoom is a constant f/2.8 lense and I find that it doesn't open wide enough quite oftenly.

I have Element 2 as well as CS (CS is fantastic by the way!). You can get the curve tool in Element 2 by going to Layer>New Adjustement Layer>Curve.... If you do not know how to manage layers, once you are done with manipulating your pic, you can just flatten the image (bottom of the Layer menu). I also noticed that they do not provide the Curve tool in the Image menu.
Steph.

I don't know if there is something wrong with my copy of Element 2 (or with my installation although I am sure that I went for a full install at the first place) but I just can't find what you are talking about. Then again, my copy was installed in french and they just seems to give odd names to everything. The closest thing that I have found is "courbe de transfert de degrade" which has nothing to do with the real curve tool.

regards

Seb

[Seb]

'This was shot with my trusty Tamron 28-75mm XR Di' I have that lens, /Seb and it is on the camera most of the time. Exce;llent lens constant 2.8 lightweight compact and great price.

I didn't knew that you own this lense too. Considering that you are shooting full frame (film) I would be interested to know how the lense perform in it's circumference. With my D70 I only use the center part of the lense so there could be flaws that I am unaware of.

Seb

[gahspidy]

I didn't knew that you own this lense too. Considering that you are shooting full frame (film) I would be interested to know how the lense perform in it's circumference. With my D70 I only use the center part of the lense so there could be flaws that I am unaware of.

Seb

Very good sharpness all around through the edges even wide open at widest angle, but stopping down a few stops will give better sharpness. Little to no vignetting at widest angle even with a polarizer.

[plchung]

Seb I like this shot. For me, I guess the lighting and the space themselves are good subjects of the shot. When I look at the picture I tend to rest on the centre of the image.. the road leading to the sky. That may be the focal point for me. Nevertheless, I wish the picture would be a bit lighter...

Cheers,

Alex

[Seb]

Seb I like this shot. For me, I guess the lighting and the space themselves are good subjects of the shot. When I look at the picture I tend to rest on the centre of the image.. the road leading to the sky. That may be the focal point for me. Nevertheless, I wish the picture would be a bit lighter...

Cheers,

Alex

Hello Alex,

Thank you for sharing your opinion. The picture is indeed on the "dark side". I should rework it a little to make it works to its full potential.

regards

Seb

[dadas115]

I really like the use of contrast in this picture. As far as a focal point is concerned, my eyes keep getting drawn to the building in the back near the center of the frame. I like how everything is so sharp and bold in the picture.

Greg