Dunno if I like these....

[deathcake]

These were sort of outside my usual area of expertise (pfft, expertise... I have none :p) so I'm not sure how I went. The more I look at them, the less good/interesting they seem to me. And I was going for interesting, non-touristy shots. Would you call these location/architecture shots? I am still new to DSLR photography in general, so experimenting a bit.

Taken with the 50D and Tamron 17-50mm, near the Acer arena/Sydney Olympic park area. I'm a fan of brutal critique, so do your worst :D

1. at 17mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/200sec
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2801/4380910573_6166b9809a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/deathcake/4380910573/sizes/o/)

2. at 50mm, f/6.3, ISO 200, 1/100sec
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4381667062_e4573b9be8.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/deathcake/4381667062/sizes/o/)

3. at 17mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/200sec
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4381666364_b37bb54d22.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/deathcake/4381666364/sizes/o/)

Couple more here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/deathcake/sets/72157623367748081/).

[tonydee]

#1: an interesting sky, and a fair call to strongly feature it by putting the midground so low in frame. We haven't really got a strong lead in line, and the view's from slightly below the height of the walkway so we're seeing the shadowed underside rather than something lit for the eye to follow. Still, getting a perspective from higher up would have made it harder to get so much sky in. Though you've not provided EXIF data, from the lean on the pullman building I guess you're already at 17mm :-).

#2: My only concern here, as with the 4th and 5th images in your linked flickr album, is the lack of grounding. The eye inevitably wants to understand the structure better, and follows it down to the bottom edge of frame. Without grounding, it's hard to work out the distances between the visible elements. Anyway, it's certainly a bizarre and visually provocative construction.

#3: Good texture and tones throughout... they've angled the blocks? Must me a pain to walk on! But it certainly makes each one visually stand out from the one behind. Again, the side on bridge is a bit of a stumbling block, but the tiles beneath it pull the eye through first (being brighter), then we have to jump upwards to the trees. They're a bit ungrounded themselves. So, quite an edgy piece for forcing the eye around it in little jumpy ways, but it's got something about it that I really like. I think the trees at the sides covering the corners helps structure it, and the lead in lines are so strong - working inwards and out.

The final piece on the flickr site - Mist - is terrific! Worth posting on here directly for feedback.

Cheers,
Tony

[deathcake]

Thank you so much Tony! Very helpful critique :)

#1: an interesting sky, and a fair call to strongly feature it by putting the midground so low in frame. We haven't really got a strong lead in line, and the view's from slightly below the height of the walkway so we're seeing the shadowed underside rather than something lit for the eye to follow. Still, getting a perspective from higher up would have made it harder to get so much sky in. Though you've not provided EXIF data, from the lean on the pullman building I guess you're already at 17mm :-).

You guessed correctly about the 17mm. (gah, i thought EXIF was attached, guess not. I'll add it). I was aiming to get the sky over the building, without the clutter to the left of it, hence the slightly odd angle. I didn't consider shooting with the top of the walkway in sight, thanks for pointing that out.


#2: My only concern here, as with the 4th and 5th images in your linked flickr album, is the lack of grounding. The eye inevitably wants to understand the structure better, and follows it down to the bottom edge of frame. Without grounding, it's hard to work out the distances between the visible elements. Anyway, it's certainly a bizarre and visually provocative construction.
Also a good point. I did get a few more grounded shots, but there are people and cars and fences everywhere... it all looked too busy and distracting from the building to me. I might dig some up to see if I can edit them better.

#3: Good texture and tones throughout... they've angled the blocks? Must me a pain to walk on! But it certainly makes each one visually stand out from the one behind. Again, the side on bridge is a bit of a stumbling block, but the tiles beneath it pull the eye through first (being brighter), then we have to jump upwards to the trees. They're a bit ungrounded themselves. So, quite an edgy piece for forcing the eye around it in little jumpy ways, but it's got something about it that I really like. I think the trees at the sides covering the corners helps structure it, and the lead in lines are so strong - working inwards and out.
Glad you like this one, it I spent forever trying to make it look good in colour but then figured b&w worked better. The tiles are actually the bottom of a fountain that was malfunctioning.. you see some of the malfunction in "Mist". So that part wasn't meant to be walked on, guess the tiles are angled to look good through the water when the fountain is in order.



The final piece on the flickr site - Mist - is terrific! Worth posting on here directly for feedback.

Cheers,
Tony
Also really glad you like that one! It was my favourite shot in a while. Reason i didn't post if for critique is I entered it in the competition (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=828688) for this week, and thought I would wait till it's over just in case. Thanks again, always good to read your critique :D

[tonydee]

I did get a few more grounded shots, but there are people and cars and fences everywhere... it all looked too busy and distracting from the building to me. I might dig some up to see if I can edit them better.

A common problem - tricky indeed.

The tiles are actually the bottom of a fountain that was malfunctioning.. you see some of the malfunction in "Mist".

Ahhh... I should have realised! I thought it was a channel for storm water, albeit an unusually wide one....

Also really glad you like that one! It was my favourite shot in a while. Reason i didn't post if for critique is I entered it in the competition (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=828688) for this week, and thought I would wait till it's over just in case.

Good choice, and best of luck!

Cheers,
Tony

[FelixDeSouze]

#1 is my fave.. The fluffy clouds are nice! Tony certainly knows what he's talking about. The tree's are almost a silhouette :)

[deathcake]

Thanks, Felix =D