When grace meets magnificence...

[FrozenRiver]

1. in what area is critique to be sought?
I don't know. Frankly if I knew it, I wouldn't need to post this here. But please read on...

2. what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
As the name suggests, I want to show the grace of the curve (of the bridge) and the magnificence of the bright star at the farther end of the curve.

3. under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
I was walking on the street when I saw this bridge. I was immediately attracted to its graceful curvature. And I knew that, if a small aperture is used, the lamp at the other end of the bridge will become a magnificent star. So I set up my tripod, set the aperture to f/16, and happily took a few shots.

4. what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture
Everything looked fine on the back LCD of my D90. But when I open the raw file on my computer, the feeling mysteriously disappeared. I don't know what it is, but something, which caused my feeling, was missing... Please help me figure out what it is. Thanks.

 

[foxtwo]

Tunnel vision? Sometimes we get caught up with the moment and take pictures which seem to look promising. But later back home we see it wasn't much actually. I don't know if that's the same as what you're refering to. It happens to me usually when I haven't done my full research on the location, the style of photography etc, and it ends up looking being a snapshot and just doesn't work. You had a bit of an idea involving lines and a main subject but when set up against the urban landscape, how big an impact is the star vs the rest of the elements?

My advise as always, instead of killing brain cells trying to make something out of nothing, shelf the photo into the archive and just go out and shoot something else. You've learnt something, take it forward to the next shoot.

 

[wildcat]

My feel is that if you could get more lighting from the car lights, it might be better, i.e. a strong highlight in that one particular area to draw the viewer's attention. Which prob means less distracting lights from the rather uninteresting (or if possible, you could have made it more interesting, thus being the main subject) background lights from the bridge and buildings in the background. Overall, my feel is that combining too many half interesting stuffs does not make a picture very interesting.

 

[FrozenRiver]

Thanks guys... I agree with you... I figured there are two problems with my image. Firstly, I was too close to the bridge, so that it is difficult for people to appreciate the curvature of it. Secondly, the bright star of the lamps is not interesting enough to attract people's attention. The street lamps in the background make things worse by distracting people's attention. So neither of the two centers of interest work. So it's only natural that this image doesn't work as a whole.

After reading a bit of the book Photography: the art of composition, I figured that, on another level, my mind worked in the analytical mode when I took the picture. Everything worked in my mind (a graceful curve leading to a star!). If my mind worked in the perceptive mode, I should have figured out the above problems onsite, by simply looking at the image...

I need more practice.

Thanks again.

 

[bayusuputra]

Tunnel vision? Sometimes we get caught up with the moment and take pictures which seem to look promising. But later back home we see it wasn't much actually. I don't know if that's the same as what you're refering to. It happens to me usually when I haven't done my full research on the location, the style of photography etc, and it ends up looking being a snapshot and just doesn't work...

yes, this happens to me as well.. what i like to do is that, if i see something potentially good to be photograph, i will study the spot.. come bcak several times, preferably in different lighting and angle, to really see which one is good.. if you would, you can read about the story of David Seide and his take on Chicago's Adler Planetarium.. in the end, his final photograph after many takes got into the hand of the Planetarium's principal (which coincidentally, also the grandson of the architect) and the photo was used as part of the marketing, and he struck a deal with them as their official photographer.. so, learning about a potential spot can actually bring you to a higher level.. don't need to be like David, but at least you can showcase a much more improved version!

as for your photo, i believe the idea is there, i can see the leading line in it.. there is still much more to improve in terms of composition.. how? only you can answer as the artist.. for example, if you are captivated by the graceful curve of the bridge, just concentrate on that, isolate it, forget about the bright light at the end.. try several angles, try different compositions, and you will know how to showcase the beauty of the bridge like how you feel it for the first time..

hope my zero point two cents helps.. :sweat:

keep shooting!