NYC Public Library

[embdude]

What a beautiful city to explore with my new canon 5D-mkII. I had great a day in New York with my new camera. The city is full of iconic and photogenic locations. Everywhere I went I found something great to photograph!

http://socalrain.com/com/photography/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/NYC-Central-Library.jpg

Since I was walking around on a bright overcast day I decided to take photos in a series of 3 images to increase the dynamic range and get the details in both the highlights and shadow areas. The 5D’s rapid shooting capability allowed me to do this without a tripod, something I could have never accomplished with my previous Canon digital camera.

After merging the 3 exposures together in Photoshop I decided to give them some rather vibrant treatments to bring out the colors and textures. The results were pretty stunning, expressing well my emotions as I wandered around this great city, and creating some great moods!

I am happy to be able to share them with you on my new photography blog. http://christophercoxphotography.com/blog/
(http://christophercoxphotography.com/blog/)

I took so many great shots in New York, these are just a beginning. They take quite a bit of time to get just right in Photoshop, so as I get some more free time I will be posting more…

Chris

[Cyclop]

Wow, great job.

[carlomontoya]

It almost looks like a painting. Very inspiring.

[Scoobs]

I like it.

[airfrogusmc]

It almost looks like a painting. Very inspiring.

I wouldn't take my photograph looking like a painting as a compliment. ;):D

[jgrussell]

I love this shot. As a genealogist, I have spent many long hours in rooms just like this one, in NY and elsewhere. Well done.

[embdude]

Thanks for the nice comments.

I am rather fond of the way it came out.

I think it is comparable looking to a painting, or our vision, because of the increased dynamic range giving much more shadow detail and no blown highlights.

This shot obviously went through some post processing, Nik filters really helped, but the overall result is very pleasing to me and has a great mood.

[airfrogusmc]

I think photographs are photographs and paintings are paintings and sometimes when photographs are painted on or put into other art form they become mixed media.

If photographs hadn't moved away from pictorial images (photographs that imitated paintings of the time) of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to what was penned as straight photography it is doubtful it would have been taken seriusly as an art from.

I think photography works best when it stands on it own strengths. (see f/64 group and Straight Photography) so thats why when someones says one of my photographs looks like a painting I don't usually take it as a compliment.

[airfrogusmc]

I think photographs are photographs and paintings are paintings and sometimes when photographs are painted on or put into other art form they become mixed media.

If photographs hadn't moved away from pictorial images (photographs that imitated paintings of the time) of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to what was penned as straight photography it is doubtful it would have been taken seriusly as an art from.

I think photography works best when it stands on it own strengths. (see f/64 group and Straight Photography) so thats why when someones says one of my photographs looks like a painting I don't usually take it as a compliment.

I think you did a nice job of even holding the detail out the windows. Now if you really want to amaze balance the color temp of the outside light with the inside tungsten and straighten the lines at the edge of the frame.. ;)

[lindsaytblum]

Wow, fantastic shot!

[nicksan]

This is very nicely done.

[embdude]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments.

As for "Straight Photography" I think I would argue that it is a concept from the 20th century and has less significance in 21st century digital photography

Sure it is valid today, heck I can still do pinhole photos with my 5D! But to me the digital camera is a different animal than film.....

To me straight photography "possessing no qualities of any other art form" by definition is not possible in digital because to me digital is a different medium than film aka- other art form

("Straight photography"-From Wikipedia -Pure photography refers to photography that attempts to depict a scene as realistically and objectively as permitted by the medium, renouncing the use of manipulation.

Founded in 1932, Group f/64 who championed purist photography, had this to say - Pure photography is defined as possessing no qualities of technique, composition or idea, derivative of any other art form)

[NeutronBoy]

It's absolutley beautiful. It does look like a painting and I think that is a great compliment.