Puddle Reflections: Composition Questions

[jentenna]

Got an unusually heavy rainfall here in Southern California, and I grabbed this picture of the mild flooding in the alley behind my apartment. The puddles were so deep, I was able to see some great reflections of the sky.



EXIF data:
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

I hope this isn't too vague a question, but I'm curious if I successfully conveyed my intent here. I wanted to capture the feel of the storms receding with a bit of surrealism... we don't get heavy rains like this often (although there's been a fair bit of it this winter). I also wanted to maintain enough context with the building reflection and the way the reflection blends to the sidewalk. Was I successful? Or does this just look like a picture of a puddle?

Other questions:
1. I left parts of the clouds blown-out to draw attention to them... but is this just a distraction? Does the under-exposure on the buildings "work"?

2. I forgot to adjust my ISO before I shot this... do I suffer from the noise?

[Vernian]

I'm not quite sure how to answer your first question. The image certainly has a surreal feel to it. My first impression was that the scale of things are ambiguous. The the phone lines going through your photo could equally be huge cables at a seaport, the telephone pole a ship mast and the puddle becomes a huge lake or sea with the gravel the shoreline. I think it has something to do with how close you were to the puddle. Yet the house reflected clearly could not be that big in a lake. Visually I find the contradiction quite stimulating. However I don't get the feel of a receding storm you wanted to capture

I don't think the clouds are really blown out, just brighter than the rest of the photo. Looking at your histogram, you have a nice spread, but the bulk of the photo, not just the house, still feels a little underexposed to me and personally I would have lightened it a little.

This image doesn't look noisy to me, so I wouldn't worry too much about the iso, though it may be more noticeable if you look at the larger image.

Usual disclaimer to be added which says I'm still learning so don't take anything I say as gospel

[jentenna]

Ah, interesting! I hadn't given much thought to the contradictions in scale, but I certainly see what you mean.

Thanks for your thoughtful response. I'll look at boosting the exposure a little in ACR.

[jdepould]

I don't really notice any image noise, so I wouldn't worry about ISO in this frame.

I like the quality and color of the light, it definitely adds to the image.

I do wish you would've gotten lower with the camera. It's very much an eye-level shot, which takes away from it a little bit.

Graphically, the reflected power lines (or whatever they are) are interesting, but I'm not sure I agree with the placement (center). I think maybe shifting the frame so that the puddle runs edge-to-edge, rather than corner-to-corner might be one solution. I'd also bring in the top and bottom a little, make the frame more rectangular.

[jentenna]

Thanks for the feedback, Jamie! I see what you mean about the lines being centered, so I went back and took another stab at it. Does this work better? I guess the water is still pretty much corner-to-corner, but the lines are less centered and the frame is more rectangular.



I think I was orignally trying to eliminate some of the distractions at the edge. I should probably clone out the light... but the dumpster probably can't be helped.

I did take some photos kneeling down, but I wasn't paying close enough attention to my DoF when I was taking them, so I didn't feel they were usable once I saw them on my monitor. Sigh.