Venice - Photoworkshop

[TheBigE]

Hi All,

It has been a bit of a busy summer - just returned from a few days in Venice on Photoworkshop. This was not my first trip to Venice, as I have been several times before on family holiday. This was the first for a visit focused on photograpy. A great city to roam and explore.

I still need to reflect a bit more on the experience and then will post my thoughts on the workshop. It featured a few great opportunities for Long Exposure and some challenges during the heavy rain one day. FYI - The Tamron 28-70 is not weather sealed...


Here are a few of the results (and yes, now realize that sensors needs cleaning..think I got most of the spots in post...)

1. From Accadamia Bridge looking down Grand Canal ISO 100, 25sec, f/11


2. A Fleet of Gondolas - ISO 800, 1/160s, f/8


3. A different take on the normal Venice Gondola shot - It was pouring down rain and windy this morning, and this is where I learned the Tamron 24-70 was not weather sealed. ISO 100, 1sec, f/22


4. The Color Explosion of the Island of Burano ISO 1000, 1/250s, f/11


5. My True Favorite (Not sure why - guess the abstract colors really make it work for me)


Any and all C&C is welcome - the full Gallery can be seen here (FYI some Nudes in Gallery).

Thanks,
Erik

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[Manfred M]

Erik - you have presented an interesting series, but all of the images seem to be somewhat disjointed and don't seem to have a clear vision or focus. There are too many distractions and no centre of interest to catch the viewer's eye in any of them.

I'm really not quite sure what you are trying to do here.

[NorthernFocus]

Venice is definitely a target rich environment. I really like the first two.

[FootLoose]

This is certainly a colourful set, Erik.

I think you could remove the person from the 2nd shot. He appears to have two oars poking out of his eyes - or through his head, depending on your perspective.

I like the 3rd shot, I'm partial to blur in photographs and this is a nice concept. I think the background is a bit too sharp for this dismal weather, though. I would try adding a gradient to bring the background brightness down a bit and focus attention more on the gondolas.

Great colours in the 4th but I think it would work better without the white thing on the right.

Good colours again in the last shot, but this scene has too many subjects. Either it is about the colours or it is about the shadows, having both doesn't work. It might work a bit better if you crop off all the pink. That will make the shadow of the light bulb the main subject.

[TheBigE]

Nice series.

Thanks

[TheBigE]

Erik - you have presented an interesting series, but all of the images seem to be somewhat disjointed and don't seem to have a clear vision or focus. There are too many distractions and no centre of interest to catch the viewer's eye in any of them.

I'm really not quite sure what you are trying to do here.

Manfred,

Thanks for the feedback. So do you find it more challenging for the series as a whole or each individually. Your comments to me struck a chord in that, there is no consistency amongst the 5 images posted. As a whole they do lack a focus,.

For each of the above - as I took the photograph I can remember my focus or “what I saw” 1 and 2 were about the motion against an iconic background. 4 and 5 were about the color. 5 really drew me in when I saw it at first in Burano - it felt like a strong abstract for me, it still is my favorite. 3 - well my goal was to have a chaotic collection of gondolas in which I wanted it without people and only gondolas. I did fail in that area as there remains a single person in the frame - I thought about photoshopping it out but too much work and I kinda thought it added to the image.

So really, yes the series is now disjointed Abstract, Chaos, Motion, Color.

One of the thoughts I did come away with from this workshop is more about creating a body of work to represent a stronger theme or focus. I have been reading and listening a great deal to David DuChemin lately and I like his thoughts on creating a body of work beyond a simple snapshot. I do feel that these, at least to me, represent more than a snapshot but an image I crafted in my mind. What is lacking is a consistency amongst them - I may go back through my collection from this trip and try to organize a bit more into a few key themes.

Thanks for the thought provoking feedback.

[TheBigE]

Venice is definitely a target rich environment. I really like the first two.

Thanks Dan - yes there is a target rich environment in Venice even when pooring down rain like in #2.

[TheBigE]

This is certainly a colourful set, Erik.

I think you could remove the person from the 2nd shot. He appears to have two oars poking out of his eyes - or through his head, depending on your perspective.

I like the 3rd shot, I'm partial to blur in photographs and this is a nice concept. I think the background is a bit too sharp for this dismal weather, though. I would try adding a gradient to bring the background brightness down a bit and focus attention more on the gondolas.

Great colours in the 4th but I think it would work better without the white thing on the right.

Good colours again in the last shot, but this scene has too many subjects. Either it is about the colours or it is about the shadows, having both doesn't work. It might work a bit better if you crop off all the pink. That will make the shadow of the light bulb the main subject.

Thanks Greg for feedback. I agree the person in 2 does not work - it was not my intention when creating the image. In fact I moved around and waited a bit to grab a shot that I thought was without people....it was not until post that i saw the lone guy sitting in gondola. I have convinced myself that it works - but that maybe mroe because I was so committed to image in the beginning.

Great feedback on 3 - So I actually raised up the brightness on the background to bring it out more im the image. I was not sure if the softness of the background was going to play well with the blur of the foreground.

The last shot is my favorite - the collection of colors and shadows is what I saw and drew me to the image and created this abstract. The colors are strong as I tried to make it that way as for me that is the subject. I will try you crop and see how that changes the images - Good Idea.

[Manfred M]

Manfred,

Thanks for the feedback. So do you find it more challenging for the series as a whole or each individually. Your comments to me struck a chord in that, there is no consistency amongst the 5 images posted. As a whole they do lack a focus,.

For each of the above - as I took the photograph I can remember my focus or “what I saw” 1 and 2 were about the motion against an iconic background. 4 and 5 were about the color. 5 really drew me in when I saw it at first in Burano - it felt like a strong abstract for me, it still is my favorite. 3 - well my goal was to have a chaotic collection of gondolas in which I wanted it without people and only gondolas. I did fail in that area as there remains a single person in the frame - I thought about photoshopping it out but too much work and I kinda thought it added to the image.

So really, yes the series is now disjointed Abstract, Chaos, Motion, Color.

One of the thoughts I did come away with from this workshop is more about creating a body of work to represent a stronger theme or focus. I have been reading and listening a great deal to David DuChemin lately and I like his thoughts on creating a body of work beyond a simple snapshot. I do feel that these, at least to me, represent more than a snapshot but an image I crafted in my mind. What is lacking is a consistency amongst them - I may go back through my collection from this trip and try to organize a bit more into a few key themes.

Thanks for the thought provoking feedback.

A few more thoughts for you, Erik. As you are a fan of DuChemin, you might want to look at how he covers Venice. He has a large portfolio there on the city on his website. I like a lot of his work there, but some of the images are certainly not to my taste. However, there is no question at all when looking at his work as to a focus or point of interest in every one of his images. That is what I feel is missing in most of your images.

That being said, I find quite a few shots in your gallery much stronger than the ones you posted here.

Image 1 - This is probably the strongest shot in the series. In this one, the focus is clear, but in my view, but the long exposure with uneven light streaks from the boats moving on the canals adds a distraction, rather than something that enhances the shot and complements the lines of the buildings. Some of the things happening around the edges are not as "clean" and are a bit distracting.

Image 2 - This is another shot I have mixed feelings about. It is one that I suspect would have been stronger had you focused on the gondolier and made him the subject of the shot. As he is buried in all of the moored boats and does not stand out in any way, I find that this shot isn't quite working as well as is could. Shooting with a longer focal length perhaps?

Image 3 - This one is not working at all for me. The long exposure shots where we have some objects that are still and others that are moving are never that easy to do well. The background, pilings and vaporetto station are sharp but everything else is blurred. I suspect this image would have worked will had you not had the station, boats or background visible. The moving gondolas against the static pilings would have been a strong image.

Image 4 & 5 - There is just a bit too much colour here. I suspect that if you crop out one of the colours, the image would be stronger. In 5, see what it looks like without the fuschia colour on the left.