The Mosque: A Place of Worship

[saad]

Known in Islam as a 'masjid', it's the Muslim place of worship. They have some really nice one's where I live. Please let me know what you guys think.

Saad

[coreypolis]

beautiful

only things I see to improve on, can you reshoot it without the cars? and teh very center of the background seems brighter that the rest for not apparent reason, maybe just blend it a bit better

[Unreal_Nature]

Very nice picture of the building. I like tint on the structure and on the foreground, but that same tone on the sky seems to thicken or flatten the depth of the picture. The mosque seems to be sitting on the background rather than being in front of it.

-Julie

[chrnat]

Just a record shot for me Im afraid

[saad]

Thanks for replying guys, I really appreciate it.

Coreypolis: Thanks for the comment. I debated going back to take another shot, but that parking lot is never empty. The more I thought about it though, the more I realised this was better. I think an empty lot would just make the picture a bit too...empty. Personal taste. And about the bright center, I have no idea why that happened, possibly because of the hot, hazy weather we have here.

Unreal Nature: Thanks, you always comment on my pictures, I really appreciate it. I get what you mean, the cars seem to be in the foreground and the building in the back, which makes the mosque look flat. I think that has to do with the angle I took the picture at (straight on). Could you perhaps suggest a 'post-processing' way to make it less flat? By the way, I LOVE your 'Red Line' and 'Wild Apple' art. It's just brilliant.

chrnat: Thanks for commenting..............*slightly embarrased* though I dont quite know what you mean. Could you clarify that please?

C&C from anyone else? I'd more than appreciate it. Still a newbie, still a newbie...

[chrnat]

A record shot is where you have just captured a building for record puposes (Like a builder or estate agent would)rather than artistic purposes that tell a story. In other words it does not stir any emotion in me.

[Unreal_Nature]

saad, thank you.

Space in pictures is an illusion. You knew that; I am reminding you because I think many photographers forget that they are making 2D representations of 3D scenes. The camera usually does all the work of buidling the illusion for us, but it remains an illusion. If, in post processing, we tinker with what the camera has captured for us, we often give up the visual clues that create the illusion - of reality - and, in particular, of 3D space. In landscapes, those clues include perspective, overlap, shadows, etc. (this will turn into an epic post if I get started). However, the most powerful clue in a landscape is the sky. Blue, above, not below; darker and more saturated near, and lighter, less saturated far (at the horizon); any bit of a cloud, etc. It doesn't take much - just a hint of these.

When you remove sky, you have to work to maintain the illusion of space. If you don't want blue, even a non-blue/white cloud will help. A light skyline with a dark overhead will help. Use all of the clues, choosing what you want, but watch out for the loss of the illusion.

What I was referring to in your picture is the loss of that illusion. To me, your scene seems to be sitting on a pink/white fluffy wall. There is no space behind it.

If you will look at my attached simulation, you will see, first, the picture as you have presented it - with a pink background. Second, I have added a fake (Photoshop's Render > Clouds) sky. Just blue with some phony clouds. To me, that already has more space than the first. Blue + clouds = sky even without any atmospheric gradient. In the third picture, I have added a real sky to show how true clouds, and the saturation/brightness gradient amplifies the impression of space.

In the last picture, I have tried to simulate what you might do. Presumably, you like the pure tint of your original. How much would you have to change it to get the impression of space? What is the minimum? I have added just a hint of blue/white, and a brightness gradient to suggest what you might need. How much, or how little, or even if you do anything like this is up to you, as the creating artist. You may have intended the picture to have no depth behind the buildings. That is a fully legitimate intent and you should stand by it if it was what you wished for.

I will add, that the common post processing of landscape pictures involves the uniform/even maximizing of color and tones throughout a picture. In my opinion, this results in severe loss in the impresson of depth and space in those scenes. The result, to me, looks more like the flat pattern on a rug, not a representation of the real, 3D world - but I digress...

-Julie

[Unreal_Nature]

[the third and fourth pictures]

[sushrut]

Saad,
I liked the photograph.

Unreal_Nature,
Fantastic examples. I loved them.