Horizontal or Vertical?

[keith breazeal]

I liked both, but the vertical is tugging at me. Your opinion?

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/KBVP/OldBridge1H.jpg

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/KBVP/OldBridge2V.jpg

[gooble]

Personally I don't care for either. What is it?

[keith breazeal]

It was a old historic bridge that was damaged in a flood.

[Stealthy Ninja]

Vertical. Without looking at the above comments.

I think the horizontal just shows too much obsolete stuff on the sides. The vertical, gets to the point and gives a much better sense of depth.

Though (personally) I'd crop a little more off the left side.

:)

[photoguy6405]

Horizontal. Having the left end hanging into nowhere completes the feeling of abandonment.

[scorpio_e]

Interesting bridge. I love old stuff like this. If I had to pick between the two..Vertical..
There is two much going on in the image. I love the bridge but all of the branches are a major distraction. The image needs to be simpler. It may not even be possible to do that.

[Stealthy Ninja]

Looking at it again. You should have got down in the water and put your camera near to the water to get a nice sense of depth. Looking along the water and up to the structure of the bridge.

A shot like that (with the texture of the water/rocks) would make a great B&W. The 10-22 can focus pretty close. So you could have tried focusing on some of those rocks (low and in the foreground) with the structure of the bridge in the background.

Also, you could have tried stopping down, selecting a low ISO number and tried a tripod shot (again in the water - the tripod, not your camera) with a long shutter, to "silk" the water.

Gotta move around dude. :)

Not really the same, but the angle would be similar to show my idea. This was taken with the 10-22:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/3169882656_f54fbbc71d_o.jpg

and to show I'm not afraid to practice what I preach. This was taken a few cm above SALT water. :shock:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3276/3011038864_83cc72e1cc_b.jpg

[mpistone]

I prefer the vertical, my eyes wander around the horizontal too much.

[keith breazeal]

Thanks :) I looked at different angles. I was going for the water reflection and back lighting to bring the bridge out of the overgrowth- which I thought added to the age. Lighting earlier in the day had way too many harsh shadows that made it difficult to even see it. The shot was at 33mm, f9, 1/8, -.33 step. I am standing on the replacement bridge that had fencing(barbed wire) leading up to the bridge supports- couldn't get under for a shot. Might try it with the 10-22 and tripod next time. I used to do the long exposures with water back in my 2 1/4x 2 1/4 days. It's much easier with the new DSLRs. Never tried it with the Speed Graphic though.
Some of the old gear...
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/KBVP/PhotoGearOverTheYears1024.jpg

[Phrasikleia]

The lighting is not good in either, but if you convert the vertical to B&W, you can salvage that one. The contrast of the light reflecting off of the stream will work well in B&W; then you won't have the dull color and white sky sapping all of the visual interest. In B&W, the stream will pop, and the white sky will provide pleasing contrast.

[Stealthy Ninja]

Thanks :)
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/KBVP/PhotoGearOverTheYears1024.jpg

Cool man. 8)

[zom1414]

vertical

[keith breazeal]

Horizontal. Having the left end hanging into nowhere completes the feeling of abandonment.

re-crop

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa5/KBVP/IMG_1156b.jpg

[mathogre]

Truthfully I prefer the original horizontal. While I didn't know its historic qualities, I knew it was a decrepit bridge. You still see the bridge, but you also see that nature has taken over. From that angle, that's a horizontal bridge, dead or otherwise.

[Stealthy Ninja]

How about a vertical that includes the whole bridge? Do you have one of those?

[Phrasikleia]

The problem is that the bridge itself is not catching light at the time of day you took the shot. Therefore it does not separate well from its background, and the photograph looks dull. What is catching light is the stream, and it therefore becomes the interesting part of the photograph. So either you make the stream the subject (via a vertical, and preferably in B&W to go with the contrast), or you return to the site and photograph it when the sun is casting a nice golden glow on the bridge (perhaps early morning?).

[keith breazeal]

No, I'll have to take the 10-22 back out there. I took the 28-135, 70-200, and 800mm on that drive.

[keith breazeal]

The problem is that the bridge itself is not catching light at the time of day you took the shot. Therefore it does not separate well from its background, and the photograph looks dull. What is catching light is the stream, and it therefore becomes the interesting part of the photograph. So either you make the stream the subject (via a vertical, and preferably in B&W to go with the contrast), or you return to the site and photograph it when the sun is casting a nice golden glow on the bridge (perhaps early morning?).

It is really harsh early on. Way too many trees casting shadows. I'll try it again soon.

[Phrasikleia]

Light is never harsh right after sunrise, during the golden hour. That's when colors are warm and vibrant, shadows are long and low, and the world becomes rich with texture. Of course the other golden hour comes right before sunset, and any one site will usually benefit from one or the other, but not both.

[keith breazeal]

Light is never harsh right after sunrise, during the golden hour. That's when colors are warm and vibrant, shadows are long and low, and the world becomes rich with texture. Of course the other golden hour comes right before sunset, and any one site will usually benefit from one or the other, but not both.

This series was shot just before sunset. I tried a B&W version- it was grossly bad. If it wasn't for the trees, I could use some fill.

[Phrasikleia]

The scene does look backlit, which isn't good for the bridge. It probably has some nice warm, reddish tones that will really pop when the sun is on the other side of it.

If you really want to salvage one of these shots, try different filter options in the B&W conversion. You might find one that provides nice texture and contrast (not all B&W conversions are created equal!). Otherwise, stake out that spot and discover when the light hits the girders just right. It's really all about the light. You might also bring along a CPL filter to have more control over how the stream looks.

[mhart008]

I like the composition of the vertical image, But it is to busy, and has bland lighting. I think if you can go back and get more dramatic lighting it could be a really good image.