the Madness
by moondoggie

Comment by moondoggie:
Thanks for all the comments. Woo hoo, my first top ten finish! Regarding some of the comments: I also wanted the entire stop sign in the photo, but unfortunately, there was a street sing on top of the stop sign which really distracted from the shot. I felt it was better to crop off the top than to leave on the sign. A copy of the original shot can be seen here...

//www.pbase.com/image/11588877

If I could have selectively desaturated, I would have removed red everywhere except for the sign. Lastly, this was taken at a paper mill. I don't know for sure if the stuff coming out is steam or not, but I highly doubt it as it stinks of sulfur and can be smelled for miles. regardless, that's not the point. This is not about this one particular paper mill, or paper mills in general. This is meant to be more of a symbolic reflection upon the waste and pollution which is deposited into our ecosphere with rapidly accelerating abandon. It's merely my own personal statement reflecting my opinions about man's propensity to destroy his own environment.

Thanks again to all who commented. The time you took to share your thoughts was greatly appreciated!

Message edited by author 2003-01-27 00:43:28.

the Madness
by moondoggie

Comment by PTLParsons:
Good shot. No arguments or nit picking here. Like the title. Photo says it without the title. I think the border works well here.

the Madness
by moondoggie

Comment by johnny_justjohnny:
excellent.

Viewpoint
by moondoggie

Comment by Manic:
Critique Club comment :o)

Composition:

The most striking thing about this photo is the contrast between the area in shadow and the rest of the landscape. This makes the foreground on the right really pop out, thus drawing attention to the building on top of this outcrop - great choice of focal point, by the way.

The lines of the shot lead the eye across the frame nicely, but I'd be interested to see if it was possible to take this shot from higher up (so that more of the river is in view), or slightly lower down (so that the foreground outcrop covers the background river & hills).

Background:

The background is an integral part of this landscape shot, so much is covered above. However, I can add that the sky (and the distant hills) are getting a bit grainy, even with as low an ISO as 50, so perhaps a slightly longer exposure with a narrower aperture would help avoid that, but that really depends on your camera as much as anything.

Camera Work:

Both the focus and the DoF are good on this shot. As for the lighting, as many other people suggested in their comments, it may have been worth going up there at a different time of day (if possible), to get the light coming at a different angle.

FYI, I think you've got your Aperture and Shutter values mixed up - the aperture should probably be F2.0, and thus the Shutter time should be 1/650th sec :o)

Post Processing:

Since you've not provided any details, I can only guess as to what post processing you've done, if any. The mane thing about this shot is obviously the balance between the very dark shadows and the very light, even hazy, sunlit areas - perhaps some (more) levels adjustments would help cool the lit areas, without losing the details in the shadows... but this might not be possible, of course, in which case this is probably the best compromise.

My Opinion:

I personally think that this shot absolutely meets the "landscape" challenge, and is an impressive vista, held together nicely by the focal point of the building. Definitely an above-average shot, just short of being great.

If you have any questions about this critique, please feel free to contact me via the PM system.

the Madness
by moondoggie

Comment by Wheeler1992:
nicely done

the Madness
by moondoggie

Comment by Ptman:
Good strong image, IMO the top of sign needed to be in shot.

the Madness
by moondoggie

Comment by vestanpance:
Nice photo. I think it would have been better to include the top of the sign rather than cropping it off but it's still a good shot. I like the lack of colour in the background buildings but I keep being drawn towards the little red light on the building on the left.

the Madness
by moondoggie

Comment by darrenmeisel:
Nice picture...

the Madness
by moondoggie

Comment by Gekker:
I like how you took out all of the colors except red. little dot under sign on building doesn't really make a difference to me. Great message as well.

the Madness
by moondoggie

Comment by bod:
Excellent. Great composition, nice colour desaturation and a good message. Top work. 10