Mike's Photoblog
Ironbridge
Posted by Mike (Lichfield, United Kingdom) on 8 April 2009 in Architecture and Portfolio.
P J W Miller from Chase Terrace, United Kingdom
The buildings are nice Mike but not being funny just subjective there is something missing and it is a bit bland (flat if you like). Possibly too much water or not enough. I think the rule of thirds would be appropriate here, to me its more like fifths. That is my honest opinion, prefer your ones of the cooling towers which seem to have more life
8 Apr 2009 10:46am
@P J W Miller: It's broken up into six not five. The flatness you talk about comes from the dark foreground which loses depth within the picture. However the trade off is a high contrast which highlights the buildings and that is exactly what I wanted to achieve. The reflections were a key important factor in this photo for me too. Sometimes rules are meant to be broken. How does the saying go. . . Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidence of wise men.
Ian Bramham from Manchester, United Kingdom
Beautifully processed Mike!
I love the way the darkness of the water in the foreground contrasts so well with the white houses!
8 Apr 2009 1:34pm
Anthony Lambert from Bielefeld, Germany
The half-half treatment of the houses and reflections is spot on !!
8 Apr 2009 4:08pm
Godo from Barcelona, Spain
Great framing and compo, based on horizontal lines
Nice reflection, Mike
Excellent 17mm use
;o)
8 Apr 2009 4:32pm
Richard_Irwin from Belper, United Kingdom
Good work on capturing the sweep of the river, land and town, the B&W works very well indeed.
8 Apr 2009 4:42pm
Nataly from Santa Monica, United States
Beautiful shot, Mike! So rich with detail. But I can`t help wondering what it would look like in color? Must be very vivid with all the green around.
8 Apr 2009 4:54pm
Andy from United States
wonderful cityscape! Love the reflections in the calm water.
8 Apr 2009 7:12pm
observing from North West, United Kingdom
A delightful shot Mike, with the water and reflections in balance, the grayscale is perfect with lots of tones.
8 Apr 2009 8:00pm
Ted from South Wales, United Kingdom
Wonderful tone and details. The rich depth of the water and reflection negates the importance of the thirds...but I understand Peter's point and how it might have looked? That said this is a winner!
8 Apr 2009 8:36pm
P J W Miller from Chase Terrace, United Kingdom
Obviously there is no further need for me to comment as you appear to get easily offended. You may have several other positive comments but only positively constructive, many people are usually afraid to make any sort of criticism in case it comes back on them on their own posts. Everybody wants to be loved. I don't think there was any need to add the last bit to your comment. The people who look but don't comment are the ones who want to be negative but are too afraid. I will save my time for looking elsewhere.
9 Apr 2009 7:19am
P J W Miller from Chase Terrace, United Kingdom
By the way, apologies for mis-counting what it was broken up into, No doubt these posts will be removed like you have removed my other negatively constructive posts to bolster your kudos
9 Apr 2009 7:22am
Mike from Lichfield, United Kingdom
The only one offended seems to be you. Your original comment didn't bother me in the slightest and I was just returning a perfectly logical point of view looking at it from a different side. Why should I remove your comments? As I said to you before, so long as you're not insulting other people on my blog I'm not bothered. That last bit of my comment wasn't aimed at you, it was about breaking away from the norm which I would have thought would have been obvious to a man of your intelligence.
9 Apr 2009 7:39am
John Leech from Grange-over-Sands, United Kingdom
An odd exchange - I thought you two knew each other! Not to worry. I like the shot - I think the lighting works well and the inky black water looks good to me. The line of buildings have an odd bowed appearance, goldfish bowl like. Are they in a slight curve/rounded hill? Nothing critical, just curious.
9 Apr 2009 7:24pm
@John Leech: You're exactly right John, the road curves round and as I took the photo from a lower angle it's given it a goldfish bowl characteristic.
Ian Bramham from Manchester, United Kingdom
I just had a look at P Miller's comments which I can't agree with although it's always very useful to get critical opinion.
The debate over thirds, fifths or sixths seems totally irrelevant - what really matters is if the composition feels balanced and I think it does.
I do like your composition on this one which is presumably geared toward keeping those great reflections intact. As John mentioned, the inky black water is a really important element in this shot
15 Apr 2009 7:41am
Canon EOS 40D
1/60 second
F/8.0
ISO 100
17 mm