#71-Concrete 1st Attempt Need C&C

slpollett

I haven't been a regular challenge participant in what seems like a long time, but I am finally in the mood to get the camera out and start shooting again. Actually, my 15-yr old daughter bought a new camera (with her own money!) and SHE was in the mood to go shooting so I grabbed my camera and off we went.

I have a few possibilities that I'd appreciate some feedback on. Are any of these challenge-worthy? How can I make them better? I found it hard to get enthused about any of the concrete that I found, so I really need some feedback. I may just have to come up with some other idea or at least something less literal.

Thanks in advance.

#1 Footbridge


2.


3. Covered Walkway


4. Neglected


Thanks for looking. I appreciate any direction you can give me.

Sherry

linda1111

I like the bridge. I think the sky is too washed out though. On #2, you could've done a shot of those circle things and that would've been interesting. Kind of the same thing with the statue - I would've zoomed in on her face at an interesting angle. They're nice photos, though.

slpollett

Thank you for commenting.

Unfortunately, yesterday was as gray a day as they come. It was overcast and our sky was blah--no sun, no clouds, no definition....just gray. I guess I could render clouds & try to change the sky's color, but I left it the way it was.

The only other option is just to crop the sky out, which I have done below. I'm not sure this version is doing it for me, either.



I doubt I'll try to re-shoot and it's unlikely I'll find anything concrete around here that's better than this location so this it it. I guess I'm not finding concrete to be interesting enough by itself to get me in the mood to shoot again. Without feedback, there is no improvement. Without improvement, there is no desire to continue.

Sherry

DonRicklin

If you were to reshoot the bridge, since the subject is concrete, not bridge, I'd try to get more to the left with a longer lens and shoot the concrete of the bridge side and openings with their corrugated marks.

Even in the crop, the base of the tree and the stone on the banks are too much of a distraction form the subject.

IMHO
Don

slpollett

Thanks, Don. I do have some shots of just the bridge from a variety of angles and just portions of the concrete. This angle was the only one that was halfway interesting to me. The 'stones' in the foreground are the remnants of the old sidewalk, so I was counting that as concrete also.

I will go through my other shots from yesterday again to see if any of them are just concrete enough.

I do appreciate the feedback.

Sherry

bbjones

I'm finding that if I play with the curves some (I'm using DPP, so I don't have the flexibility of lightroom) I can get a lot of the interesting texture in the concrete to come out. You might try playing with the processing a bit, and it might get more interesting.

The basic composition seems good to me -- I like the diagonal line of the bridge resonating with the roots. Maybe some processing will get you that pop you are looking for.

WhatSheSaw

In the crop of the bridge, it looks a bit like a bridge to nowhere. Definitely play with the processing a bit and see what happens.

The statue might be more interesting if shot from a different angle. I do like its weathered appearance.

Don't stop shooting! Concrete is a difficult subject, which is what makes it challenging.

rteest42

I like the first two, with some processing...try cropping TIGHT and SQUARE.... on both...the stairs could give you a really graphic composition! I agree, getting feedback is one of the most important parts of this entire challenge....

slpollett

Thanks for the feedback.

On the bridge, I adjusted levels, curves, & contrast on the bridge before I posted, plus I think I added an unsharp mask & played with every possible filter color + manual settings for the black & white conversion. When I cropped out the sky, I had to clone out the base of one of the light poles. I'll admit my photoshop skills are very limited, so I'm not sure what else to do to this image. I've never really been able to make my images 'pop' so I either don't do enough processing, or I do it all wrong. One of these days I may take a class instead of trying to muddle through by reading tutorials when I can.

I will try different crops, plus I have some other images from that day that I will review.

Thanks again for the feedback. I really do appreciate it.

Sherry

lkbart

I kinda like the last crop of the bridge - maybe a contrast boost? Or maybe it would look better in a sepia tone. I also like the statue but agree that maybe a different angle or perspective might look good.

slpollett

Thanks for taking time to comment.

I have tried a couple of different processing treatments, but still haven't hit on something that is moving me. I haven't given up on it yet though.

I was hoping to get back to this location this weekend and try to shoot some different angles of the steps by the stone wall & the statue, but it is supposed to rain & be colder. I won't want to go out shooting if that's the case, so I might be stuck with what I have already.

Thanks again,
Sherry

dnie

I really like the bridge, I hope you get a chance to re shoot it. It has great lines to it. I can't quite figure out what I would do different though.

travelways

I like the bridge too especially the cropped version, but I would try
some different angles and perspectives, maybe from the other side with no tree...

bbjones

I know this isn't much help, but I think the bridge would gain a lot of energy if it had 3 arches instead of 2. For reasons that I do not understand, repetition in odd numbers is more powerful than repetitions in even numbers.

Of course, it's not like you can add another arch, but it might be a little insight into what is working and not working.

That said, I really do love the tree roots and the texture in the bridge. It's a good photo!

slpollett

Thanks Donna, Tatiana, & Brian. I was hoping to re-shoot tomorrow, but it is supposed to rain. Maybe it will clear off in time for me to try. I can only cross my fingers.

The other side of the bridge has pvc pipe conduits that either carry plumbing or electrical. It's not as visually appealing and it's just too much for me to try to clone out given my poor cloning skills. Someone else suggested moving more to the left, but if I do that I am in the water.

It's funny Brian that you mention wishing this bridge had three arches. That may just be it! There are three of these little bridges around this duck pond and I had several shots of each one. I went back through all I did last weekend and one of the bridges has one arch. One of the bridges has two arches, and one of the bridges has three arches. Funny that I had never noticed that before. I used this two arch bridge for the most frames because the others have either distracting backgrounds or more unsightly 'junk' in the foreground. Now that I have some other things to think about, I may be able to find a better angle when I go back. I also want to try the steps by the rock wall again. Maybe I'll get lucky.

Thanks again for taking time to comment.

Sherry