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Archive 2012 · California sunrise

  
 
sjordan93436
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · California sunrise


I caught this a few weeks ago. Pre storm. I lighten the foreground quite a bit.

C and C?



Feb 16, 2012 at 11:51 PM
cgardner
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · California sunrise


Great capture. I like the fact you waited for a car to come up the road.

When looking at a photo for the first time I pay attention to where my eye is lead. Is it drawn and held in the most interesting parts of the photo, or are there distractions which pulled my eye past the focal point to check out some other area, only to find it disappointingly less interesting?

The problem I have with your shot as framed is the bright contrast of the sky and the "accelerated" perspective spacing of the power poles on the right pulling me past the nicely unified focal points of buildings, sunset and car on the highway off into less interesting territory and then out of the frame. My solution for that is to crop and add a mat to limit the rightward eye path and find ways to make the more important elements of the storyline contrast more.

http://super.nova.org/EDITS/Sunrise.jpg

I desaturated and lightened the buildings and foreground a bit to make them contrast more in tone and color with the sky. I also selectively sharpened them a bit.


I cropped in on the right to eliminate the gap between tree and edge of frame making it more of a "bookend" framing element than stand alone element. The tree on the right and the pole on the left work to frame the two poles in the center which frame the buildings. There isn't the tendency to get pulled to the left past all that more interesting stuff. My goal with the crop was to invite the scan left to find the car headlights, up to see the sky, then back down to check out the buildings in a triangular pattern. Hopefully they will find that interesting enough to repeat the triangular pattern again. Note where the triangle is? About 1/3 of the way in from the left side, a compositional "sweet spot". I didn't crop that way out of any slavish devotion to the "rule" of thirds but because I liked the overall balance and flow of eye movement in the frame better than way. It's a "feel" thing, not mechanical/measurement thing. But more often than no when it feels good it also fits the convention which works to create dynamic eye movement in photographs.

http://super.nova.org/EDITS/SunriseArrows.jpg



Feb 17, 2012 at 08:39 AM
sjordan93436
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · California sunrise


Good suggestions. The crops are very helpful. Making the tree as a bookend, good idea. The tighter cropping helps highlight the tree and the building.

Personal perspective. I add this later so as not to prejudice the critics. The building is mine. I want to highlight it. I like the idea of the foreground. This is in farm country and I want the viewer to see that. My nitpick is a dark streak in the foreground, that might cost me some time with clone stamp or content aware. That streak bothers me like a slanted horizon would most photographers.

I do not think I can or should lighten the building. You both are right the colors need some color adjustments and toning down.

There are fewer sunrise shots in California than sunset. There is one place here that you can see a sunrise over the Pacific. I have seen a sunrise and sunset on the same day from the same highway. It is west of Santa Barbara.



Feb 17, 2012 at 09:33 AM
cgardner
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · California sunrise


I wouldn't worry about the dark streak in foreground too much. I actually liked how it mirrored the angle of the road above it, and the viewer will quickly move past it to see the more compelling background of the sunrise. To hasten the viewer's trip over the bean field just blur it a bit, a subliminal clue not to dwell because the sharper stuff is more interesting.

As for the buildings, even without the back story they seemed to be a critical element. But the problem compositionally with the darker foreground and bright sky is getting the viewer to even notice it. That's why I intentionally exaggerated the what appeared to be a green house as if lit internally rather than by the ambient light. That's an old trick for exterior shots of houses — open all the window shades and turn on all the interior lights..

http://super.nova.org/TP/HouseSnow480.jpg

If you reshoot the photo you might consider modifying the appearance of the buildings that way with either the actual interior/exterior lighting or even the headlights of a vehicle hidden out of sight to add a bit more attention to them by literally spotlighting them.





Feb 17, 2012 at 10:22 AM
sjordan93436
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · California sunrise


Hmm.... Perhaps if I lit the window in office. Small improvement maybe. It might test my photoshop skills, but the good news is that it would be a small fix. I will try to add a layer and fill with the other lights and a mask.


Feb 17, 2012 at 04:23 PM





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