Brandon Montgomery

March 2020 - The Old Dive Bar

About the Image(s)

This months upload is a photo of a former iconic Sacramento dive bar. I used the Tungsten setting in Lightroom to give a feel to the image.This was the spot to be on Friday nights in its heyday. It even had a notorious golden age of night life that went from October 2015 to August 2017. It's now closed down and boarded up sealing the wild stories that I witnessed, forever in the realms of time and space. The street around it is now quiet with an eerie felling that I felt strongly when I took this photo. However, if this place was still open when this photo was taken, we'd have a completely different image. When I took this photo, a nurse from the clinic across the street told me how happy she was to see the place finally shut down as she told me it improved the local community for the better.

This round’s discussion is now closed!
11 comments posted

Lou McLove

I think you did a fine job capturing what appears to be a difficult subject. I like the composition, I think you handled the two big trees well. To my eye the bald sky hurts the image but I'm show how to mitigate that. Overall a very nice photo. Posted: 03/10/2020 17:05:32

Thank you Lou. The sky was a hassle for this image. I was hoping for some clouds that day, but this part of town is weird for the sky for photos. Posted: 03/12/2020 21:02:13

Chuck Carstensen

It is symmetrical composition and well done all around. The sky is what it is, cloudy. Good street shot. Posted: 03/10/2020 18:29:30

Thank you Chuck. This is one of those photos in where I was hoping for better sky conditions. I prefer clouds as I feel they add a mood to the image. Posted: 03/12/2020 21:03:51

Chuck Carstensen

Luminary does a good job of replacing skies. Lots of replacements. Bad news is you cannot move replacement side to side. Posted: 03/12/2020 22:51:06

Thank you Chuck, I've been using the tools a little more. Skies are an issue I've been working on. Skies are more of a challenge. Posted: 03/21/2020 20:33:16

Larry Treadwell
(Groups 36 & 67)

Hi Brandon
I was just surfing the monthly thumbnails and your alley Katz caught my eye. I've been playing with a bit of street photography documenting night scenes in small towns and i was drawn to this.

I think this is a place I would like to visit. The name carries interest and I love the doors and the old looking building. I think you show a great eye in finding this scene.
I noted that you were hoping for better skies (don't you hate the white sky?) but I was wondering what you would think of cropping this into a more square composition featuring the leading sidewalk,the doors and the sign.
I don't know what your intent was when you captured this scene ( I would like to know it you will tell me) But I love those doors and sign. To me that is the story.

Still this is your image and as the photographer you are always right. I'm fairly new to this street thing so I would really like to hear your thought on this and most important why. Thanks. Posted: 03/16/2020 18:07:28

Chuck Carstensen

Larry, did you know that you can copy his image to your computer and make your own mods? That way we can all see the result of your ideas. Like this. Posted: 03/16/2020 19:51:50

Thanks for the comments! I caught this image as the building is slated to be torn down. I wanted the get a shot to remember this place. It was an interesting bar with a lot of unique stories. In terms of the sky, I like to have clouds as I see them as having more of an effect. Posted: 03/21/2020 20:32:09

I like the the image with the trees framing the door. Replacing the sky is not hard in photoshop or gimp. I'd also suggest taking out the wall of the adjacent building on the left. I had a play in photoshop with a bland cloudy sky to add a little texture. What do you think? Posted: 03/18/2020 12:16:36

Looks good! I like the look on this. I've been using more Photoshop lately so I'll check the tools out. Posted: 03/21/2020 20:28:56

PID Digital Dialogue

Group 92