<<< o >>>not really all that funny 26 comments + add yours
chromasia.com

I had hoped to find some time today to go out and take some shots as this one is the last one I have, and I'm not all that keen on it. The colours are ok, and the composition isn't too bad, but it doesn't really seem to work all that well. Oh well, hopefully I'll be able to come up with something a little better tomorrow.

camera
capture date
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
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flash
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cropped?
Canon G5
5.55pm on 30/8/04
f6.3
1/640
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
50
17.6mm
no
RAW
auto
minor
 
4x3 + fylde coast
comment by Ray at 12:30 AM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

Very "Amuse" (ing). Love the saturated look. I was in Blackpool a few weeks back and I'm almost positive I walked right past this place. I was on the beach trying to recreate your great reflection shot of Blackpool tower but it was too windy.. Another day in the future maybe....

comment by mandar at 12:30 AM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

true, for some reason it doesn't work all that well. One reason could be the distracting position of the structure under the 'S' and 'E'. The light bulb wire is also just a bit distracting. The gradation in the sky behind though is to kill for :).

comment by djn1 at 12:34 AM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

Ray: it's the building in the middle of the Golden Mile, so you probably did walk past it at some point. As for reflection shots: it's been far too windy for a couple of weeks now. We were down on the seafront at the weekend and there was a 25mph wind ... in August :-/

Mandar: at the moment, i.e. just before the Blackpool Illumination's, it's almost impossible to take a photograph of anything and not get a string of lights in the shot! ;-)

comment by Sandra Rocha at 12:48 AM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

I agree about the distracting effect of the structures under the S and E but I actually like this a lot, even with that little problem :-)
for the colors and for the carnival/fair atmosphere that I love, looks like everybody's been around them these last days lol
~~

comment by victimoffete at 01:32 AM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

The colours are great ... not too sure on the composition. I would probably say cropping some of the sky out cause to me it seems to draw my eye to the blue not to the structure.

comment by trudie at 02:43 AM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

there is something a little off--probably just a combination of what others have mentioned above, but the color just grabs me. this one just cheers me up...

comment by Jason Davies at 09:01 AM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

Yes, I think there might be too much sky here so it takes you a while to see the letters. Seems to follow the golden rule of thirds though :)

comment by Kevin at 09:11 AM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

I think this would always be a difficult subject to compose well. The arches are perfectly cropped and in themselves form a completely symmetrical image. However, the green vertical and the entrance fascia in the lower right, together with those electical cables, mean that, overall, the symmetry is lost. It's the kind of shot where I always wish for a collapsible step-ladder that would fit in my camera bag, because I think it would look better if taken from about 10 feet higher up...

Colour wise, that afternoon sun has served you well, and I'd guess at polarising filter and/or a curves layer in PS. The Lancashire sky never really gets that blue, does it?

comment by photojunkie at 02:30 PM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

I assume the entire sign reads. amusement. When I first saw the image I recropped it in my mind to read muse.

comment by Luca (Italy) at 03:18 PM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

Grrrr...

comment by Natalie at 05:18 PM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

I rather like it. There's a nice contrast between the dark blue sky and the yellow/orange sign.

Amusement parks and fairgrounds seem to be all the rage in photoblogs these days. I suppose it's that time of year. ;-)

comment by koozeh at 05:25 PM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

Wow, look at the vibrant colors :) beautiful.

comment by Jeremy at 06:29 PM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

I think the saturation is a little too obvious... it's pretty, but the dark blue makes you look at it instead of the amuse

comment by RainKing at 08:12 PM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

Simple and effective. The bright colors make it work.

comment by PhilB at 10:23 PM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

Love the bright colours. Fantastic.

comment by djn1 at 11:18 PM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

Hmmm. Thanks for all the kind words, but I really don't think this one works all that well, mostly because of the composition. Perhaps I'll get Kevin to hold the ladder when I reshoot ;-)

Rannie: almost. It says 'amusements'.

comment by Stephanie at 11:31 PM (GMT) on 2 September, 2004

As everyone else has said, I love the color. I can only wish to be as good as you. But, I think I know what the compositional issue is. (this is coming from my 2-D sythesis theory class). Compositions with breaks offer a triangle whose base is wide and parallel to the bottom of the frame tends to be too stable, and stagnant even. It's the triangle with a wide base at the top that causes a sense of tension or conflict. Conflict and tension are often what make a composition interesting and successful. Those yellow bars extending from the bottom of the frame may be causing the first example of the triangle theory.
You're still better than anything I could do. ;-)

comment by djn1 at 12:47 AM (GMT) on 3 September, 2004

Stephanie: I'm not familiar with the theory, but it sounds right.

comment by Jeremy at 05:19 AM (GMT) on 3 September, 2004

"I love the color. I can only wish to be as good as you"

Stephanie... not to discredit Dave, but the color is due to the saturation bar in Photoshop and not due to the original photography

comment by djn1 at 09:35 AM (GMT) on 3 September, 2004

Stephanie ... not to discredit Jeremy, but it's more to do with the increase in contrast (via a strong 'S' Curve) than it is to do with the 'saturation bar' in PS, though I did use Fred Miranda's Digital Velvia Pro.

comment by Jeremy at 03:18 PM (GMT) on 3 September, 2004

sigh, Dave... you always seem to take offense at the slightest comments... the sarcasm wasnt really necessary. I apologize at my misdiagnosis of your photoshop methods.

comment by djn1 at 03:22 PM (GMT) on 3 September, 2004

Jeremy: sorry, that was meant humorously - I guess it didn't come across that way.

comment by Jeremy at 05:41 PM (GMT) on 3 September, 2004

oh, ok =) No hard feelings

comment by Medina at 05:56 PM (GMT) on 8 September, 2004

love the colors

comment by starfuxxer at 06:41 AM (GMT) on 13 September, 2004

Well, contrary to what others said, I really like the string of lights. Symmetry is overrated. I feel that even with the magnificent colours, it'd be too plain without the structures in the bottom right corner. I don't think it'd be terribly detrimental to cut out some of the sky, but not too much because I feel like it's good there. It balances out the height of the arches and makes the presence of the bottom right things okay. I think it's great.

comment by mec at 06:27 AM (GMT) on 16 January, 2005

I love the light string, though the structure underneath might be moved..

Before thinking of "amuse," I thought of "a muse."

Just thought you[who will never read this]'d like to know.