Jim Wulpi
January 2025 - Porto, Portugal
Original
About the Image(s)
This past fall, my wife and I traveled to Porto, Portugal for what was supposed to be a 2-week trip. Unfortunately, I had an incident that forced cancellation of most of the rest of the trip. This is one of the few images I was able to take to capture the essence of this very interesting town. We were heading to a restaurant that was highly regarded in this area. It is on the near right side of this image. I had suspected that the setting sun might come into play, and, with the help of my favorite sun/moon/Milky Way planning app, "Photo Pills", I was able to confirm that the setting sun would be visible directly down this narrow street. Very fortunate timing. I used a small aperture to get maximum depth of field while also creating a sunburst over the mans head. I bracketed my shots and blended them as an HDR. I did quite a bit of manipulation in LR and ended up finishing with a downloaded Preset called Architecture Focus.
Metadata: Canon 6D MkII, 24-105 Canon F4 "L" lens at 24mm; 1/100 sec; f18; ISO 1250.
Your comments??
12 comments posted
Great capture of the evening scene with a sense of place and historicity in the cobble stones but contrasting with the modernized buildings. In a way I think your excellent editing is slight overkill resulting in a paradoxical overall brightness for that late in the evening. I would consider brushing in more shade in a somewhat vignetted distribution. Also the main concept is well within the lower two thirds or so. Posted: 01/04/2025 03:27:47
Piers,
Between Martins advice and yours, I've taken the combined comments and produced the attached result. I intentionally kept out the people in the lower left and right (of the original image) since I was pleased with the Photoshop removal of them on first try. I created a square image - which gets rid of much of the upper, unnecessary information in the image. The "setting sun" is now placed on a 1/3 intersection, but I'm still disappointed that it never was as prevalent as I was hoping it would be.
In Lightroom, I utilized a profile "B&W 08" as my preferred BW tones. See image below Martins comments.
Thank you both for your comments and suggestions for creating a more interesting image.
Any additional comments on the BW version? Posted: 01/10/2025 22:04:56
Between Martins advice and yours, I've taken the combined comments and produced the attached result. I intentionally kept out the people in the lower left and right (of the original image) since I was pleased with the Photoshop removal of them on first try. I created a square image - which gets rid of much of the upper, unnecessary information in the image. The "setting sun" is now placed on a 1/3 intersection, but I'm still disappointed that it never was as prevalent as I was hoping it would be.
In Lightroom, I utilized a profile "B&W 08" as my preferred BW tones. See image below Martins comments.
Thank you both for your comments and suggestions for creating a more interesting image.
Any additional comments on the BW version? Posted: 01/10/2025 22:04:56
Jim, I am sorry that your trip had to be shortened. Maybe you can visit Portugal another time with better luck.
In your preamble it became evident that your aim was to catch the sunlight streaming down this narrow street. You certainly captured that! Well done.
You have done a lot of work with post processing, and you have succeeded in creating the HDR effect you were seeking.
There is a lot more you can do with this image.
It is a very busy image. Maybe crop out the top 1/3 of the image as it adds very little to the story. Converting it to monochrome might reduce the business. The sun is the brightest part of the image, so darken the shadows to create a juxtaposition, sun and shadows. You can create a very dramatic street photo.
This is such a versatile image. It can be a record of your trip or an "arty" image. Well done
Posted: 01/05/2025 23:33:33
In your preamble it became evident that your aim was to catch the sunlight streaming down this narrow street. You certainly captured that! Well done.
You have done a lot of work with post processing, and you have succeeded in creating the HDR effect you were seeking.
There is a lot more you can do with this image.
It is a very busy image. Maybe crop out the top 1/3 of the image as it adds very little to the story. Converting it to monochrome might reduce the business. The sun is the brightest part of the image, so darken the shadows to create a juxtaposition, sun and shadows. You can create a very dramatic street photo.
This is such a versatile image. It can be a record of your trip or an "arty" image. Well done
Posted: 01/05/2025 23:33:33
Martin,
Between Piers advice and yours, I've taken the combined comments and produced the attached result. I intentionally kept out the people in the lower left and right (of the original image) since I was pleased with the Photoshop removal of them on first try. I created a square image - which gets rid of much of the upper, unnecessary information in the image. The "setting sun" is now placed on a 1/3 intersection, but I'm still disappointed that it never was as prevalent as I was hoping it would be.
In Lightroom, I utilized a profile "B&W 08" as my preferred BW tones.
Thank you both for your comments and suggestions for creating a more interesting image.
Any additional comments on the BW version? Posted: 01/10/2025 22:02:44
Between Piers advice and yours, I've taken the combined comments and produced the attached result. I intentionally kept out the people in the lower left and right (of the original image) since I was pleased with the Photoshop removal of them on first try. I created a square image - which gets rid of much of the upper, unnecessary information in the image. The "setting sun" is now placed on a 1/3 intersection, but I'm still disappointed that it never was as prevalent as I was hoping it would be.
In Lightroom, I utilized a profile "B&W 08" as my preferred BW tones.
Thank you both for your comments and suggestions for creating a more interesting image.
Any additional comments on the BW version? Posted: 01/10/2025 22:02:44
The removal of the two people at the front of the image simplifies it. I would darken the shadows of the two main characters even more as I think this would emphasize the sun even more. Maybe try creating a 50% grey layer in Photoshop (see Youtube for this, it is quite simple) and then paint the shadows on the layer with a soft black brush to darken them. Posted: 01/11/2025 05:40:51
At some point I wonder if you were reminded of TS Elliot's poem:
"The winter evening settles down
With smell of steaks in passageways.
Six o'clock.
The burnt-out ends of smoky days.
And now a gusty shower wraps
The grimy scraps
Of withered leaves about your feet
And newspapers from vacant lots;
The showers beat
On broken blinds and chimneypots,
And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.
And then the lighting of the lamps."
Perhaps the post-editing approaches that sort of imagery. Posted: 01/11/2025 16:07:14
"The winter evening settles down
With smell of steaks in passageways.
Six o'clock.
The burnt-out ends of smoky days.
And now a gusty shower wraps
The grimy scraps
Of withered leaves about your feet
And newspapers from vacant lots;
The showers beat
On broken blinds and chimneypots,
And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.
And then the lighting of the lamps."
Perhaps the post-editing approaches that sort of imagery. Posted: 01/11/2025 16:07:14
Very interesting correlation, Piers. I am familiar with TS Elliot, but not intimately enough that this particular Poem came to mind.
I do like the imagery that the Poem portrays relative to my image - and knowing the restaurant we were going to was in the immediate right in the image. As we learned once inside, that particular building started out as a coal storage facility for boats traveling along the adjacent river (just 1 block over from this "street"). As matter of fact, the restaurant's name (in Portugese) is Postigo Do Carvao, translating to "Coal Gate". The original lighting in there was from gas lamps.
So, the TS Elliot poem may have been written along the Duro River in Porto, Portugal.
Thank you for that very interesting view. It is appreciated. Posted: 01/11/2025 20:18:25
I do like the imagery that the Poem portrays relative to my image - and knowing the restaurant we were going to was in the immediate right in the image. As we learned once inside, that particular building started out as a coal storage facility for boats traveling along the adjacent river (just 1 block over from this "street"). As matter of fact, the restaurant's name (in Portugese) is Postigo Do Carvao, translating to "Coal Gate". The original lighting in there was from gas lamps.
So, the TS Elliot poem may have been written along the Duro River in Porto, Portugal.
Thank you for that very interesting view. It is appreciated. Posted: 01/11/2025 20:18:25
Fascinating!! Posted: 01/13/2025 18:41:58
Wow, Jim, what an interesting image. Sorry you had to cut your visit short. I'm partial to the color version, but I agree with Martin in that it's a bit too bright. I would crop a good inch or so off the top as it serves no purpose to the image. I would burn more shadows of the two walkers to center one attention of the sun and the shadows. I do like your version of the b&w but it's a bit too contrasty for me. When I look at the image, my attention goes right to the windows of the buildings on the right and then I feel strained to see some of the details below, under the umbrellas. Keep working it because I know you'll end up with a great image. Posted: 01/12/2025 18:05:19
Thank you for your comments, Karen.
This has been an interesting discussion. I've learned a great deal from all the comments and suggestions. That's what I like about this discussion group. I won't be posting any additional versions of edits of this image, but I will continue small edits. Posted: 01/21/2025 19:54:51
This has been an interesting discussion. I've learned a great deal from all the comments and suggestions. That's what I like about this discussion group. I won't be posting any additional versions of edits of this image, but I will continue small edits. Posted: 01/21/2025 19:54:51
Jim, a photo trip cut short by an "accident" is too memorable but looks like you got at least one planned photo using Photo Pills--very admirable to get the exact spot and time. Well done. I don't believe your original plan was to have this completed in monochrome, and with that in mind, I would like to encourage that aspect. I love your editing to show what it might look like with the bright colors even if those were edited. I would like to picture Portugal with those colors. Posted: 01/16/2025 02:11:55
Shirley, Thanks for your comments on my image. The majority of comments favor Monochrome. I like that version, now, too.
My "accident" over there resulted in me having to have knee surgery - while over there!! This image was taken the day I got discharged from 4 days in the hospital. Despite the fact that I was on crutches, my wife and I were determined to get to this specific restaurant, so that made getting this shot a bit more challenging. The shot was worth it, and the restaurant was worth it.
Portugal is beautiful. Just watch your step!! Posted: 01/21/2025 20:01:46
My "accident" over there resulted in me having to have knee surgery - while over there!! This image was taken the day I got discharged from 4 days in the hospital. Despite the fact that I was on crutches, my wife and I were determined to get to this specific restaurant, so that made getting this shot a bit more challenging. The shot was worth it, and the restaurant was worth it.
Portugal is beautiful. Just watch your step!! Posted: 01/21/2025 20:01:46