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SpinningStarshine [2009-12-28 12:56:11 +0000 UTC]

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(This was originally a posted comment; it's being properly re-posted as a Critique.)

Let's face it - the telephone/powerline wire photograph concept is pretty common. But there are several solid reasons while I feel this stands out among a lot of the others:

Firstly, the weather and the time of day. Almost always, I see these sorts of photos on clear, mostly-cloudless days, during the time either when the sun is rising or setting (usually setting), so the silhouetting of the poles and wires come from the natural backlighting. What the viewer gets is the contrast of black-on-colors of the sky.

But here a different route is taken: this photo is taken on a cloudy day. The result is that the harmony/contrast of color is ignored for the ultimately more interesting, often underused technique of focusing only on shades (black) and tints (white), and the gray area in between without resorting to black and white. (It's easy to see when black and white is forced onto a picture.) As a result, the mood of the photo is changed entirely, a mood that is more impressionable and thoughtful. The subject becomes calmer and there's no distractingly bright sources of light (i.e. the sun) or lens flare.

Even better, the contrast doesn't feel compromised: the cloud cover makes the sky softer, letting the sharper focus of the powerlines really stand out. Yet the contrast seems less overwhelming than many others that have vibrant color hues from a cloudless sky. The result in this photograph is a good balance for the eye. The gray on black is quite beautiful, too, especially because the focusing is excellent: the black lines are the most richly dark, sharp, and elegant I've seen.

Marvelous work!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

SpinningStarshine [2009-12-06 14:18:44 +0000 UTC]

Since I'm too shy to write a critique in the critique box, not to mention I'm not a Premium Member and can't do it anyway (recent realization), here goes the unofficial one:

Let's face it - the telephone/powerline wire photograph concept is pretty common. But there are several solid reasons while I feel yours stands out among a lot of the others:

The weather and the time of day. Almost always, I see these sorts of photos on clear, mostly-cloudless days, during the time either when the sun is rising or setting (usually setting), so the silhouetting of the poles and wires come from the natural backlighting. What the viewer gets is the contrast of black-on-colors of the sky.

But you took a different route by composing your photo on a cloudy day. The result is that the harmony/contrast of color is ignored for the ultimately more interesting, often underused technique of focusing only on shades (black) and tints (white), and the gray area in between without resorting to black and white. (It's easy to see when black and white is forced onto a picture.) As a result, the mood of the photo is changed entirely, a mood that is more impressionable and thoughtful. The subject becomes calmer and there's no distractingly bright sources of light (i.e. the sun) or lens flare.

Even better, the contrast doesn't feel compromised: the cloud cover makes the sky softer, letting the sharper focus of the powerlines really stand out. Yet the contrast seems less overwhelming than many others with the many color hues of a cloudless sky. A good balance. The gray on black is quite beautiful, especially because the focusing is excellent: the black lines are the most richly dark, sharp, and elegant I've seen.

Marvelous work.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

MrsViolet [2009-12-01 00:53:33 +0000 UTC]

Nice capture!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

strawberis [2009-11-30 22:24:29 +0000 UTC]

i love the sepia tone in this picture, its a great shot!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1