Temple lantern & wedding company...

[tonydee]

Feedback welcome. Both shots with 5D and 24-105mm f/4 IS.

f/4 1/60s 85mm ISO100
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Stitched together from a couple shots at f/4 1/20s 80mm ISO400 no flash:

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(full size here (http://picasaweb.google.com/anthonypon/Akasaka#))

Cheers,
Tony

[deathcake]

You captured a lot of detail in both shots, I like them. The lantern is nicely framed, and it's cool how you can see its shadow, but the shadows are not harsh.

In the wedding shop, good time of the day to capture this cause it's lit up from the inside, with warm light on the mannequins, and the area framing the window is still not too dark. Bit of car in bottom left hand corner is a little distracting, but no big deal. Guessing you had to stitch a few shots together because of traffic or people being in the way?

This shot would be great as an advertisement/brochure for the company. If that's the case, the woman in the suit inside the shop is also good, "friendly staff" etc :p

[tonydee]

Seems we've been simultaneously but unknowingly trading critiques. Thanks for the feedback.

I was happy about the shadows in #1, but I don't like the bottom and right hand areas. I've tried a perspective correction and crop... wonder if it's better, or just looks wrong? Perspective corrections are a dangerous thing to attempt....

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The wedding shop's a strange place. I have some shots without people or traffic - wasn't too busy - but I actually put the taxi light in deliberately. I guess my take on it was more cynical than yours - seeing the place as trying but failing to look inviting while the world passes it by ;). The headless mannequins, the tacky plastic figures on the cake. Guess I critique life as brutally as the images on here, hey? :-) I stitched together bits to get the lady standing up like that, the taxi, and the cinema's sign at right. I meant to include just the shadow of someone walking out of frame at left, but somehow I didn't merge the layers down right before saving - been too lazy to fix it.

Cheers,
Tony

[deathcake]

I think the above crop works and the perspective change fooled me... had to open it up in photoshop as 2 layers to work out what you did.

The wedding shop's a strange place. I have some shots without people or traffic - wasn't too busy - but I actually put the taxi light in deliberately. I guess my take on it was more cynical than yours - seeing the place as trying but failing to look inviting while the world passes it by ;). The headless mannequins, the tacky plastic figures on the cake. Guess I critique life as brutally as the images on here, hey? :-) I stitched together bits to get the lady standing up like that, the taxi, and the cinema's sign at right. I meant to include just the shadow of someone walking out of frame at left, but somehow I didn't merge the layers down right before saving - been too lazy to fix it.
Oh, that's quite an interesting perspective... now that I read your take on it and look at it again i see what you mean. I probably assumed cause most wedding stuff posted here is in a positive light =P I would have gone for a more spooky edit, but the subtle approach works, more interesting even. Headless mannequins really are kind of disturbing. Here (http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/4529/img91202.jpg)'s my quick and not very good try at "obviously spooky", just for fun.

[tonydee]

I'll run with the perspective-changed version then... thanks :-).

Love your spooky wedding shop take. Works in with being a short walk from a huge cemetery. Will have to show that to a friend who took an interest in the shot. His initial instinct was to make it warmer and welcoming too, but he picked up on some of the negative factor's (headlessness, tacky plastic figures on the left) that I'd not paid attention to. Sure he'd appreciate your take.

Thanks and regards,
Tony

[deathcake]

Cool, glad you like it. I was afraid it would be one of those things that seems like a good idea at 2am but looks bad in hindsight, haha. It was well spotted of you and your friend to see that you could show the place as tacky and uninviting.