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Fire

RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,931 moderator
edited November 4, 2015 in Street and Documentary
150927_0043-XL.jpg
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    ThelensspotThelensspot Registered Users Posts: 2,041 Major grins
    edited November 3, 2015
    Richard, I like the shot and catching the bike rider really sets off the fire but I when I mentally clone out the light pole and artificial light coming from it I like it better. It seems to give the bike rider more room and the fire more emphasis. The cars on the street in the background give it the urban look already. Others will likely disagree but that's just me. rolleyes1.gif If you are not into cloning...I didn't say anything. :D
    It is a very dramatic shot and well done for the lighting you had! bowdown.gif
    "Photography is partly art and partly science. Really good photography adds discipline, sacrifice and a never ending pursuit of photographic excellence"...ziggy53

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    EaracheEarache Registered Users Posts: 3,533 Major grins
    edited November 3, 2015
    Thelensspot wrote: »
    Others will likely disagree but that's just me.

    Yes, I disagree... imo, compositional elements like this light pole are not a deficit in "documentary" type images... and for me, this one in particular is quite ok.

    Great capture Richard... the implied nonchalance of the bicyclist stands-out for me.
    Eric ~ Smugmug
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    toragstorags Registered Users Posts: 4,615 Major grins
    edited November 3, 2015
    Shot seeths action & high drama

    Well seen and patience helped with the inattentive bicyclist

    Good work
    Rags
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    ThelensspotThelensspot Registered Users Posts: 2,041 Major grins
    edited November 3, 2015
    Earache wrote: »
    Yes, I disagree... imo, compositional elements like this light pole are not a deficit in "documentary" type images... and for me, this one in particular is quite ok.

    Great capture Richard... the implied nonchalance of the bicyclist stands-out for me.

    Eric, I stand corrected and totally agree. I mistakenly thought this had been posted in "Other Cool Shots". :bash In "Documentary" the photographer has a duty to portray realism. Thank You! My apologies Richard!
    "Photography is partly art and partly science. Really good photography adds discipline, sacrifice and a never ending pursuit of photographic excellence"...ziggy53

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    JuanoJuano Registered Users Posts: 4,881 Major grins
    edited November 3, 2015
    Very dramatic shot indeed! Great tones in the smoke too. clap.gifclap
    Cristóbal


    www.mind-driftphoto.com
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    rainbowrainbow Registered Users Posts: 2,765 Major grins
    edited November 3, 2015
    Wonderful shot. So how did you happen on this?
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    toragstorags Registered Users Posts: 4,615 Major grins
    edited November 3, 2015
    rainbow wrote: »
    Wonderful shot. So how did you happen on this?

    I wonder too... It's not easy to start a fire of that size.....
    Rags
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    RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,931 moderator
    edited November 4, 2015
    Thanks, guys. I shot this from my apartment terrace--it was a brush fire about 200 meters away. All I had to do was stand there with a telephoto lens and watch the action. These fires happen regularly in early fall, when everything is really dry after the hot summer. This one didn't cover a lot of ground, but it did get pretty dramatic when a couple of big pine trees ignited:

    150927_0039-XL.jpg

    As for cloning, it never occurred to me. The pic is about the guy on the bike, really. As Eric said, documentary pics have to obey certain rules. When this forum was called Street & PJ, we had endless discussions about what was acceptable. I think that if you are going for art rather than journalism, anything goes--cloning, composites, transformations, whatever. Still, I think this one works better as a straight documentary shot than it would as an art shot regardless of any possible manipulation. It's also less work that way mwink.gif.
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    ThelensspotThelensspot Registered Users Posts: 2,041 Major grins
    edited November 4, 2015
    Richard wrote: »

    As for cloning, it never occurred to me. The pic is about the guy on the bike, really. As Eric said, documentary pics have to obey certain rules. When this forum was called Street & PJ, we had endless discussions about what was acceptable. I think that if you are going for art rather than journalism, anything goes--cloning, composites, transformations, whatever. Still, I think this one works better as a straight documentary shot than it would as an art shot regardless of any possible manipulation. It's also less work that way mwink.gif.

    Richard, I completely agree. I simply went to the shot from "New Stuff" and thought as per usual routine I was looking at something you had posted under "Other Cool Shots". As a result I interpreted the shot as one in which you were attempting to best capture an image of "bicyclist and fire" rather than "documenting" an event. To me, as Eric was kind enough to articulate, this would be on par with a journalist recording an event for publication. It makes a difference. I still don't like the light pole but in documenting an event with the camera as you would for "Documentary" the shot should stand by itself and reflect an accurate depiction of the surroundings. It should speak of emotions, actions and reactions to an occurrence or a particular event such as you captured here. I apologize that I pulled the "cloning" trigger here when I agree with all that has been said in response to my initial comments...given the theme under which it was posted. But be prepared, as is the norm/routine from others here. to see me mention "cloning" again in the future for pics posted under a different category. nod.gif

    It is a dramatic shot!
    "Photography is partly art and partly science. Really good photography adds discipline, sacrifice and a never ending pursuit of photographic excellence"...ziggy53

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    RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,931 moderator
    edited November 4, 2015
    Hey Wayne,

    No apology needed. You are correct that the composition would be better without the pole. Personally, I don't mind using a bit of Photoshop magic to make minor changes to my street shots. For example, before I started using LR for cropping, sometimes a rotation and crop would leave a bit of whitespace on an edge. When possible, I would use content aware fill to extend the sidewalk or sky. This is probably not OK for PJ, but since I'm not a pro, I don't much care. Now that BD isn't around, it works for Dgrin lol3.gif.
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    toragstorags Registered Users Posts: 4,615 Major grins
    edited November 4, 2015
    I wonder how BD is doing....
    Rags
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