Urban Zebra
Chez Louze
Versailles, this week
Mark from 4×6 talks about photoblog comments and camera clubs. I never went to a camera club but I can say that what I love the most once a photo is published on this blog (apart from having satisfied my tremendous ego, that is) is to discover the comments that you, dear reader, are kind enough to leave. They make me happy, which proves that, all in all, it’s much more cost-effective to have a photoblog than a session at my psychiatrist.
The photoblog community is a nice one, by the way. Critics, which are always welcome, have all been constructive and I’ve never had a single negative comment until now. I’ve come to judge the overall appreciation of a picture by the amount (or lack) of comments it receives (see also this post by luminoulens on the same subject).
About today’s shot: I walk by this restaurant almost everyday; at night its facade is bathed in green light which makes it stand out in the otherwise dark street. I like the colors (which didn’t need much processing) but I’m unable to find a good way to crop the photo.
Update: Thank you all for the constructive comments; they’re useful. Here’s a new version that’s been slightly rotated. I also cropped out some parts of the left and right walls. As a result there’s much less distraction for the eye and the middle window stands out more. What do you think?
Chez Louze, take 2
Publiée le 13 janvier 2005.
Tags : Architecture, Nuit, Pentax Optio 330RS.
Commentaires
Abel Longoria le 13 janvier 2005 #1
i couldnt agree more on how satisfying a photoblog is.. i have REALLY enjoyed it and sharing things i have learned with hundreds of people that i have never met! nice comments are a joy to receive.. definitely. keep up the good work and keep shooting!
luminouslens le 13 janvier 2005 #2
Hey Urban Zebra,
That crop certainly is tough. The angles are deceiving, because you can imagine that a perfect rectangle would capture the three windows, but in fact it doesn’t work so easily! I had this same problem with a photo of repeating doors. I just couldn’t get a crop to work to do what I could imagine in my head.
I tried cropping yours as well, to see whether I could make any difference, but in the end, I couldn’t do anything more than you had already done. The only thing I ended up doing differently is cutting off the wall that is to the left of the leftmost window. I don’t think you need it that wall to convey the shape of the window, and in fact, I think it detracts from the appeal of the windows.
I’ve put that crop here for you to see if you’re interested. The other things I did to the photo included increasing the saturation of the colors in the windows and then using the unsharpen tool to sharpen it up and increase the contrast slightly, and increasing the contrast on the walls slightly to bring out the green a little more, specfically targeting the area of the wall above the middle window since that area was washed out by what I would guess is a light over the window.
I’m curious to know what you think. This may be too much Photoshop for your tastes, and might be brighter than you would have liked. I have no idea what it looked like in person and perhaps this is too garish now? Anyway, I just thought I’d try to give you another perspective on the photo, in the spirit of contructive comments and feedback.
By the way, you might want to look into usefilm.com (in addition to your photoblog - not in place of it!). I have been posting my photos there as well, and tend to get more constructive feedback there than I do on my photoblog, just because the nature of site and the community is slightly different. People taking your picture and reworking it seems to be a common thing there, and it’s really nice because you get to see exactly what someone is suggesting.
(However, I feel more of a sense of community from the photobloggers as a whole.)
/end of LONG comment 
Mark le 14 janvier 2005 #3
Lovely colors and a nice composition overall. (Works especially well for a gray January:)
I know what you mean about cropping, which seems especially difficult when not shot “straight on”. About the last comment: I’m never sure what to do with my photos when it comes to post-processing. Do I make an obvious manipulation or do I present it true to the original scene? Usually, I stick to trying to apply what I used to do in the darkroom, which digitally means contrast adjustments, etc. Personally, though, I’d have to admit that I have a number of unposted pictures that I *love* because I did some strange Photoshop-style stuff to them. I’ve even though about having something like “Manipulation Saturday” where I post one picture a week where I did anything I wanted to it. Some say it’s not photography, but who cares?
Again, like you picture very well.
VISUAL FIELD le 14 janvier 2005 #4
I actually like the crop of the image as originally posted. (This will probably surprise luminouslens, because she knows I usually prefer tigher crops.) For images shot at an angle you can try correcting the perspective in PS, to make it look as if it were shot straight on (if this is what you want). One way is to use the crop tool, and check the perspective box (which only appears once you define a crop). Then adjust the corners to make the edges of the crop parallel to the perspective lines in the image. It sometimes makes a big difference.
luminouslens le 14 janvier 2005 #5
Visual Field, I am shocked. Seriously. Though perhaps you are right here, that the original crop is better. It does maintain more of the shape of the original window.
On second thought, maybe the crop only needs to be tilted slightly more so that the left wall lines up with the left edge of the photo. Or would that look too forced? Don’t worry… I won’t drag it into PS and try it out!
Anyway, one thing I think I forgot to say in my monologue up there was that I really like this photo. It caught my attention with the wonderful bright colors (I love that green!) and the cool shape of the windows. And, in fact, I think the perspective also drew me in, because it gives me the sense of walking by.
/end of second long comment
claire-obscure le 14 janvier 2005 #6
I will add my opinion to everyone else’s differing opinions. It’s hard to know what to do with feedback when everyone is saying something different, isn’t it?
I absolutely love the colors of this shot, as well as the geometry of the windows. I think this scene is was well chosen for a photograph, definitely! Instead of cropping, what I have to suggest is to retake the photo so that they are seen dead on, to impart more symmetry, pattern, and regularity to the image. (Or maybe perspective correction in PS would work.) While the side perspective is also interesting, I think I would like such a perspective a bit more exaggerated (I.e. shot at even more of an angle), and if you do try this I was thinking that perhaps a vertical frame might work best for such a side view. But personally, I think I would most love to see such a scene just as you’ve framed it, but from a perspective that is straight on.
Massimo le 16 janvier 2005 #7
I wouldn’t know hot to change the crop better than you did. Maybe a wider crop, to have the entire leftmost window in the frame would also work, but I am not sure. Shooting directly face-on would probably not work, as it would flatten the windows and remove part of the shadows that not provide depth. Straightening the perspective with PS may provide a weird effect because you will still see the internal side of the windows even from a centered position where you would not see them (it may be an interesting experiment, though). In the end, I like it as it is, for its luminosity and colors.
luminouslens le 18 janvier 2005 #8
I think the new crop is great. You somehow managed to take EVERYONE’s suggestions into account, which is an incredible feat as it is. But the end result, I think, was worth it. It’s not dramatically different, but that’s a good thing because it retains a lot of features that were good about the original. But I do think this straightened shot is better. It looks more intentional and compositionally sound, whereas I think the other one looks slightly more like a snapshot.
VISUAL FIELD le 19 janvier 2005 #9
I also like the new version. I think I’m agreeing with luminouslens when I say it’s a subtle but significant improvement. Thanks for posting the new version.
