Step into the light..

[Don Railton]

Hi Guys

I haven't posted anything for a while as I have had a small operation on my hand which has made shooting a bit difficult. So today I was tiding up folders and found this which I took a few months ago after a visit to the city. I quite like it and wondered what others think.. It maybe a bit too close to the fringe of what this forum is about for some but I think it qualifies so, here it is..

I took the image while on an escalator heading for the train home... I saw the image approaching maybe a second or two before it presented properly and I was flat out trying to get settings close as the descending escalator kept adjusting my POV and lighting... So the settings are not what I would have picked if I reshot (and I had no time to do that on the day...) so.. feel free to tell me what you really think.

1D4 & 70 to 200 F2.8 at 70mm hand held
1/5000 sec at F5.6, ISO1600
Set Levels in ACR and converted in NIK silver effects, then Tweaked slightly with an exposure layer.. Full frame

DON

[Don Railton]

Hi Guys, the original looks darker posted than my original, so, here is a repost

[Diane Miller]

I like it!! Looks like it took the reaction time of wildlife shooting -- good work with lovely tonalities! The rimlighted silhouettes are just wonderful! I wonder if you've considered a version with the "BG" cropped out -- to just below the highlighted platform. Leave us wondering where they are headed...

[Hazel Grant]

I like it too. the white around the front center people defines them and that's good. The spots of light on the left and the opening on the upper right add depth. All in all it tells a story as Diane alluded to....wonder where they are going and to what.

[Don Railton]

Hi Hazel and Diane. thanks very much for your comments..! Firstly i am still not happy with the second post as i feel the tiles on the floor are too hot, they should be more like the OP.. I have recently bought a new monitor and since then have had a few problem getting my edits and posts to look the same.. apparently the problem still exists..

I too like the rim light silhouette's and the 'moment in life' captured.. Diane, I did think about cropping from the top just a little but did not want to get the light at the end of the track too close to the top border, and I wanted to include the sign board LHS. I also thought maybe i could crop off the bottom (up to the bin) but i like the long shadow cast by the woman with the phone in her hand so then decided leave it alone.. I like what you are thinking tho.. I have thought about spending more time in town with the camera, mainly as a result of this image and the previous post under the bridge... Think I am having a B&W phase in my photography...

DON

[peter delaney]

Hi Don
my kind of photo, bit of a Rene Burri feel to it.. IMO the highlights are too blown in repost ..some where in the middle of the OP and re-post..

wel done

Peter

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Don - Great eye to envision this and capture it while riding on the escalator. I agree with Peter somewhere in between the two posts. The one other thing I wish is that the garbage cans weren't present and intersecting with the people and their shadows. Great thinking and experimenting though.

TFS,
Rachel

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Don...Peter and Rachel summed up my thoughts perfectly...somewhere between the two posts and the garbage cans, however, the garbage cans are less of a distraction in the original post...nice to see you posting again and with a unique image that works well!

[Don Railton]

Hi Peter, Rachel and Andrew.. Many thanks for your comments and I agree completely.. The levels are critical IMHO in this sort of image for it to work correctly and as I noted in pane 5 I was not happy with either post really. i am going to have to do some investigation as to what is going on. Rachel I did consider cropping out the garbage bin bottom of frame but i did not want to loose the long shadow from the girl so it dident happen. I believe the length of shadow is important..

Thanks Guys for the input

DON

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Don - I agree you can't clone them or crop them out of the image as shot but the garbage cans are something I would want to avoid having in the shot when taken if at all possible.

Rachel

[Don Railton]

Thanks Rachel for the clarification...but sadly not possible.

[Don Lacy]

Hi Don, Just realized I did not comment on this one which I really like with the interplay of light and shadow very creative on your part. I agree with Peter that a version in between the OP and RP would be ideal. Also if you redo the image leave the far highlighted area slightly darker then the middle area I think the focus of the image should be there.

[Don Railton]

Thanks for your input Don.. I like the idea of making the distant hot spot a little darker..

[Morkel Erasmus]

I like this a lot, very art noveau.
I agree somewhere between the two is ideal?