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Two photos from Australia seeking your critique

2K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  Tech Tee 
#1 ·
<p>  I've selected two of my favorites from the trip for my first critiques.</p>
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<p>Technical details: Nikon FG with a 75-150 zoom in Automatic mode. Fuji ASA 400 film. Images scanned by Wolf (Ritz) Camera. These have not been cropped, nor have they been subject to any other post-development manipulations. (These are the low-res images to save memory.)</p>
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<p><a class="H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/50831/width/1000/height/800/flags/" target="_blank"><img alt="Cairns Birds KR.JPG" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="12837" data-type="61" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/12837/width/640/height/417" style="; width: 640px; height: 417px"></a></p>
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<p>"Two Birds in Cairns Harbor, Queensland, Australia"</p>
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<p>I'm not completely sure why I like this one so much. Maybe it's the variety of textures - rock on the bottom, barnacles on the dock, the sea - and the interplay of the sea blue with the pinks. I just know I aimed and zoomed to get the white bird centered while still getting the dark bird in the shot.</p>
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<p><a class="H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/50837/width/1000/height/800/flags/" target="_blank"><img alt="Kurilpa Bridge KR.JPG" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="12839" data-type="61" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/12839/width/640/height/417" style="; width: 640px; height: 417px"></a></p>
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<p>"Kurilpa Bridge, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia"</p>
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<p>This is a neat pedestrian and bike bridge across the Brisbane River, running from the central business district (behind me) to a park on the other side. It's the largest bridge in the world that used the "tensegrity" concept developed by R. Buckminster Fuller, and opened in October, 2009. The support structures make it look like a fleet of sailing ships in the harbor.</p>
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<p>The picture was taken looking across a major highway, so this was as close as I could get safely and still get this angle. I've tried cropping off the bottom to get rid of the cars, but I think I lose too much of the effect when I do that so I've kept them.</p>
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<p>  Comments and Feedback?</p>
 
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#2 ·
<p>I like them both!</p>
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<p>For the top one, I agree the texture in the bottom is interesting.  I also think focusing on the dock with the one bird and its reflection in the water would also make an interesting photo.  I really like the red dock in an otherwise monochromatic image.  This image looks a little overexposed to me, but I know different monitors show things differently, so I can't say for sure.  Since you have this one scanned, I think I would play with the exposure levels a bit and see if I could get the red dock to pop a little more.  Also, I think I would try to crop it so that the bird and dock take up 2/3 of the frame so that the bird isn't right in the middle.</p>
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<p>For the bottom one, I really like all the graphical elements of the bridge but I also think a different angle or viewpoint would have highlighted it better.  I realize you probably couldn't get a better angle, but I think a wider angle from your lens would have allowed you to include more sky and place the bridge in the bottom third of the frame.  A tight vertical shot from on the bridge might have been cool too, or is that a covered walkway that would inhibit the view?</p>
 
#3 ·
<p>  Thanks for the feedback.</p>
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<p>  There is a good chance the first picture was slightly over-exposed. I realized mid-way through the trip that I hadn't reset the film speed on the camera, and when I did I didn't catch whether I was fast or slow. I was able to bring up the shadows and 'cool' the picture in Picasa, and it does bring out both the reds and the blues more. I've also cropped it to bring the white bird off-center.</p>
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<p><a class="H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/51067/width/1000/height/800/flags/" target="_blank"><img alt="Cairns Birds KR.JPG" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="12880" data-type="61" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/12880/width/512/height/366" style="; width: 512px; height: 366px"></a></p>
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<p>  For the other picture, it sounds like it might have been better if I'd switched out the zoom for the regular 50mm lens. And you're right - that is a covered walkway the length of the bridge - although it doesn't extend completely from side to side. I did try to get something vertical like I think you're suggesting (see below) but I think it's really too cluttered - and I don't see any good way to improve it.</p>
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<p><a class="H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/51070/width/1000/height/800/flags/" target="_blank"><img alt="Kurilpa Bridge Skyline KR.JPG" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="12881" data-type="61" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/12881/width/405/height/500" style="; width: 405px; height: 500px"></a></p>
 
#4 ·
<p>I like the re-do of the bird pic!   Also, that second bridge pic is actually more interesting to me than the first one, but at least you can tell with the first one that it is a bridge.  The second one makes it seem like it could be almost anything </p>
 
#5 ·
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<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>rlemert</strong> <a href="/forum/thread/69196/two-photos-from-australia-seeking-your-critique#post_1928965"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-right:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-bottom:0px solid;"></a><br><p> </p>
<p>I did try to get something vertical like I think you're suggesting (see below) but I think it's really too cluttered - and I don't see any good way to improve it.</p>
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<p><a class="H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/51070/width/1000/height/800/flags/" target="_blank"><img alt="Kurilpa Bridge Skyline KR.JPG" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="12881" data-type="61" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/12881/width/405/height/500" style="; width: 405px; height: 500px"></a></p>
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<p><br>
I like this.  And you're right.  It's cluttered as hell.  And it's supposed to be!  I think it's very cool.<br>
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