Hydro Tower

[Joshua Hakin]

I'm slowly building up a new portfolio of colour work thats different from the nature colour photos I used to do. It's part of a long term project.
Here's one image I really like because of its layered composition.

[Joshua Hakin]

What the heck, I'll toss in another!

[Marko]

Both those shots are EXCELLENT IMO. Nice colour, nice composition, nice exposure. Good work!

[Joshua Hakin]

Thank you kindly Marko!

[tegan]

In critiquing, I tend to treat everyone as a professional, or very advanced amateur, so take this with a grain of salt if you are only a beginner.

The problem with both shots is composition. In the first one the tower is too small and too far away to attract the eye as a centre of interest. The foreground attracts the eye more than the tower. What is in the foreground, by the way? I would suggest an improvement but I am not sure how I would give visual impact to a hydro tower.

In the windows shot it is compositionally too well-balanced with no centre of interest. You need something of visual interest between the two windows like an old rusted bike for example, leaning against the wall.

Tegan

[Marko]

I see your point tegan. The hydro shot shows a vast expanse of 'nothingness' with an interesting foreground (pipes, I'm guessing). Perhaps the shot could be a bit tighter with a bit of top and right cropping...but I still like it.

The second shot works for me and is the better of the two shots IMO. The windows are both focal points and my eye travels back and forth wondering whats going on inside. I like the slope of the land too which makes me want to peek inside the upper window. I know what you are saying with the 1 focal point, but for me at least, although it is a good rule to follow in general, it is not always a prerequisite for a great shot.

Thanks

Marko

[tegan]

I see your point tegan. The hydro shot shows a vast expanse of 'nothingness' with an interesting foreground (pipes, I'm guessing). Perhaps the shot could be a bit tighter with a bit of top and right cropping...but I still like it.

Here is the question though. From a photographic perspective: composition or technique, why do you like it? The answer to that will help other photographers, I think.

The second shot works for me and is the better of the two shots IMO. The windows are both focal points and my eye travels back and forth wondering whats going on inside. I like the slope of the land too which makes me want to peek inside the upper window. I know what you are saying with the 1 focal point, but for me at least, although it is a good rule to follow in general, it is not always a prerequisite for a great shot..

The opposite view is that the reason the eye travels back and forth between the two windows is because there is too much balance and no centre of interest to attract the eye.

A general guideline in composition by the way is that if you have to apply too much personal imagination to a photo to make it interesting then the photo has composition problems. To put it another way, the photo has to come more than halfway in the process of communicating the same thing to most viewers.

By the way, I am not being contradictory, just for the sake of being contradictory. My experience is just different and I have worked with photos for a very long time and the area of critiquing them.

Tegan