hello!

[farhanium]

this would be my first post on the critique corner! heh. well this is a picture of one of the empty houses at arab street using my minolta dimage x20 (compact). C&C welcome! thanks!

 

[deckard]

nice texture. sometimes when you stare at these kind of photos can see addition objects. really interesting.

 

[espion]

1. guess u have seen many such pictures b4, so you need to make it different if you want it to be uniquely yours.

2. lamp post is an obvious out of place object: either take two steps to the left, or crop or patch/clone it out.

3. too much empty space on left, does not add anything to the picture. I suggest a square crop.

4. but most importantly not enuff tonal range in the main objectis itself - you can verify this by looking at its histogram - which are the windows, cracks on the walls and the greeny growing from it. The lighting is flat. I do not know what time you took the picture, but it needs some directional light such as those available in the first or last quarter of the day. But the facade orientation must be compatible. If not then you have try/think something else. PS shadow/highlight may help.

in summary, the key element in this picture is textures, and so unless this is emphatically stated, it is just a bland picture.

 

[XiaoMiaoWang]

I think this is a fantastic first try.

I commend the great effort put into the processing.

I blatantly disagree with what espion says. A picture like this is solely up to the viewer to discern whatever textures, whatever elements and whatever meanings the picture holds to his/her interpretation.

As I quote Ansel Adams, "there are always 2 people in the image: the photographer and the viewer". Both play an equally important role into gauging the context of the picture, and for one, the use of 'symbolic' photography here is to allow the viewer to intepret what he/her sees in the picture. By simply dismissing it as "bland" does not reflect well on you as a viewer who is critical of the photographic image.

As he has put it,

the key element in this picture is textures

and I think, your picture certainly has the elements of the strong contrast of tones, emphasizing the quality of the rugged textures in the picture, through the cracks and the worn walls of the house. There is also repetition and consistency in the photo, through the subjects of the windows.

Whether intended or not, there is a contrast between the two windows as well (open and close). This is indeed a fine use of what I deem to be "symoblic" photography, where subjects are subjected to the viewer's intepretation, not our powers of deduction. It says alot and very little at the same time, depending on how one looks at it.

However, there is the element of distortion. (solved and corrected easily through Lens Correction filter in Photoshop) I do concur with espion though, that the lamp post is irelevant to the picture unless stated so.

Sharpness-wise, it also can be further improved. (Unsharp Mask)