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- Thread starter MikeMike
- Start date
Jeff S
Forum Supporter
Howdy MikeMike,
You obviously have an eye for texture, color and composition. I would have done several things differently, though, but overall I really like these. So, here I go:
Uno:
I'd have put the door a little more in the center of the frame, maybe where the left-hand set of holes in the wall are. Looks a tad over-exposed just over the door, and the green of the grass looks a bit 'electric' in color. Dunno why.
Dos:
I really like this one. The only thing, again, is framing and also on this one the aspect ratio of the final image is odd. Maybe try making it square if there's content to the left or right that can be added back it. I like the contrast in white balance temps on the front and back walls.
Tres:
I have tried to shoot level and perpendicular to make the gate bars into a flat grid instead of allowing lines to converge on the top. Also, I can't see the full right edge of the gate - and I want to. Maybe go back and make several detailed shots of this - just the chain, just the twine, just a couple of the curly gate decorations?
cuatro:
My favorite. I don't like the cut-off window on the far right. There are three horizontal lines in this shot: the top points down, the middle is close to flat, the bottom points up. It might have been interesting to get the full top line in the frame by pointing up a bit more and rotating the camera a bit (CCW) to make the bottom line flat and both the top two lines point down. This is a really good shot as it is, but I think with a little refinement it could be great.
cinco:
The color in the sky is goofy and surreal, that makes this hard to look at for me. Again, I love the subject matter, but I'd put the bottom window line flat which would also emphasize the angle of the top edge of the wall. It might also make the windows purely vertical instead of tipping to the left a bit. Try keeping the camera level - don't point up or down, just flat ahead. This will ensure walls stay flat instead of looking like they are tipping over. You'll need a wider-angle lens than if you point up (to get the same content in) and you'll need to crop out ground and other stuff, but that's all no problem.
I'm a bugger for trying not to cut off important lines in the frame and trying to use the lines that are there for a purpose by placing them carefully in the photo. The great thing about focusing (pun intended) on this is that any equipment and every photographer can do this - just think longer about each shot and consider the edges of the photo with a lot of care.
Whew. Too much?
You obviously have an eye for texture, color and composition. I would have done several things differently, though, but overall I really like these. So, here I go:
Uno:
I'd have put the door a little more in the center of the frame, maybe where the left-hand set of holes in the wall are. Looks a tad over-exposed just over the door, and the green of the grass looks a bit 'electric' in color. Dunno why.
Dos:
I really like this one. The only thing, again, is framing and also on this one the aspect ratio of the final image is odd. Maybe try making it square if there's content to the left or right that can be added back it. I like the contrast in white balance temps on the front and back walls.
Tres:
I have tried to shoot level and perpendicular to make the gate bars into a flat grid instead of allowing lines to converge on the top. Also, I can't see the full right edge of the gate - and I want to. Maybe go back and make several detailed shots of this - just the chain, just the twine, just a couple of the curly gate decorations?
cuatro:
My favorite. I don't like the cut-off window on the far right. There are three horizontal lines in this shot: the top points down, the middle is close to flat, the bottom points up. It might have been interesting to get the full top line in the frame by pointing up a bit more and rotating the camera a bit (CCW) to make the bottom line flat and both the top two lines point down. This is a really good shot as it is, but I think with a little refinement it could be great.
cinco:
The color in the sky is goofy and surreal, that makes this hard to look at for me. Again, I love the subject matter, but I'd put the bottom window line flat which would also emphasize the angle of the top edge of the wall. It might also make the windows purely vertical instead of tipping to the left a bit. Try keeping the camera level - don't point up or down, just flat ahead. This will ensure walls stay flat instead of looking like they are tipping over. You'll need a wider-angle lens than if you point up (to get the same content in) and you'll need to crop out ground and other stuff, but that's all no problem.
I'm a bugger for trying not to cut off important lines in the frame and trying to use the lines that are there for a purpose by placing them carefully in the photo. The great thing about focusing (pun intended) on this is that any equipment and every photographer can do this - just think longer about each shot and consider the edges of the photo with a lot of care.
Whew. Too much?
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2003
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- 13,058
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- 3,477
- Location
- Ft Worth, TX
- First Name
- Chris
- Last Name
- Tamez
Good composition. I like them especially from a non DSLR
Thanks Jeff and Sharkey! Appreciate your eyes, an extra set always helps and your feedback is great. Thanks again for taking the time.
Sharkey, these pics are definitely of the "non-DSLR" variety, they were taken with a Fuji pocket camera, a Finepix model from Costco, which was an upgrade from my old Nikon Coolpix pocket camera which was an upgrade from my Nokia cell phone. I still don't speak DSLR, as my latest upgrade from the Fuji was to a Samsung with a nice 21x zoom that lets me look around the mountains.
Jeff, I will recrop a couple of the pics, the one of the red metal doors was purposely cropped when shot because of the border on the right side having a mess of very ugly paint etc... The window shot, I think I can resize it into something more conventional. I was trying to emphasize the lines and height of the window in the oddball size it is in. I have another version of the numero cuatro shot you liked, I will try and post it sometime this weekend. I think you will like it better.
The light on this particular stretch of road where the haciendas are located (these are shots of the first 2 old haciendas on the "5 Haciendas Route") is interesting, it is semi-desert high plain and drier than British humour. There is another region here that has very interesting natural light and that is down on the coast between Roca Partida and Montepio. The "Tuxtlas" zone, known for strange stuff, including light.
I looked at your pics, based on what I saw from your trip through Marfa etc...I think you might enjoy some of my landscape pics. I will try to put up a few for your comments. I usually enjoy shooting landscapes more, but these days I am opening up my eyes a little and also learning to see in black and white, my B&W stuff is something that I want to explore more.
Give me a couple of days and if I can get a few more comments, they will be most appreciated!
Sharkey, these pics are definitely of the "non-DSLR" variety, they were taken with a Fuji pocket camera, a Finepix model from Costco, which was an upgrade from my old Nikon Coolpix pocket camera which was an upgrade from my Nokia cell phone. I still don't speak DSLR, as my latest upgrade from the Fuji was to a Samsung with a nice 21x zoom that lets me look around the mountains.
Jeff, I will recrop a couple of the pics, the one of the red metal doors was purposely cropped when shot because of the border on the right side having a mess of very ugly paint etc... The window shot, I think I can resize it into something more conventional. I was trying to emphasize the lines and height of the window in the oddball size it is in. I have another version of the numero cuatro shot you liked, I will try and post it sometime this weekend. I think you will like it better.
The light on this particular stretch of road where the haciendas are located (these are shots of the first 2 old haciendas on the "5 Haciendas Route") is interesting, it is semi-desert high plain and drier than British humour. There is another region here that has very interesting natural light and that is down on the coast between Roca Partida and Montepio. The "Tuxtlas" zone, known for strange stuff, including light.
I looked at your pics, based on what I saw from your trip through Marfa etc...I think you might enjoy some of my landscape pics. I will try to put up a few for your comments. I usually enjoy shooting landscapes more, but these days I am opening up my eyes a little and also learning to see in black and white, my B&W stuff is something that I want to explore more.
Give me a couple of days and if I can get a few more comments, they will be most appreciated!
M38A1
Admin
Looks like a nice and fun place to shoot....
#1
I like it. Nice subject, frame/comp. I'm curious to what is behind the door and what other structure might have been next to it with the square log holes on the wall surface. Speaking of the wall surface, it's a tad bit blown out/overexposes to me. Possibly a LR gradient filter pass to tone it down a tad and bring out some more of the wall detail for rugged?
#2
My favorite. Use of the two windows with the sunlight low and providing the angle shadow is a nice tough. My nit is, the bottom window has wonderful green foliage/forest, yet the middle and top floor are blown out. If it was sky, some blue would have been a nice addition. If more forest, more excellent.
#3
My least favorite. I'm just not a fan of off-canter/off-center shots for the most part with vertical and horizontal lines. They're hard to shoot (for me at least) Cutting off the lower right really killed the image for me as the focus IS the red metal structure. On the flipside, I'm intrigued by the gate, lock and 'stuff' ON the red metal, as well as the graffiti on the wall in the lower left. Did you shoot any others with the gate lock and graffiti?
#4
Interesting and I like it. I find these shots hard to do, and the lower row of windows needs to go. That would leave three distinctly different rows of windows. And bring the crop on the right side in a tad to totally eliminate the far right window artifact.
#5
The sky going from blue to purple is an odd choice. Was that over-saturated on purpose for effect?
Overall, I think it's a good set and it's obvious you take the time to look at what you shoot and think about it. These ain't snapshots.
.
#1
I like it. Nice subject, frame/comp. I'm curious to what is behind the door and what other structure might have been next to it with the square log holes on the wall surface. Speaking of the wall surface, it's a tad bit blown out/overexposes to me. Possibly a LR gradient filter pass to tone it down a tad and bring out some more of the wall detail for rugged?
#2
My favorite. Use of the two windows with the sunlight low and providing the angle shadow is a nice tough. My nit is, the bottom window has wonderful green foliage/forest, yet the middle and top floor are blown out. If it was sky, some blue would have been a nice addition. If more forest, more excellent.
#3
My least favorite. I'm just not a fan of off-canter/off-center shots for the most part with vertical and horizontal lines. They're hard to shoot (for me at least) Cutting off the lower right really killed the image for me as the focus IS the red metal structure. On the flipside, I'm intrigued by the gate, lock and 'stuff' ON the red metal, as well as the graffiti on the wall in the lower left. Did you shoot any others with the gate lock and graffiti?
#4
Interesting and I like it. I find these shots hard to do, and the lower row of windows needs to go. That would leave three distinctly different rows of windows. And bring the crop on the right side in a tad to totally eliminate the far right window artifact.
#5
The sky going from blue to purple is an odd choice. Was that over-saturated on purpose for effect?
Overall, I think it's a good set and it's obvious you take the time to look at what you shoot and think about it. These ain't snapshots.
.
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2003
- Messages
- 13,058
- Reaction score
- 3,477
- Location
- Ft Worth, TX
- First Name
- Chris
- Last Name
- Tamez
Yeah, #2 is my favorite.
I've reworked numero cuatro trying to take into account the commentary.
Also I've included something of a close up with the lock and chain on the door, I am limited here by the quality of the original, not the same "amount" as a DSLR it appears. The window shot is limited in the original with some very ugly political graffiti on the right side, **** shame that a lot of the historic buildings in Mexico become a political canvas but just logo on logo, not even a good "we the people" kind of Diego Rivera mural, just the usual crap. I checked my originals of the metal door, I had cropped the shot itself, I framed it to eliminate the right hand side, I'll have to go back there and see what I can do. The other door shot with stone wall and green grass had nothing of interest on the extreme left to expand the position of the door enough to the right, another case of having to return and get another look at things and see what I can come up with for framing a better shot.
When I shot these pics I was basically trying to remember the "rule of thirds" and wasn't thinking about color or other elements of composition. I am working more on this.
I have included some of my pics in black and white. I am feeling more and more comfortable with black and white and genuinely trying to see in black and white and have begun to study the complex (to me, anyways) shading and tonal element construction techniques of Ansel Adams. I am wrestling with his instruction in tones. A real challenge, like playing a game of chess with a landscape! Tough game to win. I would appreciate comments on my black and white work, and I thank you guys for your time!
First, some color...
Here is the corrected numero cuatro below
And a "close up" of sorts of the lock and metal door
And now some black and white...
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Again, thanks for taking the time to have a look and pass along your comments, I appreciate it immensely.
Also I've included something of a close up with the lock and chain on the door, I am limited here by the quality of the original, not the same "amount" as a DSLR it appears. The window shot is limited in the original with some very ugly political graffiti on the right side, **** shame that a lot of the historic buildings in Mexico become a political canvas but just logo on logo, not even a good "we the people" kind of Diego Rivera mural, just the usual crap. I checked my originals of the metal door, I had cropped the shot itself, I framed it to eliminate the right hand side, I'll have to go back there and see what I can do. The other door shot with stone wall and green grass had nothing of interest on the extreme left to expand the position of the door enough to the right, another case of having to return and get another look at things and see what I can come up with for framing a better shot.
When I shot these pics I was basically trying to remember the "rule of thirds" and wasn't thinking about color or other elements of composition. I am working more on this.
I have included some of my pics in black and white. I am feeling more and more comfortable with black and white and genuinely trying to see in black and white and have begun to study the complex (to me, anyways) shading and tonal element construction techniques of Ansel Adams. I am wrestling with his instruction in tones. A real challenge, like playing a game of chess with a landscape! Tough game to win. I would appreciate comments on my black and white work, and I thank you guys for your time!
First, some color...
Here is the corrected numero cuatro below
And a "close up" of sorts of the lock and metal door
And now some black and white...
01
02
03
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05
06
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08
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Again, thanks for taking the time to have a look and pass along your comments, I appreciate it immensely.
Jeff S
Forum Supporter
04
GREAT PHOTO! This is my favorite of all your B&W shots, though I do really like several others. The tone on the mountain is just ever so slightly lower than the sky, likewise for the clouds and snow. Ideally, I'd want a small touch more tonal separation here, but not much. The texture of the front wall is fantastic, as are the deep tones in the foreground. Very well done.
19
This is nearly great. The tone of the sky and the contrast to the building is great, as is the overall composition and B&W treatment, but it looks pretty over-sharpened to me. See the bright halos around the lower parts of the dark arches? That's 'ringing' due to pushed sharpening too much. The sky also takes on a rough texture through the sharpening process. Also, tilting the building back to vertical would help.
Your B&W work makes we want to practice more on my B&W.
Thanks again, Jeff!
I will rework the second photo you liked as you mentioned.
Funny thing with the shot of the mountain and the wall. That is an old hacienda (number 2 on the 5 haciendas route if you are riding it from north to south) in which there are various families still living inside the compound. They are very friendly. I had stopped with another rider who was visiting here, and we began shooting the buildings. He was closer and going for a framed shot through a large window, I was across the road near the bikes and shooting a part of the building which was in bad shape, he was literally right below the shot and wondering what I was shooting at. I told him he'd see it later.
Here is the reworked unfinished church, I think I will have to go back to square one on this one to get rid of the glow you mentioned.
This is the shot from below the picture that you liked. This is what the other rider was trying to get and I shot it from across the road using the zoom because I really didn't want to try and frame it while standing in the middle of the road! I don't want to suffer for my art that much! LOL!
Here is pic that reminded me of one of your Marfa trip shots with the angle of the highway.
One that I thought you might like, I think I have to rework it a little but I believe there is something there worth going for. I was thinking of maybe a crop on the left inwards, lightening it a little, maybe? Any suggestions?
I will rework the second photo you liked as you mentioned.
Funny thing with the shot of the mountain and the wall. That is an old hacienda (number 2 on the 5 haciendas route if you are riding it from north to south) in which there are various families still living inside the compound. They are very friendly. I had stopped with another rider who was visiting here, and we began shooting the buildings. He was closer and going for a framed shot through a large window, I was across the road near the bikes and shooting a part of the building which was in bad shape, he was literally right below the shot and wondering what I was shooting at. I told him he'd see it later.
Here is the reworked unfinished church, I think I will have to go back to square one on this one to get rid of the glow you mentioned.
This is the shot from below the picture that you liked. This is what the other rider was trying to get and I shot it from across the road using the zoom because I really didn't want to try and frame it while standing in the middle of the road! I don't want to suffer for my art that much! LOL!
Here is pic that reminded me of one of your Marfa trip shots with the angle of the highway.
One that I thought you might like, I think I have to rework it a little but I believe there is something there worth going for. I was thinking of maybe a crop on the left inwards, lightening it a little, maybe? Any suggestions?
Jeff S
Forum Supporter
Yeah - I can see cropping a bit more off the left of the last photo - about half way to the left-most tree? It might have been better if the dust rising up was further left, too (obviously impossible now). Like between those two dark trees. As it is now, the dust obscures the larger forested area which would otherwise provide a nice dark base to the mountain - but a bit brighter than the cotton (?) crops in the foreground. That way, also, the man and horse would stand out more in contrast to the plainer background they'd have been in front of.
The road is a good shot, but pretty busy, and I can't really find the subject in the shot. In the bottom photo, the snow against the mountain and sky contrasts well and pulls my eye there. On the road photo, there's no 'anchor'. It would have been amazing (maybe) if the line of the road pointed up to the snow cap instead of off to the passes on the right.
Thanks for posting all of these. I'd love to get down there and shoot this stuff with you some time. I said it before, but you do B&W very well. Good stuff here!
The road is a good shot, but pretty busy, and I can't really find the subject in the shot. In the bottom photo, the snow against the mountain and sky contrasts well and pulls my eye there. On the road photo, there's no 'anchor'. It would have been amazing (maybe) if the line of the road pointed up to the snow cap instead of off to the passes on the right.
Thanks for posting all of these. I'd love to get down there and shoot this stuff with you some time. I said it before, but you do B&W very well. Good stuff here!