Stone Soldiers

[Don_Pace]

Critique My Shot: Stone Soldiers

Here is another one I'd like critiqued. This is a photo of the War Memorial situated downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It is a really interesting memorial, and provides plenty of photography fun.

I took this shot to capture the soldiers in the sculpture. I wanted to give it a vintage look, as if I took a photo of real soldiers coming home from war. This is what I ended up with. Fire away..

[jiminyClickit]

Don_Pace

That's the way to enjoy the process! Experiment and ask questions. Pet peeve, cut-off feet. Given a choice, include limbs and extremities. Vintage would probably have a tone, less white. Shadows/contrast may have withstood time a little darker, Overall, composition/framing is good.

[Saralonde]

Welcome to dps! Interesting pic and expermentation with editing. I agree with Jim that it might be cropped a little close. I like the b&w but there are a few too many blown highlights. A little dark shadowing may bring out the detail.

[wyndhydra]

Don_Pace,
I love this capture of the monument, reminds me of some of the other cool ones that I've seen around the states. The vintage flavor looks good but I have to agree that I don't think there should be quite as much white seeping in. Additionally, I was curious if you thought about applying a slight fading color cast to go for that even more vintage feel.

[Don_Pace]

Alright, here I am again. Did a little tweaking to my original that I posted for your critique. Tried to get stronger shadows to appear, and added a sepia-like tone for that vintage camera look. Added some grain (I think I overdid it this time) for effect.

Once again, please fire away!

[wyndhydra]

Don_Pace,
I think I have to agree that you might have over done it a bit. I like that you got some of that shadow detail back. The grain also looks pretty good. I am wondering slightly about the color choice for the sepia approach. I would think that if it were older there would be more yellow IMO. Additionally, you might want to consider two toning the "sepia" for a fading (just a thought). I still like what you're doing with it. Good work!

[Luc Rioux]

Hi Don....
Nice to see someone else from Ottawa. I think your on to something with the second shot....not to sure about the colour. Keep experimenting.
Take care fellow Ottawaian...
Luc

[xxpinballxx]

Don, could you post the original so we have an idea where its coming from?
I think starting from scratch and desaturating it to almost no color then tinting it a bit would give a more antique look. Out of these two i like the second beter but still some areas too bright.