Dusk (Magistrate Building)

[Wooglah]

Camera Nikon D60
Exposure 0.125 sec (1/8)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 30 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash No Flash



I took this photo yesterday. It was somehow... well, not vibrant enough. So I did some pp in PS: made a color overlay layer (45%), set background to black and white with infrared filter, and adjusted levels a bit. I think it looks much more interesting now. I'll include the original so you can see it.

Questions:
- What do you think of final result and PP used? What could I fix and how?
- Your thoughts on framing, parameters used and the usual stuff..
- Anything else I should know - please feel free to say.

Thanks

[savishy.pv]

My 2 cents (I am new to critiques myself, so I'll start off slow ):

I liked the shades of brown/gold in the original and thought the (otherwise well-done) processing effort reduced their intensity, which IMHO is the reason the processed feels comparatively less vibrant.

I couldn't help wondering what a longer exposure (and lower ISO) with a tripod/support would have done to this photo. Maybe brought out the deep blue sky a bit more? Reduced the noise a bit? Even amplify the amber of the streetlamps?

I think the framing is fine, but I am still learning myself - maybe someone else could chime in?

Speaking of vibrance, have you tried Lightroom's vibrance adjustments? Lightroom itself is pretty great as it makes you focus on the big picture. Just a suggestion - I'm sure there are people on both sides of the camp.

[RELum]

Originally Posted by savishy.pv

I couldn't help wondering what a longer exposure (and lower ISO) with a tripod/support would have done to this photo. Maybe brought out the deep blue sky a bit more? Reduced the noise a bit? Even amplify the amber of the streetlamps?

I like the original as well with the above comments. The only thing I can add to this is that it is leaning a tad bit right.

Russell

[Wooglah]

Hey, thanks for the comments

Building is old and not built at the right angle, so I had to chose when aligning horizontal axis - I used the bottom. It would look better if I went more right, but I wanted to capture the newly renovated street.

About shades and colors - I already have dozen or so 'usual' photos of this building and some of it's parts, so I wanted to play a bit, to make i more unusual. The thing is, I was out without a tripod, taking pictures of sky and clouds for some assignment, and on my way back I passed near this building and decided to take a photo of it. It was not perfect, so I wanted to delete it... and than changed my mind, used post-processing to get some crazy result.. I like that it seams a bit like HDR even if it is not one...

So yes, it would be a lot better if i used tripod and longer exposure, but I did not It happens. That aside, I still think PP makes it interesting and a bit gloomy/eerie... but i do see where you stand, and thanks for the honesty.