Somdutt Prasad
May 2023 - Machinery raffles bar
Original
About the Image(s)
This was taken in the Raffles Bar in Singapore. They had some old machinery to add to the decor, which I thought might make a nice image. Leica M10, 50mm, f2.0 ISO 200 1/25 sec handheld and manually focused, available light was filtering in through some videos. I cropped it to get rid of some of the color on the right and then sharpened it selectively in Topaz AI to try and make up for the fact that I hadn't really nailed the focus!
This round’s discussion is now closed!
7 comments posted
I think this is similar to Tom's image in April - a foreground piece of machinery and a background out of focus. I find that my eye constantly skips from one to the other as they are both fairly central. Would it have been better if there was a separation between the two which could be possible with a slightly different viewpoint. I'd crop off the small light areas on the right hand frame edge and the very small light area above the shadow (top right).
What was this machinery supposed to do? Posted: 05/11/2023 06:50:33
What was this machinery supposed to do? Posted: 05/11/2023 06:50:33
Agree with cropping off a bit of the edge, could also try cloning out the glass in the foreground. No idea wjhat the machinery was supposed to do! Bit of antique stuff, I presume they had it on display just to add to the ambience. Posted: 05/11/2023 20:50:58
It's great subject matter, but there are problems as you say with the missed focus.
I think the angle is a problem. It might have been taken from the side so that the main machine does not overlap with the background machine. Also, the glass object in front (perhaps a candle lantern on a table) juts into the composition, and is a distraction. Posted: 05/12/2023 22:10:22
I think the angle is a problem. It might have been taken from the side so that the main machine does not overlap with the background machine. Also, the glass object in front (perhaps a candle lantern on a table) juts into the composition, and is a distraction. Posted: 05/12/2023 22:10:22
Not being sharp is a big problem. It looks like the water pump in front is only sharp in a couple of places so you have a depth of field problem. The out of focus machine in the background is distracting as is the glass object in front. Posted: 05/13/2023 08:12:29
I suspect that the ISO could have been higher, allowing a bigger depth of focus as that seems to be the bit that we are picking up on. Posted: 05/13/2023 08:52:33
Agreeing: A different POV would have improved the composition and enabled you to concentrate on the DOF.
Posted: 05/14/2023 18:46:16
Posted: 05/14/2023 18:46:16
I'm curious. What is a raffles bar? I tried to look it up on Google, but just got the name of a hotel, which didn't seem quite right to me. Anyway, I very much can relate to trying to salvage images I like but that are not as sharp as desired (or otherwise lack something technically). Although I'm generally not a big fan of turning photos into "art", sometimes it can be fun to experiment. What about trying something like a pen and ink or charcoal, or perhaps a posterizing edge filter?
Regarding your image last month, I did like your tighter crop to draw my attention in on the bird's face, but I am certain others would prefer having more of the wings/body. Thus, the reason photography, like art in general, often is very subjective. You possibly may prefer more of the bird, too, but thanks for humoring me and trying my suggestion. Posted: 05/22/2023 23:38:50
Regarding your image last month, I did like your tighter crop to draw my attention in on the bird's face, but I am certain others would prefer having more of the wings/body. Thus, the reason photography, like art in general, often is very subjective. You possibly may prefer more of the bird, too, but thanks for humoring me and trying my suggestion. Posted: 05/22/2023 23:38:50