Industrai Landscape

[Karm Redland]

Comments welcomed.





karm

[Shadowman]

Very nice. You could have zoomed out and still maintain the presented imagery.

[GrahamH]

Always difficult to make an industrial landscape work, such a visually busy place usually.
The cloud maker is interesting, but what was the point of interest that attracted you to the scene?
What are you trying to say in the image?

Techically, everything seems in focus. Compositionally the industrial section bisects the scene, clouds not very interesting.
Perhaps a tight framing of the vapour and the building with the far distant skyline on opposite side.
Graham

[Mike Buckley]

The original composition works just great as a black-and-white if you're inclined. Whether as a monochrome or color version, I would eliminate the four tall buildings in the background that stick up behind the building with the escaping steam.

[Karm Redland]

Yeah, the four tall buildings need to be eliminated. It's on my calendar to try this photo in BW.

Thanks

karm

[Karm Redland]

What first drew me to look at this scene was the luscious smoke. Looking at it further, I found this scene beautiful to look at. I liked its soft and creamy look. All of this is what I attempted to accomplish with my picture.

Nothing wrong with your take on this image. However, it does not convey what I saw.

Karm

[Mike Buckley]

What first drew me to look at this scene was the luscious smoke.

That's exactly why I look forward to your monochrome conversion. The steam, smoke, or whatever actually stands out more for me in a monochrome treatment.

However, it does not convey what I saw.

I can really relate to that even though your comment is not addressed to me. When I've done my job as a photographer -- meaning that when I have envisioned the photo before releasing the shutter -- it becomes very difficult for me to accept a post-processing treatment that goes against what I envisioned in the first place.

[ShaneS]

Karm;

I enjoyed perusing the image and the smoke is luscious (if smoke can be called that ) and you have shown the colors on the buildings beautifully.

I've been back to this image a couple of times now and keep finding myself covering the left dark building and then uncovering it. My thinking is that removing the dark building really focuses in on the color in the image and the smoke with character is still retained if you leave the stack in and crop to around the 'd' in your watermark. This may not work as well in the B&W white version that I hope you will share at some point.

I would love to hear input on this sugestion, agree or disagree, as I am really working on training my eye...

Crop or no crop, this is a lovely image Karm.

[Mike Buckley]

I think Shane's crop would work but would require cropping also on the right to prevent the steam from becoming too centered and stagnant. However, I prefer the composition as is because the dark building helps add a three-dimensional look in an otherwise two-dimensional look imposed by the diffuse light.

[Karm Redland]

Thanks Shane. In developing this photo I played a lot with the left side dark building. What I ending up doing was darkening this building to maximize the smoke's impact -- at least to my eyes. Whether the dark building should be there or not is another issue.

Karm

[Karm Redland]

John, I will play with the images scale. See if it enhances the image.

karm

[Karm Redland]

Here is a toned image I processed. Anyone who believes black and white is easier than color should try processing this image. There are so many versions of this picture that can be developed depending what mood you want to create. I can easily create five to ten versions of this photo in BW. I went with a Cyanotype finish. Comments are welcomed.



Karm

[Donald]

Here is a toned image I processed. Anyone who believes black and white is easier than color should try processing this image. I went with a Cyanotype finish. Comments are welcomed.

For me, that gives it a cold, hard, harsh feel (as opposed to warm and cuddly), which is what you very often want for an industrial landscape. The tone also helps emphasise and enhance the contrast in the image. So, yes, a perfectly good approach to the finished article.

There are so many versions of this picture that can be developed depending what mood you want to create. I can easily create five to ten versions of this photo in BW.

And it's through this sort of practice (experimenting) that you begin to form your own views about what B & W conversion approaches/treatments work best for what sorts of situations. The next step on from that is then training yourself to look at a scene in front of you and tell yourself exactly what the finished B & W is going to look like. So you know precisely what the mood is going to be. To do that, I think you need to consciously ask yourself, when you've got the shot set up, - "What mood is it I'm feeling from this scene right now?" If you wish, write it down some descriptive words that capture the feeling you are experiencing - Warm; Happy; Menacing; Threatening; Majestic; etc; etc.

Then you go back to the 'digital darkroom' and make it happen. And you save all that time not having to experiment with the different options - you know what you want/need to do. It's a real 'high' when you manage to do that on a reasonably consistent basis ... and it sort-of works (most of the time).

[Karm Redland]

Thanks Donald for your feedback. The color version is "warm and cuddly." I wanted this one to be cold. For my eyes it is a nice contrast with my color version. I agree with everything you said. Personally, when I do color processing I end up with a single favorite photo. When I try BW, more often than not, I end up with multiple versions. It probably sounds counter intuitive but BW processing, at least for me, triggers in my imagination more possibilities than color. I do not know if this is just my inexperience or the nature of the beast. I would definitely appreciate other views on this observation.

Karm

[Mike Buckley]

For me, the black-and-white version is so much more convincing. You did a very nice job all around with your conversion. Now that you hopefully like it so much, you'll feel that it's worth the time to get rid of the four obtrusive buildings.

You may have used a cyanotype treatment at low opacity, but the overall look doesn't come close to being a cyanotype. Google some cyanotype photos to get an idea of what they look like and I'm sure you'll agree.

In addition to everything that you and Donald have mentioned about making monochrome conversions, I have found that making one often points the way to improving my color version of the same photo. There is no question that my foray into making monochromes in the past year has helped improve my overall approach to post-processing my color photos.

[Shadowman]

Thanks Donald for your feedback. The color version is "warm and cuddly." I wanted this one to be cold. For my eyes it is a nice contrast with my color version. I agree with everything you said. Personally, when I do color processing I end up with a single favorite photo. When I try BW, more often than not, I end up with multiple versions. It probably sounds counter intuitive but BW processing, at least for me, triggers in my imagination more possibilities than color. I do not know if this is just my inexperience or the nature of the beast. I would definitely appreciate other views on this observation.

Karm

Both are fine, I think the smoke blotting out the Sun is more obvious in the color version.