Just an office building I drove by on my way home tonight

[Darren Bradley]

Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Exposure 0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 17 mm
ISO Speed 320

Could probably stand to be a bit sharper, but I shot this hand-held.

Open to suggestions on how to PP it differently, if anyone has ideas.

 

[Pete Askew]

I like the PP Darren although maybe toning down the red line would help. I would probably have used a cross process simulation to lift overall contrast and shift the colours but you might have lost that wonderful sky (lloking closer maybe you did already). I do like the balance in tis shot though. The tops of the two plams on the left leading in balanced by the separation of the tree on the left. I gues without the car that would look a little unblanced though but it's inclusion really finishes it off while adding movement. Was that a concious decision?

 

[Darren Bradley]

Thanks, Pete. I didn't do a whole lot of PP, because I didn't want to lose the colors of the sky. I could perhaps try to tone down the red and/or give it a cross-process treatment and see what happens.

As for the composition, I think you and I are on the same page. I intentionally sat there for about 5 minutes and waited for a car to come by to balance it out and give a bit of movement to the image, because I thought it was lacking, otherwise.

 

[Pete Askew]

I think I would have done the same Darren although I guess there was a bit of a race against time regards the lighting. But without the car it would have looked imbalanced I think. The red billboard helps bring the eye down a bit but the left side would dominate without the moving car.

 

[Darren Bradley]

Thanks. I would much prefer the shot without the red sign on the left, but I refuse to clone it out, out of principle.

 

[Pete Askew]

Chainsaw and re-shoot?!!

 

[Darren Bradley]

Ha!

 

[Brian Moore]

Darren you must have a bubble-level implanted in your eyeball or something. For a handheld shot you really got the thing horizontal, as evidenced by the line of red pavement (notwithstanding the slight curve rendered by the wide angle lens). The sky is very nice in this picture, and I like the asymmetrical look to the palms a lot. Although, the big orangy mall sign on the left is a little distracting. Very nice shot, though.

 

[Pete Askew]

Looking at this shot again there is a nice optical illusion (I assume) in the reflection in the door. It almost looks like a reflection of a similarly proportioned, but older styled, building on the other side of the street.

 

[Darren Bradley]

Since it was a late afternoon the day before a major holiday (today is Thanksgiving here), the office building was empty and dark, except for a light in the entrance hall. I believe that's what you see through the glass doors that looks like a reflection.

 

[Darren Bradley]

Thanks, Brian. Completely agree with you about the sign, but since it is there, I left it...

As for the bubble level, it does take practice but I find myself lining up shots instinctively now, without really thinking about it. I generally just use the sides of the camera frame as my straight edge and line up the subject accordingly. About half the time, I still need to make tiny adjustments later in PP, and that was the case here, too.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

What a great reflection!

Love the movement in the car, and the asymmetric framing provided by the palm trees