Where the night leads

[roamingbuff]

Took this shot in Toronto last fall. Another look at it recently suggests to me to give it a B/W rendition. Now I want to turn to the experts for C/C. Thanks!



By the way, I created an album in here but can't find a way to upload the picture from there. Any pointers? Thanks!

[ScoutR]

Hi Roamingbuff:

The third post in the link below has specific instructions for creating and uploading pics from your album.
ImageShack
Don't let the thread title throw you off. These instructions are not Image Shack specific.

Hope this helps.

Another thing to check is whether or not you have your album marked as "private" or "public" To check this click on My Settings then Pictures and Albums then click on your album and select Edit Album, from there you might have to scroll down a bit and you will see the choice of Public or Private. If you have Private selected, your photos will not show up when you try to show them on the page

Wendy

[Geoff F]

Firstly, I usually struggle to sort out how to insert images etc but I did get manage to work it out, eventually.

What I do is: Click on your album title to open it and view your image thumbnails; click on the required thumbnail to enlarge it (you can't link straight from the thumbnail image); click to select the Picture URL or BB Code (I think either will work but don't know which is preferred); right click and copy.

When composing your post, select the insert picture icon (brown framed icon) and paste the complete image code.

Not sure if this is the 'authorised' mode of inserting photos but it works for me.

But back to your photo.

To me, you have too many competing areas of light and dark which gives a confused overall image; and some of the deep shadows lack any form of detail.

I would suggest a slight crop of the left edge and top to concentrate on the walking couple and remove part of those confusing buildings and that deep shadow area on the left.

With so much variation between harsh lights and dark shadows this sort of photo is always going to be difficult; but I think you have achieved a good average exposure over the main areas of importance.

[Wirefox]

To me, you have too many competing areas of light and dark which gives a confused overall image; and some of the deep shadows lack any form of detail.

Personally I have to disagree with this analysis (although it is absolutely true in a truist sense). This image would lose all its charm if it were surgically exposed and tidily balanced. I can walk into this image and feel comfortable when I do. For me a successful image is more about what the viewer perceives than what he or she 'sees'. Although it is a different city it took me immediately back to strolling around Manhattan at night with my wife. I could perceive the noise, feel the chill and smell the smell. Nice work

Steve

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Roaming buff,

Here is the version of the image in your gallery:


Wendy's advice is spot on; I was going to link to that post but she has beat me to it.

On the image, I tend to agree with Geoff and would have spent sometime in PP cloning out, dodging/burning, etc. to ensure that all the parts contributed to the scene.

Never-the-less, I do like it and would also have taken it had I been there myself.

Cheers,

[bleys]

One thing I enjoy about this shot is how the structures on the right lead your eyes into the frame to the couple.

[PopsPhotos]

I would not eliminate all the dark from the left. It lends to the feeling the people in the photo have, of being in the lighted area, away from the frightening dark parts.

Pops

[Radu Dinu Cordeanu]

Personally I have to disagree with this analysis (although it is absolutely true in a truist sense). This image would lose all its charm if it were surgically exposed and tidily balanced. I can walk into this image and feel comfortable when I do. For me a successful image is more about what the viewer perceives than what he or she 'sees'. Although it is a different city it took me immediately back to strolling around Manhattan at night with my wife. I could perceive the noise, feel the chill and smell the smell. Nice work

Steve

Hi,
I'm not a CiC prof. but Steve opinion is mine too.Did someone,who walks on a street in the night,see all things clear and sharp?I couldn't believe that.
Success
Radu Dinu

[peterb533]

I'm with Steve and Radu on this. great atmospheric shot despite the 'technical' flaws. i wouldn't change anything.

Peter

[Donald]

I agree with everybody - which must make me a Liberal Democrat (sorry, bad joke about the '3rd' political party in the UK).

As Geoff says (and Steve [Wirefox] agrees, although not with the conclusion drawn) there are competing areas of light and dark. But in this sort of cityscape I think it lends the atmosphere that, again, Steve refers to and, which to me, says 'city'. Which is why I prefer the calm and serenity of the countryside as opposed to the 'brashness' of city life.

The only distraction, for me, is the intensity of the two street lights (one immediately above the man's head and the other at the 11 o'clock position to his head). Don't know if you'd thought about dampening them down a bit.

I love the way you have the light on the outward face of, what seems to be, supports for works of art (outdoor art? love the idea).

And finally, is it my old eyes, or could it take an ever-so-slight counter-clockwise rotation?

A nice one.

[Ashwin]

Took this shot in Toronto last fall. Another look at it recently suggests to me to give it a B/W rendition. Now I want to turn to the experts for C/C. Thanks!

My suggestion of croping the image and PP....

[roamingbuff]

Let me quickly respond to all the great comments and critiques. They are so helpful and valuable that I feel that I am learning a lot. I truly appreciate them. Thank you very much!

It's great to know that, for some, the pictures lends something that I did not even perceive at the time. Honestly, what triggered my interest was the patterns (on the right) and that was what made me to render it in B/W later.

Also, thanks for the pointers to upload images.