A cyclist

michswiss

I'm interested in thoughts about this image. Taken last night with the current DSS challenge in mind and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I have this and a B&W version as well as another image up for comment in the challenges forum.

1)

bfjr

My initial reaction is , Yes

michswiss

bfjr wrote: »

My initial reaction is , Yes

Insightful Any other crazy thoughts?

bfjr

michswiss wrote: »

Insightful Any other crazy thoughts?

Ok crazy

the way I understand "Panning" is that the subject is in sharp focus with the background blurred showing motion.

So I guess now the answer is, No

However I still like this shot and work at shots like yours myself.

Not so crazy, Huh

Richard

michswiss wrote: »

Insightful Any other crazy thoughts?

I quite like it. The color is subtle, but I think it would lose something in B&W.

Flyinggina

I like the idea of this shot and especially like that the bicyclist is riding into the frame. In principle, the idea of having the subject blurry doesn't bother me at all. However, I think to make this one a wall hanger, you would need to pan in order to capture a lot less motion by the bicycle.

I checked out the black and white version in the challenge forum and found that the whole composition lacked interest without the color. To me this means that the composition isn't strong enough and that, to succeed, the color aspects of the photo have to carry the weight. For me, the color palette is just not dramatic enough to make me want to stop and look.

That said, I do think that a crop giving the cyclist more prominence in the frame but keeping him well to the right would improve the impact of the photograph.

Virginia

michswiss

Virginia, Sincere thanks for the thorough critique.

I'd commented in the challenge thread that I felt the B&W version lost emotional impact in exchange for a bit more clarity in the image itself. The lighting at this location is horrid, so there was no realistic hope of keeping it purely as seen. I can always rework the levels and curves to change the palette, but there's a horrible blue tinge invading the whole setting due to down-lighting under the expressway. I wish the city planners thought more about the needs of night street photographers in their designs.

If I decide to retry this shot, I really want it to be about isolation of the cyclist while still expressing something of the urban setting. But I don't want a partial blur of recognisable features, thus the long exposure at night from an elevated pedestrian crossing looking down into an intersection.

Flyinggina

Yes, funny how urban planning doesn't take the needs/wants of street photographers into consideration.

On the other hand, sometimes photographers take good advantage of the urban environment - as you have proven in your photography!

So, I guess it all balances out.

I do hope you will retry the shot and look forward to seeing the results.

Virginia