Critque

I'll do a few.

I love this one. The color version is much more dynamic than the BW one. Good composition, good color, nice range of tones. I really can't find anything bad about it.



This one is lacking in "pop". It's a bit flat and not very compelling. However it's clear and has good depth of field. It's a great shot to learn by. Shoot this in the fall or right after a heavy wet snow fall and you'll have something special. And that's what you want to do, shoot stuff that the average person can't get or doesn't know how to get. Scout out your locations and come back when conditions have better light or weather.




I really like this. Your post processing really brings out the color nicely. If anything I think the bridge itself could be brighter, easily fixed with a selective brush. Actually the more I look at it the brighter the entire image should be. Not a lot, but to bring out the detail more. Shooting on overcast days can often make for some of the best photography.

Val,

Critique? Me? No.

I will say that I have seen a thread where some of the old pros offer to do so.

I have no justification for critique as far as any technical issues.

I looked at your works yesterday. The thoughts that went through my mind were "Maine Cabin Builders" which is a show I watch, where they fix up cabins (they call them "camps" in Maine) so seeing the dilapidated buildings put me in mind of them.

The one photo that struck me most was the interior shot of the graffiti train.

Mostly because a good portion of my misspent youth was spent crawling into situations like that. There is a certain feeling that comes over me when I'm confronted by the empty space which still has the ghosts of its past life.

I remember in particular, a church that was reputedly a church of (Crap now I can't think of his name) But being in the woods and being in the place where the adherents (it was some what of a cult) had raucous services (it was a black church, in the early 20th century. Divine! Father Divine! I knew it'd come to me.) fills me with both joy and sadness that it goes to emphasize the temporary reality that is human endeavor.

The point is that the train car reminds me of that feeling. But for me, what is missing is the floor. I don't have the completeness of the experience the depth of the car, because I don't see the floor. I guess I feel you are more interested in the art of the graffiti. Which is understandable, and perhaps more marketable. It was your choice and I won't say that it was wrong.

I'm just saying that, My connection to the scene was interrupted, because I wanted to see something else.

I luv the Color pattern mix

Technically things are very good. I like your use of color especially, and texture and lines work well too. The eye is there for sure. I do think if shooting for sales, however, you will find that MANY of the photographs you have posted are something that a good portion of the population with a camera could do. I suggest you delve deeper, reach further. A big improvement I could see is the quality of light in your landscapes. A photograph, in and of itself, is nothing more than light. Starting then with incredible rare light, lends itself to help turn an average photograph to an extraordinary one.

Happy shooting.

Val,

Here are 2 groups, that I admin for that critique images.

https://fineartamerica.com/groups/photo-critique-one-on-one-.html?tab=overview

https://fineartamerica.com/groups/raw-critique.html?tab=overview

Rich

i think it could use a bit of dodge and burning, but it works better than the color one which is really bland.


this seems kind of soft, like it was dark and the camera over did the noise cleanup. i'd rather see the entire train car inside, shot as a portrait or a panorama, but up and down. you need more keywords


i'd like to see all the train, its missing on the right and the trees are distracting. i'd try on the other side, or maybe from the inside hanging out the window?


i would get the whole house, add dark clouds, make it black and white, and you have a haunted house. as it stands, its dull in color, crooked, washed out sky, it looks more like a contractor shot you would get if you were buying the house.


this really isn't in focus, its crooked, and i'm not sure i see the point of being off center.


you seem to live in a wasteland.... anyway, the basketball hoop stops it from being a chicken house. i would clone that out. this could really use some sunlight. its dark, gloomy and flat.


this is better, though i don't like that tree on the right. the lighting is flat, i don't suppose a sunset/rise shines through the house at any time does it? that would add drama. i wonder what the inside looks like?


not much of this is in focus and the colors are washed out. the view point would look better on the road, the wall is blocking the shot. i'd only have the wall if i went further back. this scene is best to come back when there is snow or fall trees.


this one is a better shot, i would clone out that fallen tree on the right, but otherwise it looks balanced.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Nice photos Val! I like your artwork too.

Hi Val,

There is one more group for critique - https://fineartamerica.com/groups/faa-top-photographers.html?tab=overview

Chuck - Thank you! It's funny you picked my two favorites and the one that aggravates me the most.

Uther - Thank you for your input. I agree. I knew I should have climbed up into that thing.

L - Thank you!

Thomas - Thank you for your insight. I have to keep that about light in my head. As an artist I know good light but with the camera I do waste my time with what isn't. I guess that answers that question.

Rich - I'll go join both groups right now. Might be awhile before I participate :)

Mike - LOL it does appear that I live among falling down wrecks and I haven't a clue why I would think anyone would want to hang them. I can't disagree with a thing you said. Thank you. I knew you would set me straight.

Xueling - Thank you!

Yuri - Thank you. I'll go join that one too.

Thank you guys it really helps! Got some stuff to remove.

ValArie - thou art a brave person/photographer. I would never ask - my photo's are what they are.

That old abandoned train car caught my eye. I took a similar shot to day on Cape Cod.

I think some of your shots could use some more contrast or clarity. Some don't have much color due to the time of year and might work better as B&W.

You've found some cool, creepy spots!

I LOVE your digital work, Val.. SO MUCH.. your photography is lovely... I would work on adjusting contrast so they do not look flat... Exposure with contrast adjustments can really give your photos dimension! Nice stuff!

Hey!

Not all art has to hang!

That's where you are is where you are. Is anybody else documenting the decline?

They just redid a grocery store in my town ( that's what we refer to as big news in my town.) Every time I would go in I felt the need to document their progress. Maybe nobody else will be interested. Doesn't matter. I documented it and they didn't even think to.

Your dilapidated buildings tell a story. Storytelling is an art. Storytelling is what we want our art to do.

The graffiti car is a very interesting visual artifact. You shot it for what you saw. But yeah, strap on a pair, get in there!😁

people do buy broken places, but its usually the mood. inside an old factory, broken windows, a plant in the center, lit by that one beam of light through the broken window, everything else is just sort of side lit by it. or that old rusted factory, also with interesting light, or a collection of maze like pipes. that's what compels people to get it. but usually abandoned doesn't sell that well. people like looking, but its not popular. unless you can twist it and make it look like a haunted house, then it could sell. so the right light, maybe a little bit of photoshop adding a clear ghost in a window, not mentioning it. just saying a little girl died here, and you may have a seller.

photography is really about how you use the light.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

you also don't have to remove it, you could just edit it a bit. not much sense on taking it down, just because some of us didn't like it, doesn't mean it won't sell to someone else.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Cinema verite.

New Topographics - Human Altered Landscapes

Roy - I'm not that brave but never minded a critique...except once years ago when someone I asked actually marked up my work.

Diana - Thank you! I'll try that. I have been a little afraid of going overboard with contrast. Thank you!

Uther - Thank you. I do love the old falling down places and it is easier to creep around them than a big fancy place. People usually don't like that.

Had to look up Cinema verite...although it might be done the popularity is questionable.

Mike - I won't remove everything but those you mentioned and some others I had reservations about anyway.

Ed - What???

i would use caution to go inside of any of those places. you could fall through the floor, the ceiling could fall. a guy on meth can rush you. or a raccoon might jump on your face.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

@$#% popularity!

You're a #%@&#ing artist FIRST, and "popular" maybe.

Be true to the artist that lives in YOU not somebody else. (He said in an attempt to make her as the artist in him.)

Check out my check out thread to see what weird happened to me from this thread today.

Valarie,

Thomas is completely right about light.....and that is the first comment on any of this that matters. I agree most of the work is very good.

What I would do differently is composition. Everything you are shooting is tight. I'd look at Abbie's landscape photos to see wide open landscapes. Abbie's work is more picturesque, which is an English art in gardening, whether to shoot more picturesque or not is not what I am suggesting. Just open up the composition if you want. That is Point of View work, POV.

Dave

Mike - you are right! Most of those places I wouldn't go in. Even walking around outside you have to be carful not to fall into a cistern or some hidden foundation.

Uther - That is so cool! I love when that happens.

Dave - Thank you! I will really have to pay more attention to the light. A lot of those shots were taken on those crummy gray days and at mid day. Not going to bother doing that any more. I guess I have to wrap my head around bad light equals bad photos...or at least for landscape stuff.

You have a good eye. I see what you mean with Abbies. Probably need to use a different lens for the landscape stuff. I was using one probably too big. Next time I'll try a different one.

At first I thought I could just delete everything and start over, I deleted some but it is difficult. More so with photos than my other art. I wonder why? Maybe tomorrow I'll get rid of some more.

Thank you all so much!

Look up the photography movement "New Topographics".

"A turning point in the history of photography, the 1975 exhibition New Topographics signaled a radical shift away from traditional depictions of landscape. Pictures of transcendent natural vistas gave way to unromanticized views of stark industrial landscapes, suburban sprawl, and everyday scenes..."

See we photographers of old broken down stuff are not alone.

.....

Another thought - On something like the old train. Do the wide angle, far away shot but then move in close and look for details. Sometimes its best to take some time without a camera, look around a scene and then go back.

I find that places I revisit usually give me the best results.

Edward - thank you...I will look it up. I was thinking of just not shooting that kind of stuff anymore but I like it too much. I guess when you reach enough of a subject to commit them to a gallery they won't look out of place.

Thank you for reminding me there was a reason I got more than one lens. Now I need to use it!

another thing to remember is -- shoot like your never going back there again. pretend that you won't be going back, or you can't, or it will be gone tomorrow and get every angle you can. i try to keep that thought in mind when i do stuff, though i'm so thorough, we really don't go back there again.


i remember going to the south street seaport. eating lunch on a nice day, i think in october. i was looking out at pier 17 thinking what it would look like if it was destroyed, (because for some reason i do that), thinking i should get a few more pictures of it. but because i have no plans on selling it, i didn't.

a week later, that big hurricane hit. something that was a worse case scenerio happened. and not only did it flood, but it caught fire, and they tore it down and replaced it, with something even uglier. but its those shots i could have had, but didn't get. same with shots of anything on the ocean, parks, coney island stuff, boardwalk. all of that stuff was swept out to sea.

so now when i see a road show attraction, or something like that, i capture it, even if i have no plans on selling it right now. i might in the future.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Mike - That is really good advice! Sad story but makes the point.

Can I ask you...that image above where you said you would clone out that tree? The whole thing you would be able to clone out? I'm ok with very small stuff but when I go for the big stuff you can tell. Just wondering what could be possible with practice.

Might be why I like the falling down stuff...no wires and signs and all that extra stuff.

it was general advice. ideally its better to find an angle that doesn't have the tree in it. or at least not something blocking the windows. it wouldn't be worth trying to remove it. usually when i shoot i line things up in a way that makes it easier to clone out. like a pole should be on brick, not over a window or a corner, where they may not be any material to clone from.

one method i've been working on is to shoot a left and a right. stand in front of the house, shoot. move to the right say, a few feet and shoot it again. then over lap them in photoshop and mask out the tree using the two vantages. done right you can remove the whole thing easily. but its tough to remember (i almost always forget).


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Here's that misspent youth I was talking about.

Notice it's a snip from a contact sheet.

We used to do our own developing and darkroom work back then!