View of Sydney Opera House from Gardens

[Shadowman]

Tried to capture a view not normally shown. I realize I can trim a bit off the edges.

[Viana]

Well, John, at the risk of sounding harsh. . . IMHO, this photo does nothing to underscore the grandness and uniqueness of the opera house. The interior details of the arches are lost. There is half a person on the right; at the bottom a bit of pavement. The bridge takes away from the focal point.




If one did not know what it was, one could mistake it for a kiosk, fast food joint or a bizarre WC.


No offense intended.

There are tons of unique angles for you to check out that might work better: http://tinyurl.com/8yyf2do

[Shadowman]

Well, John, at the risk of sounding harsh. . . IMHO, this photo does nothing to underscore the grandness and uniqueness of the opera house. The interior details of the arches are lost. There is half a person on the right; at the bottom a bit of pavement. The bridge takes away from the focal point.




If one did not know what it was, one could mistake it for a kiosk, fast food joint or a bizarre WC.


No offense intended.

There are tons of unique angles for you to check out that might work better: http://tinyurl.com/8yyf2do

Viana,

Thanks for the comments.

[Viana]

Viana,

Thanks for the comments.

Just so you will feel better, no one seems too enthralled by my latest photo either, but I like it: Breaking all the Rules

lol

[Dave Humphries]

Hi John,

There is too much here, much Viana has already mentioned.

The Opera House is big right? (I have seen men walk in the little central ridge on TV)
So is that tree even bigger?
Or is it closer?

oh, and to really kill the shot, I don't think it is level

Sorry,

Again, if any consolation; my latest is flopping in the Themed Challenge too!
Not a single vote so far.

[Shadowman]

Hi John,

There is too much here, much Viana has already mentioned.

The Opera House is big right? (I have seen men walk in the little central ridge on TV)
So is that tree even bigger?
Or is it closer?

oh, and to really kill the shot, I don't think it is level

Sorry,

Again, if any consolation; my latest is flopping in the Themed Challenge too!
Not a single vote so far.

Dave,

I noticed the bits that needed cropping, the woman on the right side, but decided to keep it in the image-trim as needed later. I was more interested in presenting a different view of the Opera House, but as Viana showed in her link other photographers have tried the bridge/Opera House combination. As a consolation to myself, I did get at least a dozen images of the standard view of Opera House.

[GrahamH]

There are tons of unique angles for you to check out that might work better: http://tinyurl.com/8yyf2do

???
Unique?
They've been done already

However, John, the posted image doesn't work for me (same points as others have posted). but certainly kudos for looking for another vantage point. The classic images work well - that's why they are classic. Other compositions have to be looked at a whole lot harder to find one that works. Good idea, I'm sure there's a great shot somewhere around there.
Graham

[Shadowman]

???
Unique?
They've been done already

However, John, the posted image doesn't work for me (same points as others have posted). but certainly kudos for looking for another vantage point. The classic images work well - that's why they are classic. Other compositions have to be looked at a whole lot harder to find one that works. Good idea, I'm sure there's a great shot somewhere around there.
Graham

Thanks for the comments Graham. It will probably be a few years before I get back down there, gives me enough time to work out a new angle of attack.

[Geoff F]

As you say, John, that is a view not normally seen. But every grand building has an area round the back where tradesmen enter and the garbage is collected. Just like the 'traditional' English stately homes.

And I think it is refreshing to see these other views instead of the classic postcard shots which are shown over and over again.

However, concerning this particular shot. The biggest problem for me is that very dark tree which is in deep shadow and overwhelming everything else, particularly as it is placed too centrally.

If the light was in front of the tree, so it was showing good detail instead of being in shadow I suspect this would be a totally different scene. But changing that may require rotating the earth backwards.

If you are able to lighten the shadows a little without losing too much sky colour I think it would help.

With regard to composition. As I said, that tree is overwhelming everything else; but cropping at a 2 x 1 ratio, approx, and removing the sky etc beyond the apex of the building creates a totally different scene.

Alternatively, crop so the tree isn't central. Which means deciding to keep either the building or the bridge and losing the other. But you may be able to create two images from the original with a 5 x 4 ratio crop. One concentrating on the building and one where the bridge becomes the main component.

And with regard to Dave's comment about being level. It seems to me that this is mostly an optical effect but I struggle to find a definite horizon or vertical line with which to check. The bridge vertical hangers look rather confusing, so there may be a little lens distortion combined with perspective confusion.

Try a tiny bit of counter clockwise rotation to make the bridge appear more level and see if that makes any difference.

[Viana]

??? Unique? They've been done already

Well, looking at it that way virtually “everything” has been done already. Why bother even taking a photo or doing anything at all?

Seriously, there are hundreds of images in that link. Many angles are very unique. I would love to see some more pixs of the inside of that grand place.

[GrahamH]

Well, looking at it that way virtually “everything” has been done already. Why bother even taking a photo or doing anything at all?

Seriously, there are hundreds of images in that link. Many angles are very unique. I would love to see some more pixs of the inside of that grand place.

Just playing with words Viana.
Graham
(has probably never done anything unique in his life, but has done lots of less common stuff)

[Shadowman]

As you say, John, that is a view not normally seen. But every grand building has an area round the back where tradesmen enter and the garbage is collected. Just like the 'traditional' English stately homes.

And I think it is refreshing to see these other views instead of the classic postcard shots which are shown over and over again.

However, concerning this particular shot. The biggest problem for me is that very dark tree which is in deep shadow and overwhelming everything else, particularly as it is placed too centrally.

If the light was in front of the tree, so it was showing good detail instead of being in shadow I suspect this would be a totally different scene. But changing that may require rotating the earth backwards.

If you are able to lighten the shadows a little without losing too much sky colour I think it would help.

With regard to composition. As I said, that tree is overwhelming everything else; but cropping at a 2 x 1 ratio, approx, and removing the sky etc beyond the apex of the building creates a totally different scene.

Alternatively, crop so the tree isn't central. Which means deciding to keep either the building or the bridge and losing the other. But you may be able to create two images from the original with a 5 x 4 ratio crop. One concentrating on the building and one where the bridge becomes the main component.

And with regard to Dave's comment about being level. It seems to me that this is mostly an optical effect but I struggle to find a definite horizon or vertical line with which to check. The bridge vertical hangers look rather confusing, so there may be a little lens distortion combined with perspective confusion.

Try a tiny bit of counter clockwise rotation to make the bridge appear more level and see if that makes any difference.

Thanks for the comments Geoff. I like the idea of creating two images from one or changing the lighting of the tree. Regarding the image being level, yes it is difficult to tell as I was coming up a hill below the tree and the Opera House is directly below the hill and the bridge actually extends upward across the harbor with the apex being the arch you see in the image.