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POTM [03/08] Colorful stains over nightly dirt

Discussion in 'Photography, Art & Design' started by zabe, 19 Mar 2008.

  1. zabe

    zabe Perfect in my imperfection

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    Ok, here you have what I'm planning for this month...

    [​IMG]

    Taken at ISO 100, F/2,8, 1/2 seconds. My days with my crappy Sony DSC-S600 are nearly over... I will soon have a Sigma DP1 and be able to actually take good shots without going crazy with the paranoia of aaaaaall my shots being blurry at the slightest movement... 3 years of pain... nuff already... DP1, here I come...

    Anyway, comments are welcome as always, I still more or less know what I'm doing but sometimes I can't "calculate" what I'm going to shoot and can only decide between what looks "good" and what doesn't.

    Thanks and good luck to all
     
  2. OleJ

    OleJ Me!

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    Good colors, focus and use of the lines. I really like it but I quickly come to desire an object of interest in it.
    Great mood as well.
     
  3. Whelan_999

    Whelan_999 What's a Dremel?

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    Colors of the light give a pop to the picture and contracts against the dark gloomy sidewalks, nice stuff.
    -aaron
     
  4. Smilodon

    Smilodon The Antagonist

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    Nice picture. :) The mix of colors i really nice. The red/purple light really stands out.

    As OleJ said, I wish there was a more defined object in the picture. The "dirt" sort of disappears a bit.
     
  5. Vers

    Vers ...

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    I guess I'm playing the role as devils advocate...
    Please do not take offense, but I, personally, am not crazy over it. As far as composition it seems as though you were walking and the shutter went off...nothing seems purposely composed. The use of flash, or ambient storefront lighting (w/e is in the bottom right-hand corner), definitely takes away from the image a bit, lighting the sidewalk distracts from the reflective colors. Also be careful when considering settings...f/2.8 is a bit too shallow for a shot that needs ample DOF and 30sec (assuming no stabilization including IS/OS) is a bit long for hand-held shooting; if you shot on a tripod I recant. I hope that wasn't too harsh rather can be taken as C&C.

    -Matt
     
  6. zabe

    zabe Perfect in my imperfection

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    Non taken!! It's great to see both people who like it and who don't!! If we all liked the pictures it would all be positive comments, nobody would improve their skills and we would all be winners in this contest!! I appreciate your comments a lot (specially the DOF one cos I still don't know how to manage some settings for my purposes, but please keep reading), and I have some answers.

    As you said, I'm using no flash, it's the light from a shop in the street. I took the shot here to enhance the contrast between lighter/cleaner, leaving the mid-diagonal darker/dirtier. That's the yuxtaposition I was trying to evoke. As for the f/2.8, if you read all I wrote, you'll sure know that my Sony DSC-S600 is an ancient crappy camera and gives me absolultely no control over what I want to shoot (the "Program" mode is a real joke, with only ISO, EV and WB adjustable). I'd have loved to take this picture with a 30sec long obturator, but my cam doesn't allow that much customization!! And OIS? My cam doesn't even dream about that (don't even think that existed when I bought this one, nearly 4 years ago).

    I will be buying a Sigma DP1 sometime during the next month (I've been saving for a loooooooooooong time), so I'll finally get a camera with great IQ that also lets me take the shots how I want them, not how the camera decides to take them. Then I might be able to do more decent shots!! Until then, this is all I can do with my crappy s600, look for workarounds to trick the camera into doing more-or-less what I want it to do.

    Anyways, thanks a lot for the comments (very constructive, don't worry!!), it gave me cool ideas. Now if I could just get that DP1 and start taking serious shots...

    -Zabe-
     
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