What’s Your Preference?

hora · #1 (**permalink**) 08-06-2007, 10:18 PM

Here's a picture I took of a 'sculpture' in downtown Vancouver. Comments and critique are appreciated, thanks!

Link to Flickr

EXIF:
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/5
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/6 EV
ISO Speed: 100

jiminyClickit · #2 (**permalink**) 08-07-2007, 03:31 AM

hora,

If only you had moved over a little, to eliminate the building in background. Since it's perspectively leaning so much as to be a distraction, if you cropped some of it and cloned out the rest, the sculpture would then become easier to see as subject, and would be larger in cropped version. What is that made of?

hora · #3 (**permalink**) 08-07-2007, 04:50 AM

Do you think this shot has more potential:

jiminy: I'm not exactly sure what it was made of, but it was some sort of metal.

Nicole · #4 (**permalink**) 08-07-2007, 05:06 AM

Neat sculpture. I might be strange, but I think that one angle I would've gone for would have been laying on my back underneath it.

Now, your photos... I kind of like the first one because it looks like it's leaning against the building. I actually find it more interesting than the second one. I don't know what else I would change, but yeah, I think lots of different angles might be interesting

subrataofkris · #5 (**permalink**) 08-07-2007, 05:50 AM

A very interesting piece of sculpture indeed, or should I call it installation art. After the two reviews, you must be wondering how varied opinions can be. Any form of art is extremely subjective and so are the mindsets of the people who see them. There are certain rules of composition that create a little zing in any photograph, Jiminy wanted to stress on such a point and wanted you to highlight the main subject and eliminate the rest, as much as possible. On the other hand, Nicole, tried to stress on creating a drama in your photograph. His idea of lying down closer to the subject and taking a shot with only the sky as the background might be extremely dramatic and is really worth a try.

Cheers,

Penny · #6 (**permalink**) 08-07-2007, 06:52 AM

Hora - I, too, prefer the first shot. The colours are better and it has a lot of dynamic energy that holds my attention as I try to figure out what was going through the artist's mind when this was concieved! I love your title!!

wulf · #7 (**permalink**) 08-07-2007, 07:11 AM

I agree with Jiminy that the buildings are leaning too much in the first shot but I like having them in the background. My first impression of the sculpture, as a Christian, is a challenge - has the (traditional) church committed suicide by jumping off a high building (and is that a bad thing?).

Swinging the shot round so you see the lake instead makes it absurd rather than provocative and so loses much of the value of it as a piece of art. Perhaps some post processing could make the skyscraper more upright (definitely cheaper than getting a "tilt shift" lens to do it right in-camera!)?

Wulf

ellie mac · #8 (**permalink**) 08-07-2007, 07:21 AM

I really like the idea of this sculpture and I think the first picture shows the dynamics of the concept better.
I would prefer to see even just a slight gap between the sculpture and the building to establish the complete independance of the sculpture. Maybe two or three steps to your right would have been enough to still get the extreme angle without resting it against the building. Otherwise, as jiminy suggests, eliminating the building altogether while still maintaining a perspective where you still get the red and the angle of the sculpture.

The second image doesn't give quite the same impression of the apparently precarious balancing act that is seen in the first one.

I think I would definitely have tried Nicole's suggestion too!

hora · #9 (**permalink**) 08-07-2007, 04:46 PM

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Nicole: I also like the first one more, I find there's a bit more to see, and a little more drama in the shot. Next time I go downtown, I'll be sure to try out the angle you suggested, unless its super wet and I don't wanna lay down on the grass. It rains in Vancouver very, very often

subrataofkris: I couldn't agree more with what you said about art, everyone looks at it differently and has a unique experience creating and observing it.

Penny: Thanks, I still think the title is the best part of the whole shot.

wulf: I don't really know what I can do about the tilt, but I kinda liked how the buildings were leaning into one another. I never saw it as a church when I first took the photo, I saw it more as a colonial time schoolhouse. But my dad brought that to my attention, that it looks like a church. He was also a bit shocked. But I remember the plaque reading it was just a house. Next time I go by there, I'll let you know what the title of the 'sculpture' is.

ellie mac: Thanks, I also wish I would've noticed the building were 'touching' in my shot, sadly I didn't until I uploaded to my computer. Next time I go downtown, I have a lot to think about!

Thanks!