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One Rainy Night in Shanghai
One Rainy Night in Shanghai
riot


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Poem (Standard Editing)
Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM for Canon
Location: Not actually Shanghai
Date: Aug 25, 2016
Aperture: 4.0
ISO: 12800
Shutter: 1/100
Galleries: Interior, Architecture
Date Uploaded: Sep 1, 2016

 There's something about deserted bars at a certain time of night. A lot of lights here, but everything feels dark. Shooting ultra-wide to get the most out of the perspective of the room, a lot of repetition and detail I want to bring out here, so a tonemap process was appropriate. Intentionally going for an effect that perhaps, a few years ago, I would have considered to be grossly over-processed; but recently I've been enjoying experimenting with this sort of colour work.

Of course the usual high ISO noise limitations, but I decided to make them more of a feature here. I reduced chroma noise while allowing most luma noise to remain. I wanted to maximise the orange/green colour clash as much as possible, and the curves used to achieve this were kind of sophisticated; I wanted to boost the green in the shadows, dip them in the midtones but allow them back into the highlights for the gold of the lamps; the red dips in the shadows in counterpoint, but climbs in the upper midtones. The blue drops away sharply in the highlights, but returns with a vengeance in the upper highlights, making sure the lightbulbs aren't muted yellow but actually glow true white, despite their lamps around them being a deep and vibrant orange.


Editing steps: noise reduction, curves, dodging and burning, tonemap for local contrast enhancement, another curves adjustment, resize and sharpen

Statistics
Place: 45 out of 62
Avg (all users): 5.4068
Avg (commenters): 6.3333
Avg (participants): 5.1667
Avg (non-participants): 5.6552
Views since voting: 853
Views during voting: 99
Votes: 59
Comments: 4
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
Sony Alpha a1 II
Sony FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS
 09/09/2016 05:44:54 AM
Hello from the critique club

An interesting image assumed to meet the challenge.

I am not familiar with the poem so thanks to posthumous his additional prose has enabled me to get a better feel for your intentions. The deserted aspect and coloured glass certainly feels as though you have captured some of the essence of the poem so well done. As for the image itself, yes it is intentionally dark, the only blown highlights are not excessive and they work quite well. However the three lights in the upper foreground dominate to the detriment of the detail within the image, I think I prefer them cropped out.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon EOS-40D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
 09/08/2016 04:06:30 PM
I left you on the night I met you.
It poured two lives, painting their poses
on the windows, including sad and happy faces.
I only remember the name of your drink,
and the color of your umbrella.
The rest of you is just colored glass
I cover my eyes with.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D500
Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM
 09/08/2016 08:18:34 AM
in his full regalia, he waddled down to the Cotton Club
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony Alpha a55
Sony DT 50mm f/1.8 SAM
 09/05/2016 06:26:27 PM
warm & dry in here
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Theme: Classic / System / Light / Dark
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