sculpture at city hall

[shutterbug]

Please have a look and see where I might improve on it.

[Seltzer]

Initial impressions: The shot itself looks good and crisp. Were you possibly trying to frame the full shadow in? As it is i think it pushes the focal point a bit too far over to the right and also brings the building in a bit much as an alternate draw for focus. Possibly changing the DoF will help in blurring the background as the building is very sharp as well. If you have another angle you can shoot this at and possibly just have the sky.. or even I wonder how this would look from a lower vantage point (see assignments for "getting down and dirty"). Things to possibly make the shot a little better after the fact.. maybe crop out most of the bottom part that's covered in shadow and then the left fifth or so, not worrying about the shadow on the ground so much as it's not your main subject, just a nice byproduct.

[KRIS]

Hi,

If the shot was taken more from the right from a very low position the sculpture could have been shot against the sky, without the imposing building behind. The welding marks under the ' o ' on the left side reduces the beauty of the sculpture.
Further, use of a polariser could have deepened the sky color in stark contrast to the Grey sculpture.
Even if this shot was taken from the current position, a small f number (large aperture) would have thrown the building behind out of focus.
Or you could have moved back, used a telephoto with a large aperture you could still have got the sculpture, but minus the building which will be out of focus.
But the sculpture and its shadow in the same frame is good composition.

[shutterbug]

Thank you. You've helped tremendously. I'll just go back and take it again this weekend, using your suggestions.

[shutterbug]

I am so happy I found this site. You can't imagine. Thank you for your constructive criticism.

[greer]

Don't forget to post your other attempts up here as well. It will be interesting to see how you reinterpret this photo.

Just to add my two cents:

I like the lighting. It looks like it is later in the day, which gives a bit of glow to the statue. And it gives you an interesting shadow to work with too.

To me it feels like the statue is a bit cramped, though. If you want to show the entire statue with shadow I would give it a little more breathing room, especially around right side.

As an alternative you might want to try some tighter shots only showing a part of the statue. Maybe try to capture a couple of the interesting curves.

[shutterbug]

Many thanks for your help. I am so happy I found this forum.

This particular picture was taken early morning. I wanted the long shadow. Unfortunately, this sculpture is located in a little nook and it's awkward to get down and dirty due to lack of wiggle room around the sculpture.

I think what I'll do is grab the late afternoon light. That way I can get down on the ground to get a clear shot without the distractions of buildings, etc.

Again, many thanks to one and all. I'll resubmit when I've done it.