Brisbane River Views

[TonyW]

I have been trying to improve my processing procedures. Do you see anything I should have done differently here? They were all taken from a moving ferry fairly early in the morning when there was some light rain about.

1. Customs House with St John's Cathedral just visible through the gap.

056A4803 by tonyw36, on Flickr

2. The ferry has a reasonable turn of speed when it gets going.

056A4813(2) by tonyw36, on Flickr

3. A few mangroves by the river have been preserved.

056A4657 by tonyw36, on Flickr

[IzzieK]

I like your commentary...I am kinda confused as to what I do not like in #1 though it is a nice clear shot...I like #2. The #3 shot tells it all where you were passing by and what you saw...very interesting.

[Geoff F]

I think the problem with #1, Isabel, is that it is a colonial type of building being dwarfed by those modern structures behind it. Blame the architects not the photographer!

Maybe a fraction more water, or crop tighter and lose the flag?

[IzzieK]

I think the problem with #1, Isabel, is that it is a colonial type of building being dwarfed by those modern structures behind it. Blame the architects not the photographer!

Maybe a fraction more water, or crop tighter and lose the flag?

I am not blaming Tony...it is what he saw and photographed. Almost always this kind of structure are always dwarfed by these modern buildings from behind. If Tony had not been where he was when he photographed this, I am sure he would have gone to another place to get rid of those modern structures and concentrated on the main theme of his shot. Missouri here is the same, but at least we can have a clear view to shoot without the modernization behind of our court house in the city that is where the Gateway Arch is.

I don't know, Geoff...I think he just have to leave it be unless he play around it a bit more and see if he can isolate it better...???

[TonyW]

Thanks, Isabel and Geoff. I agree with Geoff that in #1 the buildings in the background are a problem. It's not so much that they are modern but they are especially ugly. I quite like some of the other modern buildings.

Geoff, I think you are right about the different crop.

[dje]

Hi Tony

Firstly the detail and exposure in these shots is very good.

As for the first shot, I do agree with Geoff and Izzie that the modern buildings in the background do spoil it somewhat as they are a bit dominant. I've tried photographing this beautiful building but have run into the same problem. There just isn't any view that doesn't have modern buildings in the background. I'd crop it just above the top of Custom's House, losing the flagpole. With some judicious selection in PS, you might be able to reduce the brightness of the modern buildings and sky to make them a little less prominent.

The composition in the second shot is very strong I think with the wash of the boat forming a good leading line. Portrait orientation works well too. The light was a bit against you so the image is a little flat. Bumping up the saturation a fair bit might help. You might also consider a B&W conversion.

The third shot looks a bit hazy because of the weather. The use of some Local Contrast Enhancement or something like the Detail Extractor in Colour Efex Pro (Nik) should help with that.

Dave

[FootLoose]

I like the 2nd very much, Tony, it has good use of leading lines and vanishing point, as Dave mentioned.

In the 3rd one, the buildings seem to have a slight lean to the right. Otherwise the contrast of the relaxed lifestyle associated with the yacht, against pressure of the high-rises in the background is arresting.

I think the problem with the first one is perspective -- probably an optical illusion. The perspective lines of the customs building vanish to the left, yet the fence in foreground below it appears to be horizontal. Maybe it is a curved structure? The other thing that strikes me as a little weird is that the brown building on the right seems like a façade only sticking up in the air. It doesn't appear to have any depth on the right hand side. (I am not mentioning this is as a criticism of the photo, but rather as an observation of the quirkiness of Brisbane )

[TonyW]

Dave and Greg, thanks for your comments. The problem with the perspective, I think, is that the building is not parallel with the retaining wall and I was below the level of the wall so that what you see is actually what was there. It's an interesting comment about the tall building looking just like a facade. I have not done anything to it. Perhaps it is simply not square. I will have a look next time I am going past.

Dave, I had a go at converting the second picture to black and white. I think it works but I would still prefer the colour version. In colour, it is one of those pictures where I can never decide what the exposure and degree of saturation should be. It seems to change every time I look at it.

By the way, talking of black and white pictures and completely off topic, have you seen the exhibition of photographs by Richard Stringer at the Queensland Art Gallery? They are worth a look if you are in the area and entry is free.

056A4813bw by tonyw36, on Flickr

[dje]

By the way, talking of black and white pictures and completely off topic, have you seen the exhibition of photographs by Richard Stringer at the Queensland Art Gallery? They are worth a look if you are in the area and entry is free.

No Tony I haven't seen this exhibition but thanks for the tip. I will make it my business to see it.

Dave