Building bits

well some of them

Again - all straight from the camera - some tweaking is needed but this will take time due to lack of skill with PSE.

1)
[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a41/Anhelyna/IMGP0690copy.jpg[/IMG]

2)
[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a41/Anhelyna/IMGP0697copy.jpg[/IMG]

3)
[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a41/Anhelyna/IMGP0698copy.jpg[/IMG]

4) - a happy hunting ground
[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a41/Anhelyna/IMGP0717copy.jpg[/IMG]

The 4th one is the pick of the bunch for me, I think that has potential as a street-style shot, perhaps in BW, but I think you need to get in closer in all of them. Especially the first two, they seem a bit aimless with lots of extraneous stuff, sorry

I think there is lovely potential in the second scene with the incongruous rabbits behind the grand crest. You need to reshoot it, however. What I would do is make sure you are absolutely straight on to the door and get the horizontals absolutely level. Then try and minimise how much you have to point the camera upwards by using a wider angle lens than you need, possibly in portrait format. This will reduce the converging verticals at the expense of having to crop a good slice off the bottom of the photograph. Take lots of shots so you have a choice as to which one is the best framed. Finally, in PP crop off anything you don't need, straighten the "horizon" (i.e., the top of the window) and finally use the distort tool (or similar) to remove the last of the converging verticals.

Best wishes, Kris.

Actually - the aim on this 'wander' was really to see how well I could get the detail on the stonework - it's fantastic - and I certainly am surprised at the ability of the K-x to get it so well defined. Building number three is actually about 4 floors up !

Thanks for the tip Kris, in sorting out the converging verticals - I needed that since I realised it had to be done , but wasn't sure how - I foresee some struggles here - I'm just not getting on with PSE - dunno why , but I'm not

Tim - these Glasgow buildings have lots of beautiful red sandstone or grey sandstone [ which is a misnomer 'cos they are a sort of pale honey ]in their construction - the colours are so lovely [ Gartmore and Mr Cynical ?? ] that I sometimes feel people should be made aware of this .

Oh I'll carry on shooting stuff like this till I get it 'spot on'

"Stuff like this" and "spot on" and "carry on shooting" by all means, but think about what you're trying to depict. I think you've just produced an aimless series of snaps here without really thinking what you're trying to do beyond "get detail on the stonework".

If you're not clear about your aims then you won't know how close you come to achieveing them.

Look, for example, at no.1 where you show a bit of a building but not a small enough "bit". Use that 200mm lens head on if you can, to capture the caryatids.

Getting closer with no.2 but you need to crop and straighten before posting. Probably cropping would do if the latter is too problematical.

Ditto for no.3 but that's a tough one to correct because of the detail on the skyline which may distort.

No.4 is almost a street scene and with cropping to exclude extraneous details and possibly a conversion to b/w you'll have a decent photograph.

This sounds a bit harsh but it's advice meant kindly...

Best wishes,

Andrew

So would either of these appeal more as a Street scene ?

1)
[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a41/Anhelyna/IMGP0704.jpg[/IMG]

2)
[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a41/Anhelyna/IMGP0700.jpg[/IMG]

Both much better! There's a stronger sense of direction and purpose.

I had a go at this one, thought it had potential. Hope you don't mind!

[IMG]http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad116/ADC3440/techno1.jpg[/IMG]

You live in a brilliant place for architectural and street photography!

Regards,

Andrew

Like Kris, couldn't resist those incongruous bunnies:

[IMG]http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad116/ADC3440/techno2.jpg[/IMG]

Your photo, remember, just one person's interpretation, but I hope you'll agree they say something now! (Not sure what, however!)

A.

P.S. Don't look too closely: this was a severe crop.

how about

[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a41/Anhelyna/IMGP0718.jpg[/IMG]

and its neighbour the other side of the doorway [ these will have to be re-taken so they are matching ]

[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a41/Anhelyna/IMGP0722.jpg[/IMG]

These sort of unexpected things are the things that appeal to me - and yes it's a very personal appeal.

Look at the original set # 3 - just how did they get those lumps of sandstone up there - no machinery/cranes like we use now . Look at the urns that are placed there on the top . These things were placed there by craftsmen , the decoration was ornate [ maybe overly so ] , but sadly now folk don't see them as they don't lift their eyes - we are all too busy rushing about .

This is why I'm fascinated by these, and I'm so impressed with what I learnt, from my 'aimless wander' yesterday, that I can get from the K-x - I can now get pictures that I failed miserably trying to capture with my 7megapixel 3 X Zoom P&S.

Mmm. I see why you love these details so much. Tighter crops on both, removing the right hand side and you have a couple of interesting pictures.

I'm amazed that you ever doubted the ability of that super camera and its lenses to capture these scenes. There should be no stopping you now.

A terrific project would be to shoot as many of these great architectural details as you can... would make a great exhibition or photobook. As you say, people find it nhard to wrench their eyes from the shop fronts! You could open their eyes for them...

Regards,

A.

Remember - this is my first DSLR - I'd only had a P&S till December . And once I was back in this country the weather shut me down

Any outings since January 19 have only been to get my homework - and more times than not it was not the sort of pictures I like taking

I got the camera sight unseen , yes I read reviews - but they didn't mean much to me - I just knew that I had been pointed in the direction of the K-x as a good camera for a beginner.

When I started the class I had no idea what an f stop was , I'd no idea about shutter speed - or how it relates to anything else . Even yesterday I was experimenting - I was using Av and changing my aperture so I could see how it affected what I got . Some shots worked - others didn't but basically I only had to dump 6 out of a total of 69 , because they were totally wrong . Some I've kept so I can remember them and go and retake again another time , and improve them with the re-take.

My aim is to get them right straight out of the camera - I don't mind cropping but doing a lot in PSE is , in a way , cheating .

Looking at the rain pouring down now , and thinking of the young gale we had this afternoon , I'm really glad I got out yesterday . I'm hoping for dry weather on Monday so the class can go and try landscapes for our final class .

[quote:3496ace15f="technoidiot"]


My aim is to get them right straight out of the camera - I don't mind cropping but doing a lot in PSE is , in a way , cheating .

quote]

By all means getting pictures right straight from the camera is laudable and sensible, but don't think that post processing is in any way cheating or that it started with digital. Only analogue slides are in any sense pure and unadulterated. All analogue prints were assessed cropped, base board tilted to correct verticals, snatched from developer, dodged and burned...etc. I know: I've done it all in cold, smelly darkrooms!

In fact, when/if you graduate to shooting in RAW format, you HAVE to post process otherwise the results will look terrible!

Glad you're learning so much and enjoying the process.

Regards,

Andrew