I went into Bolton today with John, to shoot some portraits for a commission I'm doing, and while we were there we popped into CASA, a furniture and art shop where we're hoping to exhibit some of our shots in the not too distant future. Anyway, to cut a long story short, this is a shot of the stairs that leads up to the gallery.
As for the potraits I took – they're ok, but none of them are a patch on the shot that John took of one of the guys I was photographing.
... walks off, mumbling about missed opportunities, pondering the distance I still have to travel as a portrait photographer, mutter, mumble ...
captured camera lens focal length aperture shutter speed shooting mode exposure bias metering mode ISO flash image quality RAW converter cropped?
11.41pm on 9/9/05
Canon 20D
EF 17-40 f/4L USM
17mm (27mm equiv.)
f/5.6
1/30
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
400
no
RAW
C1 Pro
yes
comment by Sharla at 12:06 AM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
It shows that I'm first, first ... only no shot is coming up. Continuing saga of the server woes?
comment bydjn1 at 12:08 AM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
Sharla: no, my fault – it's fixed now.
comment byAndy Cogbill at 12:47 AM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
Dave,
Quite a departure from your usual style, which I can appreciate. The only things with this one are 1) The lighting makes it look a little snapshot-y; 2) The distortion (that 17mm isn't perfect, even on an L ;)) could use some reworking.
If you want, I might suggest making it even less saturated except for the picture on the wall, which should be super-saturated. That'll give this one the contrast that it needs.
comment bydjn1 at 01:44 AM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
Andy: ok, I've put another version up as I agree, the first one was a bit flat.
comment bythefotokid at 02:06 AM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
I'm trying to work out how this shot was focused in terms of the portrait on the wall, it feels a bit weird.
Other than that it's quite a nice still shot that I like.
comment byAndy Cogbill at 02:38 AM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
Dave, lovin' the new colors. Much better -- the light coming in from the window has more pop, too. Well done.
comment byZishaan at 02:52 AM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
Dave, this is beautiful.
comment by Geoff Powell at 03:21 AM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
Andy Cogbill wrote: The lighting makes it look a little snapshot-y;
I don't understand what you mean by this Andy. I think the light is wonderful, especially coming as it is from both high on the right and low on the left. What is snapshot-y light?
I think this is a tremendous shot Dave. Very different to your typical fare, but a change is great. I really like it.
comment bylisa at 03:29 AM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
interesting photo. It seems unlike your usual.
comment byAndy Cogbill at 06:04 AM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
@Geoff: The lighting, after Dave's corrections, is no longer "snapshot-y". To explain, the original version of this photo was rather flat -- lacking in dynamic range, probably -- but the new version corrects this quite satisfactorily.
comment byLeo at 10:27 AM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
Interesting shot, obviously different than "your usual" stuff. i might've actually cropped closer on the right of the photo, so that there's no dark line between the edge of tehe photo and the start of the light.
comment byJudith Polakoff at 03:11 PM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
Love this one, really beautiful.
comment byDaniel at 03:35 PM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
Wow David. This is kindof a departure for you in both formatting and subject. I really like it. It takes a typically moody type subject and puts a crisp fresh face on it. Great shot. The framed photo on the wall makes it!
comment byJohan at 05:56 PM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
i like!
comment bytif at 07:50 PM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
I think you did a great job of "balancing" an image that seems unbalancable. I especially like the light coming from the upper right. The squareness of the crop feels a bit awkward to me, but maybe it had to be that way to be balanced.
comment byf.d. rahman at 07:59 PM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
this is different than the usual.. I like it.
comment bydcr at 08:14 PM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
The painting on the wall really stands out here. Nice venue for an art gallery. This place is pretty old I bet. Those stairs are steep!
comment by Enike at 09:28 PM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
I like it when you take a bit of a departure from your usual style. Not that I don't like your usual style but it's nice to see you branch out and take your talent in different directions.
I agree with Leo that it might look a touch better cropped a little more on the right but I understand your feelings on cropping.
comment bydjn1 at 10:14 PM (GMT) on 10 September, 2005
Thanks everyone.
comment bykijal at 04:35 AM (GMT) on 11 September, 2005
This picture really works for me. I like the simplicity feeling to it -- the white color background + the stairs. Then you have the greenish foreground (mossy floorboard) and the prominent black picture frame which throw-off the monotonous white background!
comment bymiles at 10:56 PM (GMT) on 11 September, 2005
I went into Bolton today with John, to shoot some portraits for a commission I'm doing, and while we were there we popped into CASA, a furniture and art shop where we're hoping to exhibit some of our shots in the not too distant future. Anyway, to cut a long story short, this is a shot of the stairs that leads up to the gallery.
As for the potraits I took – they're ok, but none of them are a patch on the shot that John took of one of the guys I was photographing.
... walks off, mumbling about missed opportunities, pondering the distance I still have to travel as a portrait photographer, mutter, mumble ...
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?
Canon 20D
EF 17-40 f/4L USM
17mm (27mm equiv.)
f/5.6
1/30
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
400
no
RAW
C1 Pro
yes
It shows that I'm first, first ... only no shot is coming up. Continuing saga of the server woes?
Sharla: no, my fault – it's fixed now.
Dave,
Quite a departure from your usual style, which I can appreciate. The only things with this one are 1) The lighting makes it look a little snapshot-y; 2) The distortion (that 17mm isn't perfect, even on an L ;)) could use some reworking.
If you want, I might suggest making it even less saturated except for the picture on the wall, which should be super-saturated. That'll give this one the contrast that it needs.
Andy: ok, I've put another version up as I agree, the first one was a bit flat.
I'm trying to work out how this shot was focused in terms of the portrait on the wall, it feels a bit weird.
Other than that it's quite a nice still shot that I like.
Dave, lovin' the new colors. Much better -- the light coming in from the window has more pop, too. Well done.
Dave, this is beautiful.
Andy Cogbill wrote: The lighting makes it look a little snapshot-y;
I don't understand what you mean by this Andy. I think the light is wonderful, especially coming as it is from both high on the right and low on the left. What is snapshot-y light?
I think this is a tremendous shot Dave. Very different to your typical fare, but a change is great. I really like it.
interesting photo. It seems unlike your usual.
@Geoff: The lighting, after Dave's corrections, is no longer "snapshot-y". To explain, the original version of this photo was rather flat -- lacking in dynamic range, probably -- but the new version corrects this quite satisfactorily.
Interesting shot, obviously different than "your usual" stuff. i might've actually cropped closer on the right of the photo, so that there's no dark line between the edge of tehe photo and the start of the light.
Love this one, really beautiful.
Wow David. This is kindof a departure for you in both formatting and subject. I really like it. It takes a typically moody type subject and puts a crisp fresh face on it. Great shot. The framed photo on the wall makes it!
i like!
I think you did a great job of "balancing" an image that seems unbalancable. I especially like the light coming from the upper right. The squareness of the crop feels a bit awkward to me, but maybe it had to be that way to be balanced.
this is different than the usual.. I like it.
The painting on the wall really stands out here. Nice venue for an art gallery. This place is pretty old I bet. Those stairs are steep!
I like it when you take a bit of a departure from your usual style. Not that I don't like your usual style but it's nice to see you branch out and take your talent in different directions.
I agree with Leo that it might look a touch better cropped a little more on the right but I understand your feelings on cropping.
Thanks everyone.
This picture really works for me. I like the simplicity feeling to it -- the white color background + the stairs. Then you have the greenish foreground (mossy floorboard) and the prominent black picture frame which throw-off the monotonous white background!
Beautiful composition Dave.