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UER Forum > Archived UE Photo Critiques > *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink* (Viewed 1145 times)
kowalski 






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*hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
< on 1/2/2006 8:31 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 











Redknight 


Location: Missouri
Gender: Male




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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 1 on 1/2/2006 10:21 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Time to take this thread's virginity. Mwahaha

First two photos, I'm going to go with the second one as the better. The first one has the lamp for some distraction and I dont like the red. The second one however pleases me alot more with the contrast and the zones of light. Very nice portrait wouldnt change a thing.

The third one is simply an amazing shot, nice work. I wanna say that I would take yourself out of it, but its kinda cool how you are matching the color of the whole thing, it makes it look like youre a part of it. Being nit picky, may see if burning that little bright spot on the bottom leftish part of the photo would make it any better.

Two and Three Im liking alot , definitely print worthy!

SilentSearch 


Location: Cowtown
Gender: Male


My rebellion against the santa cursor! HoHoHo

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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 2 on 1/2/2006 2:42 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I liked the last one. Couldn't get the perspective till you see the fire extinguisher lower left. Scrolling down to it, I thought it was a close up, till I saw that. Good work!

Official UE Safety officer and rescue specialist.
n_millard 


Location: Rhode Island


Lighting it Up

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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 3 on 1/3/2006 2:13 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
one i don't really like much, along with two, but the second one is the best

three is amazing, i love the complexity of it, not so much you in it, but like redknight said, you match the colors well

the last one i don't like so much, it looks like it must have been cropped too much, try getting more of the machine in the shot, maybe a horizontal shot rather than the verticle

thats my $0.02

Glass 


Location: Chicago


as one does

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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 4 on 1/3/2006 11:18 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
That portrait is print-worthy! I just fuckin love it. Tunnel shots, on the other hand, are all kind of boring: It's really hard to get new spin on the same. concrete. tubes.

kowalski 






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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 5 on 1/4/2006 8:15 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by mynameisglass
Tunnel shots, on the other hand, are all kind of boring: It's really hard to get new spin on the same. concrete. tubes.

You're obviously not interested in looking at drain photos. It's concrete, there's no peeling paint or rusting iron machinery, it's boring. There's actually an incredible diversity and variation to the most proficient photographic work that's being done in drains here and in Australia, and I see a real art and an incredible amount of interest in it, in the constant development of new methods of arranging the perspective and the lighting, and the way the unique features and construction of each drain interact with the unique approach and gear of each photographer. I think I'm going to have to write an article about this.

Anyway, suffice it to say that I think the first shot is one of the most emotionally-satsifying photos I've ever shot in a drain, and one of the best drain photos I've seen published in the past six months.

Posted by n_millard
...not so much you in it...

Posted by Redknight
...I wanna say that I would take yourself out of it...

I think there's a great value in putting the explorer within the frame. When it's made more than just a random snapshot, it creates a human emotional relationship, it provides scale, and it appeals to / activates a much broader swath of the viewer's brain and subconscious response.

Posted by n_millard
the last one i don't like so much, it looks like it must have been cropped too much.

I intentionally framed it this way when I took it, there was no cropping involved. This composition turns the turbine into a semi-abstract fabrication of lines and tones and accepts the fact that the turbine is just too damn long to shoot in its entirety from the elevated but close position I had at my disposal in that location. It also focuses the viewer's attention onto specific details of the unit that would otherwise be subsumed within the whole "thing". I have lots of photos of turbines at that facility and elsewhere, my aim in this case was precisely to produce a different view of the equipment. And in that frame, that's exactly what we get, with the added bonus of it looking incredibly hot.

Glass 


Location: Chicago


as one does

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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 6 on 1/4/2006 8:34 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
For a poster in the critiques forum you sound a little miffed that your pix got some iffy feedback. Take our opinions and work with them instead of rationalizing and arguing them away... other views are useful.

As far as my ideation concerning drain photography I think it takes a ton of work by the photographer as well as perfect subject placement to make it a *great* photo.

Your photo is OK.

The lighting is not something groundbreaking like you make it sound in your rant about the perspectives and composition that is happening under Australia. I have been looking at drains for a long time, trying to find a new way to present the same type of subject over and over again... when I step back from your romantic view all I still see is simple lines that lead into a subject posing dramatically in a shaft of light.

EDIT: Spellin'!
[last edit 1/4/2006 8:35 AM by Glass - edited 1 times]

kowalski 






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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 7 on 1/4/2006 8:45 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Don't worry, I'm not miffed, I'm quite amused, by the responses here and by this whole forum in general. And I'll hold onto my romantic notions because what they make is generally far prettier than piles of random crap in an abused building.



Redknight 


Location: Missouri
Gender: Male




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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 8 on 1/4/2006 10:15 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
lol, I thought the photos were great, just putting in some ideas.

I have seen TONS of great drain art, australia and otherwise. I look at drain compositions as some of the hardest to pull off, you really dont realize how much work goes into pulling off a shot like that. Keep the drain photos coming, and keep em packed with emotion.

Jondoe_264 


Location: Under . . .
Gender: Male


Yes! Sewers!

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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 9 on 1/4/2006 11:07 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Hey Kowalski!

First off, that's a nice looking drain! Personally modern systems hold less appeal to me and so they need to be sizeable/feature packed to hold any great appeal, that looks big and impressive, is it Gargantua?

Anyways, pics, I'll have to disagree with most people so far. I prefer drain pic one over two. It has more contrast and interest in the colours and light sources. The distance from where the pic is taken I feel is nicer than the close quarters of pic two. It's sometimes a git to try to keep the flouro out of shot and still get the shot you want and so it's acceptable to have it in there, rather than crop it out and change the pic to something other than what you were aiming for. Yep, one is nice, very interesting, certainly not boring, each to their own opinion though.

Does pic two use the flourescent lamp ( Uber LightTM ) in the foreground? I see may a slight hint of bluey light on the rcp there? I'd have been tempted, being in so close, to allow the natural light to do what it's doing in the foreground there and stick the Uber Light back down the pipe there behind the explorer. Probably a fair way down so's to not loose the darkness immediately behind the guy, but to add some interest behind by picking out the shape of the pipe much further down behind him? But that's all a personal thing, if you got the pic you wanted there, then it's all good!

Cheers,

JD
[last edit 1/4/2006 11:11 AM by Jondoe_264 - edited 1 times]

". . . for this purpose the plans of Mr.Bazalgette are most effective."
aDeLtRiTuS 


Location: south australia
Gender: Male




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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 10 on 1/4/2006 11:26 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
neither of the drain shots do it for me.i like 2 and 3 but feel the 4th is ruined some what due to cutting the end of the machine off in the shot.
but also dont understand why you put your pix in the critiques forum if you didnt want other peoples opinions???thats what the forums about...

there is no such thing as death,life is just a dream reflected in the eyes of someone that is truley aware of time
kowalski 






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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 11 on 1/4/2006 5:47 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Oh, I'm happy to have people's opinions, as I noted I'm amused, not miffed, at the responses. But I don't see any reason why I shouldn't respond. For me, critique is a give and take process and I think I have as much right to challenge my critics' assumptions as they have to challenge mine.

Jondoe, I think you're right about having the fluoro up the pipe in the second shot. Probably could have got Siologen to ping the foreground with my fill flash once or twice instead of using the fluoro there. [It is Gargantua.]

aDeLtRiTuS 


Location: south australia
Gender: Male




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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 12 on 1/4/2006 6:12 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Oh, I'm happy to have people's opinions, as I noted I'm amused, not miffed, at the responses. But I don't see any reason why I shouldn't respond. For me, critique is a give and take process and I think I have as much right to challenge my critics' assumptions as they have to challenge mine.

yeh cool fair enough,its a give and take world i spose
what is the last pic of? it reminds me of a giant piece of lego

there is no such thing as death,life is just a dream reflected in the eyes of someone that is truley aware of time
yokes 


Location: Toronto
Gender: Male


I aim to misbehave

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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 13 on 1/4/2006 6:19 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Wait... you're a drainer? (just kidding)

1) I'm torn between the light being a distraction and the light being interesting for scale and depth purposes. I think I'm going to have to go with distracting.. It draws too much attention to the section of wall it lights up, taking it away from yourself.

2) Fantastic photo. Love the scale, the lighting, the perpsective. I like that the water looks like a ribbon of silk.

1 vs 2 .. I'm going with 2.

3) It looks like you're looking up at a giant robotic set of hands that are reaching for you... fantastic. Might have liked to have seen a more bottom up view, instead of the waist high mount.

4) Sorry... bland photo. Nothing catching my eye about this one at all.

"Great architecture has only two natural enemies: water and stupid men." - Richard Nickel
kowalski 






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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 14 on 1/4/2006 6:42 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by aDeLtRiTuS
what is the last pic of? it reminds me of a giant piece of lego

It's the driver end of a 300 MW steam turbine unit.

Posted by yokes
It draws too much attention to the section of wall it lights up, taking it away from yourself.

I could probably diminish the highlight on the floor there if I felt like it. I honestly don't have the problem with the light being there that a lot of you folks do, I see right through it. I'm quite confident the shot would be lessened greatly were that section of wall not lit as it is [if I did it again though I might have moved the fluoro slightly back towards the camera to fit with the wall seam a little better].

Oh, and that's not me in the first shot, that's Siologen.

yokes 


Location: Toronto
Gender: Male


I aim to misbehave

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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 15 on 1/4/2006 7:21 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Fair enough, everyone see's something different.

What drain is that.. it is fantastic.

"Great architecture has only two natural enemies: water and stupid men." - Richard Nickel
reduxzero 


Location: Edmonton, AB
Gender: Male




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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 16 on 1/4/2006 7:23 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Hey Kowalski, I'm going to concentrate on just the drain pics.

I saw the photos on another posting, and was immediately awestruck by the physical details of the drain itself. Very nice find, kudos to you and Siologen. But I have to say, the photos themselves don't impress me. I'm usually awed by the incredible photos you take, but to me these don't rank among the best. Here's why:


Both photos are quite similar, and I like #1 slightly more than #2. They both seem very soft, and almost too distant. To me, the shots have too much dark space. Drains are obviously dark places where there can be great contrast between light and shadow, but here I think there's far too much shadow; both photos would benefit by having the camera move closer to the shafts.

In #1, I think that the fluoro should be moved further away from the daylight, and closer to the camera. It would also be nice to have more light on the pipe from the fluoro, but I understand how with a such a large size that's difficult to do (and balance with daylight). The green and brown colours streaking down the wall of the shaft look really cool, and I'd like to see more of those (in a closer shot).

In #2, just moving the camera closer would be good. The dark circle behind you would still give a good idea of scale.

I agree that having a person in the frame can be very valuable to the photo, especially in a case such as this where the pipe size is staggering.

May I ask why the photos were emotionally satisfying?

That's my little critique.

reduxzero - DrainsofmyCity
kowalski 






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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 17 on 1/4/2006 9:05 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Thanks Redux.

The green and brown colours streaking down the wall of the shaft look really cool, and I'd like to see more of those (in a closer shot).

This is may be more what you're looking for, although it's a different grille (there were a good half-dozen of them) and there's still plenty of darkness:



Most emotionally satisfying for me was precisely the degree of distance, the size not only in diameter but in reach that I was able to capture in these. The degree of separation between the camera and the subject, versus a shot like this:



from a couple years ago, which works on its own terms (and using a single light source no less) but doesn't really give us any broader sense of where we are. I feel in these broader shots we've got a better connection to what walking through this gigantic drain actually feels like, and what things like these grilles look like before you actually reach them. I'm not saying the technique is perfect, and as you're indicating it necessarily deemphasizes other valuable ways of viewing the drain. But it's something I am going to continue to play with, because I do like the perspective and dimensions I'm getting in these.

ALSO, it should be noted for everyone viewing this thread, if your monitor has a less than optimum contrast depth, all these drain photos except that last one are going to look rather bad on your screens because on bad monitors much more appears as total black rather than varying degrees of shadow. YMMV.



yokes 


Location: Toronto
Gender: Male


I aim to misbehave

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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 18 on 1/4/2006 9:14 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I love the colour in the first of these latest two photos (though, I do miss the sense of scale). The hint of something just around the bend.. the green reflection in the foreground water. Very intriguing.

"Great architecture has only two natural enemies: water and stupid men." - Richard Nickel
nobody 


Location: VANCOUVER B.C.
Gender: Male


5:55 is a state of mind

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Re: *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink*
<Reply # 19 on 1/4/2006 9:18 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I can't critique your pics but that is an amazing Drain. N.

Operating Entirely With Bad Intentions
UER Forum > Archived UE Photo Critiques > *hands you four prints, leans back and sips his drink* (Viewed 1145 times)
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