Critique #32 Theme *Night Photos*-5 Participants

[ampguy]

Nico "Alone"

Nico "Alone"

Very good b&w photo. The high contrast adds to the eerieness of the situation. I would consider taking off the R half of the photo, leaving the woman to the very R of the photo.

Here is mine:
"Alone"
BessaR+Nok50
Bye
Nico

 

[ampguy]

Raid - night scene

Raid - night scene

The length of exposure here is leaving some objects overexposed. I'd crop the top light off, and the R edge, taking out the sign with red circle and shaded figure on the right.

This is my image.

edited: [it is chosen on purpose not to be "perfect"]

 

[ampguy]

remrf - time exposure

remrf - time exposure

I like the timed exposure of the circular ride, and the lighted tube in the green frame. However, the white neon or bright horizontal lights underneath , along with the brighter mini searchlights under, detract from the beautiful circular colorful pattern, I think. Also, I would crop the L side out, maybe the whole car, leaving the tube on the far left of the image.

Here's mine.

 

[ampguy]

Stephanie - night scene

Stephanie - night scene

Interesting night shot. All is overexposed to abstraction but the road work sign. It works well with the street lights and rectangular sign. The lights from the gas station or market on the R are flaring quite a bit, and might be too much. I might crop the market or gas station out, leaving the rectangular lighted sign to the right. Also, there's a circular thing going on in the lower middle ??

Feedback appreciated, thanks. 🙂

 

[Stephanie Brim]

Nico: Love the high contrast. I love the concept of 'alone'. I would have liked to see more sharpness, but that's just me. The angle really gives you a sense of the title concept.

Raid: If all photography needed to be perfect to be good, no one would sell anything.

As for critique, I really love the color. Reminds me of nights at the amusement park. I'd actually like to see more...so a wider lens may have been a better choice. Also, framing isn't exactly straight, but it adds to the charm of the photo. It's kind of the essense of street photography: it's a snap of a moment.

remrf: This REALLY reminds me of nights at the amusement park...and photographing from the Ferris Wheel. I would have tried to get closer to the wheel, though, to attempt to get the whole thing in the frame. Remembering how it was at the state fair, though, that may not have been possible. I love the colors of this and, interestingly enough, I actually like the fact that you didn't get the perfect shot of the big wheel. The light show of what I assume to be the Merry-Go-Round adds to the photo. Overall, I really like it. The only thing I can really say is that I would have framed it slightly lower so that the people in the foreground of the Merry-Go-Round weren't cut off at the feet.

Ampguy: This is something I tried to do once while sitting in the passenger seat of my boyfriend's car. My shot didn't turn out, but I really like yours. Framing is well done, exposure is right on, and it reminds me of driving home with my boyfriend after a good movie, really late at night. Hardly a car on the back roads that we take. Great photo.

And now, about mine. The exposure WAS guessed, but the film is TMY at 1600 in Rodinal. Framing, focus, and bokeh are all intentional.

 

[raid]

Now,my photo: I was with my wife and two little daughters enjoying the night scene in Nagoya (Japan) when I quickly grabbed my Minox GT and took this shot with ASA100 film and F2.8 on automatic with one step overexposure adjustment. Handholding a long exposure with a small camera is not the best thing to do. I challenged myself to take this photo. Thanks for the comments.

 

[nico]

Hi,

Raid,
imho this is the right place to post photos we have doubts about 🙂, anyway about your I can say that I love night shots and your is intersting because there's a lot to see (people, buildings, "pano" wheel etc). Maybe (the same worths for my shot) the use of a tripod or faster shutter speed (if possible) + faster film would heve reduced the blur.

Remfr
A classic fair shot, very well seen and executed. Love the exposition and composition (lot of things in the shot but "in order"!). Gorgeous colour too.
It's very difficult to suggest something to improve this shot ... at least the car in the lower left corner is a little bit distracting but i think it was out of your control (unless you are a policeman 😀). Great job, I like it.

P.s. Remrf, now I understood what you meant in the other critique 🙂


Ampguy,
another classic shot, everytime I climb on the my car I'd like to take it. It has a sort of dreamy mood (right who said hypnotic) and I also like the lights (add a bit of mystery) at the end of the road. In this one I'm not disturbed at all by blurriness (is the right word? 🙂) it gives the sense of motion. I also like the blue of the sky and the yellow of the road. In the end I wouldn't change anything in this shot 🙂

Stephanie:
It's a strange photo ... I found myself wondering where those road works were but I didn't see them ... 🙂 ... I like the composition, then you perfectly expose the road signal but there's a little much light (and flare) from the background, maybe a little more balancement between the light in background and the light in the foreground would have improved the shot. 🙂

Bye
Nico

 

[remrf]

Now that all of the participants in the thread have posted their critiques I'll make a comment about my shot.

Stephanie, that is not a ferris wheel in the shot. I wish it were and that was my original intent when I set up to shoot. But the ferris wheel (which is much larger) turned out not to rotate symetrically and had a wild look which I did not find pleasing. The shots of the ferris wheel came out looking like it was going to break free of its moorings and roll right out of the frame. The circular pattern in the original shot posted is some sort of centrifugal ride which has two cars that rotate opposite each other at the end of long steel supports at the other end of which are weights. The lights along the supports are what give the illusion of a full circle. Below are two shots of the ferris wheel. One at rest and one in motion. Perhaps some would prefer the out of control look of the thing. I did not.

You say your entry was shot the way it was on purpose. May I ask what that purpose was? In my case I wanted to capture the lights of the rides on a long exposure specifically to produce the effect shown. What graphic point were you attempting to make with your photo? Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂

 

[raid]

Nico:

To assist you better imagine the set-up: We have two strollers with two children in them, and without a tripod or fast film. I had 50 rolls of ASA100 Fujicolor with me during the trip to Japan plus Ilford XP2 Super [not loaded that night]. All of my Japan photos were taken in 'split seconds' while I am watching two children among many [many] people around us. It was either "don't take photos" or "manage what you can" during that trip.


Raid

 

[nico]

Nico:

To assist you better imagine the set-up: We have two stollers with two children in them, and without a tripod or fast film. I had 50 rolls of ASA100 Fujicolor with me during the trip to Japan plus Ilford XP2 Super [not loaded that night]. All of my Japan photos were taken in split seconds while I am watching two children among many [many] people around us. It was either "don't take photos" or "manage what you can" during that trip.


Raid

You made me smile! 🙂 If I were in your shoes I would surely confuse a stoller with a camera!! 😀
Anyway, I saw many other shots from your trip in Japan and I have to say you managed very well the "seconds" you spent taking photos!
Bye
Nico

 

[raid]

You made me smile! 🙂 If I were in your shoes I would surely confuse a stoller with a camera!! 😀
Anyway, I saw many other shots from your trip in Japan and I have to say you managed very well the "seconds" you spent taking photos!
Bye
Nico

Nico: What I referred to as "seconds"were always stolen moments. I had a small camera bag under the stroller [there was a place for storage] and I would pull out the Canon P with the 35mm lens or the Bessa L with the CV 25mm/4 lens. I pushed the stroller with Dana in it, and I managed to take photos as long as she did not cry. For "undercover" activities, I had a Minox and a XA in each side pocket of my pants.

Raid