The Royal cafe

[Dovrob]

Candid shot from cafe at the site of the old Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. Converted to black and white which I feel suits it. As ever comments welcome.

[Downrigger]

I can see why you like B&W for this. I think the fellow at the table is the subject? I'm interested in, but can't tell what, he's doing. I might experiment with tightening in on him and adding a little exposure to his head and upper body.

[ShaneS]

David, I too find the image a bit dark (underexposed?) for my tastes as well and as you will see by my comments to Mark below I'm not sure if there is enough definition of the main subject. Black and white does fit the image but can you tell us more about what drew you to photograph the scene?

Mark, I think that I figured out what the guy is doing and why we were/are puzzled. He is writing but the back of another chair in the background between him and the table makes it appear as if he is interacting with something (I was trying to figure out if he was kissing someone but then I couldn't find the rest of the body when I first looked ).

[FootLoose]

Yes, I was puzzled as to what he is doing at first and also thought he was engaged in some amorous activity.

There is a lot of background clutter in the scene so I can see how it would be difficult to frame his head in a clear space, but it definitely needs some separation.

It seems to me that there is a lot of space on the right hand space that could be cropped to focus the reader's attention more on the subject.

[Shadowman]

What type of camera did you shoot this with? I like the composition, could use a bit more contrast.

[IzzieK]

I am with Greg, Shane and Mark. I thought he was kissing someone too, on closer look, he wasn't...

[Dovrob]

Thanks for the comments. I posted this shot last night and in the light of morning I started to look at it differently.

First to clear up a few questions. The guy was sitting at the table writing and having a cuppa. He is not kissing anybody, but the "figure" is a chair from the table next to him, well spotted Shane. Must admit my selective vision didn't notice that; the advantage of having others look at the image.

Must admit I like the background, may be messy for some but I think it adds to the shot. Although the guy sitting at the table is the main character, taking time to look you see the life of the city pass him by.

No attempt to justify my shortcomings, I'm here to learn, just a little idea into my thoughts.

Here is another slightly cropped and brightened version of the shot, still maybe the guy a little too central, but I'll live with that for the moment.

Thanks for taking the time and trouble to look and comment.







On my screen the image looks slightly brighter, than here, though I was aiming for a very slight low key and moody feel to the image,m which I do think the black and white was more suitable to than colour.

When I looked at it this morning my first thought was the amount of empty space in the bottom right hand corner. It added nothing to the image I felt and a tighter crop would have helped.

[Dovrob]

What type of camera did you shoot this with? I like the composition, could use a bit more contrast.

John I'm using a Nikon D80 with a 28mm totally manual lens.

[Shadowman]

John I'm using a Nikon D80 with a 28mm totally manual lens.

Thanks David.