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CC on a Project I'm Starting

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Hi there..

I like them, I really like the B&W conversion you have posted.

With the first shot something does not sit right... are the verticals off... I know there is a little distortion on the verticals but some thing is nagging me..

All the other seem fine to me..

Nigel

(I am no expert so please do not take to heart my comments...)
--
http://www.pbase.com/nwheal
http://www.npwimagery.co.uk

Its all about practice..... And I need it

 
--

I love ghost towns. They have so much character. If your able to get inside one of the building and shoot another building it can be interesting. I like weather (clouds, snow, ect) in ghost town shots.

http://buck.zenfolio.com/p888980292/?photo=h11DCF2BB#299692731

Looks like your off to a good start. The more character of the town the better. Which ghost towns are you planning on shooting?

I have a galley of Bannock Montana here.
http://www.buck.zenfolio.com
 
mist, rain.. anything to give a sad, forlorn, wasting away of past glories type look...unusual shadows cast by early or late sun, as some other poster mentioned, perhaps shadow and sunbeams coming into a room and trying to light it.. etc...
great shooting and much fun....
--
MATT in NE_FL'
 
photorover said:
I'm going to be touring and photographing some Ghost Towns this next
week for a class I'm taking in local history. Not all B&W, and not
all HDR, but I want them to be more than just snap shots.

I would appreciate some of your feedback on a test run I did:
Click to expand...
They're nice shots but the only thing that separates them from being snapshots, imo, is that you used a tight framing to focus on the details of some of the buildings. And the fact that the light/exposure was balanced enough that you were able to capture the lit and shaded sides of the building w/o losing detail in either.

Where you could use improvement are:

1) Keep your lines vertical/horizontal. Failing to do this is very noticeable in architecture photos.
2) Try some different angles.
3) Shoot in the morning or late afternoon light.

4) Try interior shots but be forewarned that you might need a flash or might have to do some blends to balance the indoor/outdoor light.

5) Maybe a shot from a distance to put the ghost town in the context of the surrounding area.

larsbc
 
photorover said:
I'm going to be touring and photographing some Ghost Towns this next
week for a class I'm taking in local history. Not all B&W, and not
all HDR, but I want them to be more than just snap shots.

I would appreciate some of your feedback on a test run I did:

http://picasaweb.google.com/bhcmrovings/GhostTowns02/photo#s5231924145074277074

Thanks!

--
http://dlensphoto.blogspot.com/
Click to expand...
The convergence / distortion of the 1st one bothers me - either step back further or use a PC lens .. Or come in close with a wideangle and exaggerate (my pref).
--
Rudi - freelancer
 
larsbc said:
Where you could use improvement are:
1) Keep your lines vertical/horizontal. Failing to do this is very
noticeable in architecture photos.
Click to expand...
Not sure how to do this without a very expensive lens. Is there a way to do it when using 18-20mm with a standard lens?
larsbc said:
2) Try some different angles.
Click to expand...
Yes, these photos were shot in 5 minutes after jogging up the road while my wife put gas in the car.
larsbc said:
3) Shoot in the morning or late afternoon light.
Click to expand...
Not an option here, but hopefully I can make it an option, not likely with time and gas prices as they are.
larsbc said:
4) Try interior shots but be forewarned that you might need a flash
or might have to do some blends to balance the indoor/outdoor light.
Click to expand...
Certainly, planning on it!
larsbc said:
5) Maybe a shot from a distance to put the ghost town in the context
of the surrounding area.
Click to expand...
Good idea, I should have done it with this one, and will on the towns I actually stop to study, especially since a hand drawn map of the area is one of the required pieces of the assignment.

--
http://dlensphoto.blogspot.com/
 
Thanks for the reply, I have looked at your web site before because I want to get ideas. I will not be able to do anything but full daylight shooting, so I am hoping for overcast or nice cumulus clouds to work with.

Here is another practice run I made this weekend at an abandoned fort in Oregon, Fort Stevens. The first three in my collection here are photos from Battery Russell, and I specifically thought about the technique of shooting for the ghost towns:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/71734221@N00/

Thanks for the pointers and CC of these images.

--
http://dlensphoto.blogspot.com/
 
photorover said:
photorover said:
Where you could use improvement are:
1) Keep your lines vertical/horizontal. Failing to do this is very
noticeable in architecture photos.
Click to expand...
Not sure how to do this without a very expensive lens. Is there a
way to do it when using 18-20mm with a standard lens?
Click to expand...
Keeping the horizon level is a great start. Keeping the lens pointed level instead of up/down reduces perspective distortion.

[snip]
photorover said:
photorover said:
3) Shoot in the morning or late afternoon light.
Click to expand...
Not an option here, but hopefully I can make it an option, not likely
with time and gas prices as they are.
Click to expand...
Another option is to go there when the skies are a bit overcast so they'll reduce the harsh shadows and contrast range.

larsbc
 
I'll be going tomorrow or the next day, don't have a choice. Bad light, but I hope for some cumulus to make it interesting. I'll try to use the dark blue sky to my advantage.

On the distorted lines... couldn't they be used on purpose? I mean, why do the lines have to be straight? I will get a straight horizon, or can make it actually straight in PP'ing, but if I'm using a wide angle lens, isn't that part of the appeal of a wide angle -- the distortion?

In that first photo, the church/school is on a hill, so the horizon is what it is. But I think it would have been better to try to get the back edge straight, then let the rest of it distort as it does. But I am not sure.

--
http://dlensphoto.blogspot.com/
 
photorover wrote:
[snip]
photorover said:
On the distorted lines... couldn't they be used on purpose? I mean,
why do the lines have to be straight? I will get a straight horizon,
or can make it actually straight in PP'ing, but if I'm using a wide
angle lens, isn't that part of the appeal of a wide angle -- the
distortion?

In that first photo, the church/school is on a hill, so the horizon
is what it is.
Click to expand...
There is pronounced angle on the left side of the building. Is it actually learning or is that just from the lens? That's what throws me off about that photo. If the angle were more even between both sides of the building, it wouldn't stick in my mind so strongly.

The 3rd pic looks like it might not be level.

But to answer your question, no, I don't think the lines have to be perfectly perpendicular. But any oddities are more easily noticeable when you have straight lines in the photo.

larsbc
 
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