Urban dawn

[baldemort]

Much more difficult shot than it seems as the area was very rough so I had to compose the shot from a distance and then literally run out to a roundabout, take the shots and run! Was taken at dawn so the lights would still be on in the flats and on the road and cars. I took it as the shapes and lines of the flats are nice to my eye and I like the road leading off to the distance. Did a bit of tidying up, but didn't want to over clone it as it needs to be a little messy to retain the inner city context. Comments and thoughts would be great.

Better viewed large, too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/46180527@N03/6451601341/

[poker]

love it. the building alone is plain but you've composed (and exposed) it in such a way i feel emotion.

[Neous]

the things you do to get that shot.

nice capture , perhaps a tight crop i.e. removing the tree on the right would have made it work better for me.
a longer exposure would have created some light streak from the cars to help guide the eyes around the image

[gahspidy]

Nicely framed, although maybe a bit too tight. I'd open up the contrast on this to bring out a little more detail in the shadowy areas. Overall a good shot, nice that you didn't get killed either

[baldemort]

Many thanks for the replies and glad you like it. Interesting that you guys mentioned the tighter crop as I agree. Forgot to post this version which I prefer. It focusses the image on what matters, which for me is the geometry in the buildings. Many have mentioned light trails, but I literally clicked and ran. No time for trails!!! May go back with a bodyguard.

[Justan]

Interesting composition. I would lighten the area in the right lower foreground a bit if possible. The eye is drawn there and the lack of detail disappoints. But I’ll quickly add that may be due to the reduction.

Also, any chance of seeing this in color?

[Greg McCary]

Wow the crop made a big difference I liked the first one but love the second. Good eye.

[Davekyn]

Hi baldemort,
I am just a Newbie myself, however I enjoyed your photo whilst viewing at Flickr. It was good to see a shot from the Sony NEX-5 as I was tossing up on getting something from the NEX range only just the other day.

Its a shame that closest street light is not working! I really like the way those lights have been captured! To me, the street lights clearly show and add an interesting contour extending beyond the photo itself. If only that other street light was on ... Perfectly placed I thought ... however the two stair wells really stand out and having anymore streetlights in front of those might have detracted from that...as it is...NICE Job with the stairs..( They are the stair wells are they not?)

The foreground with the Road stretching or Skewing across leads up well into those street lights. I am intrigued with the window sills wondering either what kind of paint or light reflecting material they are constructed from...I'm not to sure what to think about those as to weather they should be that bright or less bright...but it does come to my mind.

Over all I can still clearly see the lines of the road, footpath and lawn area working across the photo.
The crossing in the foreground, trees and gardens stand out to me as well as some kind of lamp post on the far right ... One Car would of been better than two, however the camera has done a good Job there...as too the image of those overcast clouds.

Feels Wet to me as I really love that kind of weather...

Once again...I am only learning...still waiting for my camera...but thanks for sharing this. I really like it!

[Neous]

Many thanks for the replies and glad you like it. Interesting that you guys mentioned the tighter crop as I agree. Forgot to post this version which I prefer. It focusses the image on what matters, which for me is the geometry in the buildings. Many have mentioned light trails, but I literally clicked and ran. No time for trails!!! May go back with a bodyguard.

Nice capture

[baldemort]

Wow the crop made a big difference I liked the first one but love the second. Good eye.

many thanks for the kind reply, Greg. glad you like it.

[baldemort]

Hi baldemort,
I am just a Newbie myself, however I enjoyed your photo whilst viewing at Flickr. It was good to see a shot from the Sony NEX-5 as I was tossing up on getting something from the NEX range only just the other day.

Its a shame that closest street light is not working! I really like the way those lights have been captured! To me, the street lights clearly show and add an interesting contour extending beyond the photo itself. If only that other street light was on ... Perfectly placed I thought ... however the two stair wells really stand out and having anymore streetlights in front of those might have detracted from that...as it is...NICE Job with the stairs..( They are the stair wells are they not?)

The foreground with the Road stretching or Skewing across leads up well into those street lights. I am intrigued with the window sills wondering either what kind of paint or light reflecting material they are constructed from...I'm not to sure what to think about those as to weather they should be that bright or less bright...but it does come to my mind.

Over all I can still clearly see the lines of the road, footpath and lawn area working across the photo.
The crossing in the foreground, trees and gardens stand out to me as well as some kind of lamp post on the far right ... One Car would of been better than two, however the camera has done a good Job there...as too the image of those overcast clouds.

Feels Wet to me as I really love that kind of weather...

Once again...I am only learning...still waiting for my camera...but thanks for sharing this. I really like it!

many thanks for the kind and detailed reply. the lighted stripes are indeed stairwells. the Sony is indeed a great camera, and i use it as back up to my slr quite often. just be careful with lens quality issues.

[baldemort]

Nice capture

many thanks. glad you like it!

[baldemort]

Interesting composition. I would lighten the area in the right lower foreground a bit if possible. The eye is drawn there and the lack of detail disappoints. But I’ll quickly add that may be due to the reduction.

Also, any chance of seeing this in color?

it was shot in awful orange sodium lighting so i converted to mono in raw i am afraid. don't often keep raw files once i have a happy result as it just gets messy on my pc.

[DrRoebuck]

I love this. While I'd love to see it in color the b+w conversion is well done.

Couldn't you have adjusted the white balance to make up for the orange sodium lighting?

I like the first crop more. The second is more striking for sure, but once you look at it there's not much to see: much of the building is cropped out, so the building becomes something of a natural border but there's not much going on in the street.

The only thing I think I'd prefer is if there was only one car, or lots of cars.

[armando_m]

Second crop is quite nice !!

[baldemort]

I love this. While I'd love to see it in color the b+w conversion is well done.

Couldn't you have adjusted the white balance to make up for the orange sodium lighting?

I like the first crop more. The second is more striking for sure, but once you look at it there's not much to see: much of the building is cropped out, so the building becomes something of a natural border but there's not much going on in the street.

The only thing I think I'd prefer is if there was only one car, or lots of cars.

many thanks for the reply. I'll see if I can find the colour version, but it really is awful. There are a few crops and I have tried them and it seems that opinion seems split indeed. Glad you like it.

[baldemort]

Second crop is quite nice !!

Thanks very much. I like both, but the second takes it for me.

[mpetrie]

I like the cropped one the best. Nice shot!

[MB1]

I too like the second crop, it is a much stronger image because it is more focused on the subject.

I also love the stars on the street lights.

At first I wasn't sure if I liked the cars in the frame but after some thought I believe they add a nice sense of place.

Bonus points for a well done B&W.

[Peanut420]

amazing :blush2:

[baldemort]

many thanks to you all for the kind replies and comments.