When fellow bloggers make suggestions for how an image might be improved, or could look different, I listen and experiment with their ideas. And this is the case with today’s image.
Frank King of Frank King Photos (do take a look at Frank’s excellent photography – click on the link) made a comment on the original version of this image – click here to view it – and asked if I had ever thought of a version with the camera twisted.
So I rotated the image, and I think it creates a strong alternative which is part abstract and part architectural. Many thanks for the idea, Frank. Hope you like it.
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YES! Makes an excellent photo even better! I like how the diagonal lines create, for lack of a better word, some “tension” in the scene. Well done! 🙂
Glad you like it Frank and thanks for the suggestion. ‘Tension’ is an appropriate word to use, I agree.
I agree with Frank. This makes for a much more dynamic and captivating composition. Otherwise I really like the way you have processed the photo. It becomes all about graphics and design. Almost looks like a drawing. Very nicely done.
Thanks for your comment, Otto. I guess I would say that the original was the ‘documentary’ shot of a portion of this building, and I do take this style of image of buildings that impress me quite often as I love the geometry. The second image is the artistic interpretation that plays with the geometric pattern. It’s an approach that I haven’t often employed before because I have wanted to stay true to the architectural lines, but Frank’s suggestion has undoubtedly produced a more dynamic image, and that’s a train of thought I will follow through with similar images in the archive. This is one of the benefits of the community to which we both belong – floating ideas that prompt further thought.
I agree. It’s great to have a community that can comment and bring up new ideas. Just another thought: For me the fact that you tilted the camera (or more correct cropped it like it was a tilted camera) doesn’t make the photo less documentary in my eyes. 🙂
Otto’s right – this version looks very much like a pencil drawing.
And while I like both images, I think this one is much stronger.
Thanks Melinda. I’ve learnt something through this process as I explained in my reply to Otto’s comment. You might see a few more images of skewed architectural lines in the future.
It’s giving me some ideas of my own…!
I think it is called cross-fertilisation!
Yes, or inspiration!
This stained concrete looks so metallic to me Andy! It’s an interesting crop that’s for sure. I guess when we know this is a building and supposed to be upright, this skewing of horizontals is bound to create the tension that Frank mentioned. I agree, a good word to describe what’s going on I think!
Having had a few days to think about this shot since it was posted I’m not entirely sure I like the idea of skewing architectural shots like this but it makes an interesting abstract.
I’m certainly not comfortable with the tension this skewing of architectural shots creates Andy. I’m much happier with seeing bulidings upright as they are supposed to be. It seems an imperative these days to do somthing different, whatever that might be, to give crediblity to your photography. I think this is a shame. We end up seeing ‘wrong’ photographs being celebrated. I saw one recently, a picture of a man standing in front of some railings that were at an awkward angle and the photographer had failed to frame the photograph correctly such that the man’s head was missing. This was an editor’s pic on LensCulture. This is when I begin to despair. Does tradional photography of beautiful crafted landscapes even have a place in modern photography. I would certainly argue they should have but one wonders.
Your last but one sentence really gets to the nub of one of the issues we face in a world where photography belongs to the masses as never before and where high quality images are technically easy to acquire. In the USA popular sites for early morning photography are overwhelmed with photographers all seeking to acquire the same iconic image. How do we ‘see’ the world differently from everyone else? Is it impossible to be unique? I do believe classic landscape photography has a place in the modern world but it is increasingly hard to find those images that set us apart. I think it is that desire to be different that prompts us into a little bit of lateral thinking sometimes and leads us try something unusual, wacky even. Sometimes it pays off, but sometimes it just doesn’t.
We do have to give different things a try that’s for sure. I do hope you didn’t think I was implying your image was wrong Andy, or you were wrong for giving it a try. Far from it. I was purely thinking on the lens culture image when I said that. But you’re probably right, an image can sometimes be so wrong it becomes right and just works somehow. Not sure a photo where the suject is missing his/her head fits that category but I’m probably missing something. 🙂
Rest assured, Adrian – No problems with this debate at all. It’s an issue I try to address every time I speak about photography
This is great Andy and your mountain photos are wonderful and a very interesting read too. Sorry, for some reason I couldn’t comment on those pages so I thought I’d comment here 🙂
Thanks Norma. Thanks for your note about the Mountainscapes. I decided to limit the comments to a three month period as I was getting a lot of spam emails and that seemed to put a halt to it.
No worries Andy, I suspected it may have been that. Cheers 🙂
That was a great idea and the results speak for itself.
Thanks Len. It created an interesting debate.