Uptown Bound!

[FrankMi]

We're at the Southern Terminus of the Lynx Blue Line, the Charlotte region's first light rail service. It is 9.6 miles long and operates from I-485 at South Boulevard to Uptown Charlotte.



C&C, particularly on composition, warmly received!

[MilT0s]

I think I like it Frank but cannot conclude at the moment.

I see two images there. The one on the left, the rails pointing the infinity, and the train/station on the right. The guiding lines on the left are really strong and impressive so they tend to keep my eyes on them while the train is also attracting my attention. What i cannot decide yet is if this battle between the two parts works well in a complementary way or they battle each other in a contradictory way.

But still this indecisiveness of me is enough to keep my thoughts about the image for a sufficient long time and this makes it a success!

[Dizzy]

I think you've captured a great scene Frank, but it is indeed a very busy
image, with many elements competing for attention.

How's this crop?

szy543.jpg

Removed many distractions from the right side, and cropped out the bird
as it seemed to be dragging my eye away from the main image.

[jeeperman]

I agree with Mike here, the crop does wonders for it. Nice.

[Kdfrank]

Frank, I notice the green light while you are on the track, very brave! Great sharpness..something I struggle with.

[FrankMi]

I think I like it Frank but cannot conclude at the moment.

I see two images there. The one on the left, the rails pointing the infinity, and the train/station on the right. The guiding lines on the left are really strong and impressive so they tend to keep my eyes on them while the train is also attracting my attention. What i cannot decide yet is if this battle between the two parts works well in a complementary way or they battle each other in a contradictory way.

But still this indecisiveness of me is enough to keep my thoughts about the image for a sufficient long time and this makes it a success!

Thanks Miltos! When I visualized this composition I found that either element by itself was rather mundane so by combining them I was hoping to show where we were going and how we would get there. The goal was to capture the two elements in such a way as to have them complement each other. Thank you for your thoughts as they help me to consider alternatives as well.

[FrankMi]

I think you've captured a great scene Frank, but it is indeed a very busy
image, with many elements competing for attention.

How's this crop?

szy543.jpg

Removed many distractions from the right side, and cropped out the bird
as it seemed to be dragging my eye away from the main image.

Thank you for the feedback Mike! I could certainly play with several cropping options with this one but the more I think about it the more I realize that perhaps I should have used a shooting angle that was more to the left to better tie in the track and train subjects and that would have minimized the side elements. I kinda liked the red and green track lights as counterpoints of interest but sometimes less is better.

I had left the aircraft in the image mainly because it was a cloudless sky and that gave folks something interesting to squint at (is it a bird? is it a plane? is it Superman?) and comment on! LOL!

I appreciate the feedback!

[FrankMi]

I agree with Mike here, the crop does wonders for it. Nice.

Thanks Paul. The more folks that have the same opinion of an image, the more likely it is that that's the way I should go for better image acceptance. Although I reserve the right to remain both stupid and stubborn, it really helps to consider reason as well!

[FrankMi]

Frank, I notice the green light while you are on the track, very brave! Great sharpness..something I struggle with.

Hi Kerry! I was actually standing on a walkway with the track end bumper directly behind me so even when the next train arrives it 'should' (tounge in cheek) stop before it reached the point where I'm at!

The closest spot you can see in this cropped image is well within the DoF for the focus point so sharpness is not a problem in this case.

[Dave Humphries]

Although I reserve the right to remain both stupid and stubborn

I'm with your Frank, keep it as it is.

I like it, I looked at it for ages, taking it all in - nice contemporary 'station' (as I'd call it)

I was actually standing on a walkway with the track end bumper directly behind me

So this is the terminus, with (effectively) no track behind you?

[Donald]

Superb clarity, yet again, in one of your images, Frank.

I see this as very much a story-telling image and for that reason, I'll take it as it is. We see the subject clearly and it's appropriately set within its surroundings. For me, it works.

The one thing I'd think about doing is taking out that (is it a bird or a plane ...... or superman?) thing up near the top left corner.

[Bunty Plumchip]

I overheard someone today having the temerity to say 'More is More'. At the risk of someone who knows very little abouut such things giving opinion, I like this as it is. The red and green lights balance the scene, take the glance back and forth to take in the elements of the story. I think all those lines need to be there- the horizontals of the tree line and the sheds and shacks, the verticalsand the parallaxes. They say 'Terminus' in more senses than one- they say 'anything is possible' 'the world is your lobster and it starts and ends here. I know most people like a tight crop, but me, I like long books with lots of twists and turns to the plot, and I think this image is clean enough not to be overly busy and distracting, buut with enough to maintain much more than passing interest. But what do I know.

[Bunty Plumchip]

On further consideration , I think it most pleasing to the eye because of the ratios and balances, like classic architecture, and the POV enhances this, almost making the viewer fell tied to the tracks, which adds to ther involvement in the scene.

[MrB]

This is a great photo, Frank. I broadly agree with those who prefer your composition, as I think the scene suits a landscape format rather than square, and I agree regarding the importance of the red and green lights.

Your posted image of 1600x1000 could be cropped back to 3:2 = 1500x1000, by removing 100 pixels from the left, which don't seem necessary to me. The left steel rail would then lead into the image from the bottom left corner. But would this crop lose any detail vital to your composition for you? Just another idea.

Philip

[FrankMi]

Thank you all for the feedback! I'll try a slightly tighter crop for a slightly different look and to eliminate the 'whatever it is' in the sky. I kept both the red and green lights but now the image feels like there may be too much space on the right.

So, which is better? Wider view or the tighter 3:2 crop? Or, perhaps something in between?

[MrB]

I kept both the red and green lights but now the image feels like there may be too much space on the right.
[/IMG]

I think that is true, Frank, and it is because you have cropped the image in a way that has lowered the horizon, giving a bigger sky on the right. As the brain knows that the real sky is rather big, this greatly adds to the illusion of more space on the right of the image! As I suggested before, just remove a strip from only down the left hand side of your original to achieve a 3:2 crop, leave everything else just as it is. Then, obviously, the horizon doesn't change, and the proportions of sky and land on the right remain the same as in your original.

Philip

[Donald]

So, which is better? Wider view or the tighter 3:2 crop? Or, perhaps something in between?

Definitely your original. Go into the lightbox and flick between the two - the second was it too 'tight' and confined, in my opinion.

[FrankMi]

I shouldn't try to do these things when I am too tired to see straight. OK. One more try at 1500X1000 pixels and without Superman in the image.



I'm still not sure that the balance feels right but sometimes a fresh set of eyes that hasn't been staring at this for too long are needed to gain a fresh perspective.

[Donald]

Sorry, but the original is still the strongest image, as far as I'm concerned.

[MrB]

I'm still not sure that the balance feels right but sometimes a fresh set of eyes that hasn't been staring at this for too long are needed to gain a fresh perspective.

Philip