Streets Scandinavian bicycles

Nicolas514 · 01-29-2015, 10:14 AM

Hey guys! Been away from the forum for a while, but I am back!

So here are two shots from two trips to Denmark. In the first one, taken in Copenhagen, I tried to use the flare creatively. I like the shot, but perhaps the foreground isn't really sharp enough.

The second one is a night shot in Aarhus, handheld at ISO 1600 and 1.7, at 1/10s, with a vintage M-50 1.7 on my K-5.

Thoughts?

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voy-tech · 01-29-2015, 11:39 AM

Hi Nicolas, personally I prefer the second image, I think i know what you tried to achieve in the first one with the creative use of flare. But to me the flare and low(-ish) contrast makes the scene a little too distracting (however that might just be my preference). Do you maybe have a version with a little wider fov so that the bike in front wouldn't be cropped? I wonder how that would look like in this scene.
I remember I tried to capture some interesting images of bikes in Denmark when I was visiting Aalborg and Copenhagen and found it quite a difficult subject - I think I just have a better eye to landscapes than street

ZoeB · 01-29-2015, 12:58 PM

I really like the second image-- it does a great job of capturing nights like that. The first image is a cool idea, but I think stopping down a bit would have done it a lot of favours, although I get the look that you were going for, i think the CA and blown out highlights are a little too intense. Sharper focus and a slightly bigger DOF would do wonders without sacrificing the feeling that you were going for.

nomadkng · 01-30-2015, 10:22 AM

honestly, the flare on the first one isn't even a "good" flare. it's 2 disjointed circles. I don't particularly like flare in an image, but occasionally I've seen it used to dramatic effect, but it has been a more connected "flare". More rays, smaller (and more) circles, more like "fingers" of light.

the second image, is not bad, but I think the focus on the handlebars is too far into the image. I have to get past a blurry red reflector and a semi blurry seat. maybe because the seat is the human-centric connection to the bike, that's what I want to see in focus. Compositionally, I'm not fond of the empty space to the left, when the main bike and even the bike in the background have portions missing. If there was something in the background, like even an OOF streetlight or window glow, or something that the bike could serve as a leading line toward, I'd be much more comfortable with the current positioning. Now if you were shooting for stock, it might be a different story because you need to leave room for cover art etc.

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01-29-2015, 11:39 AM	#2
voy-tech Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 214	Hi Nicolas, personally I prefer the second image, I think i know what you tried to achieve in the first one with the creative use of flare. But to me the flare and low(-ish) contrast makes the scene a little too distracting (however that might just be my preference). Do you maybe have a version with a little wider fov so that the bike in front wouldn't be cropped? I wonder how that would look like in this scene. I remember I tried to capture some interesting images of bikes in Denmark when I was visiting Aalborg and Copenhagen and found it quite a difficult subject - I think I just have a better eye to landscapes than street

01-29-2015, 12:58 PM	#3
ZoeB Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Tromsø, Norway Posts: 886	I really like the second image-- it does a great job of capturing nights like that. The first image is a cool idea, but I think stopping down a bit would have done it a lot of favours, although I get the look that you were going for, i think the CA and blown out highlights are a little too intense. Sharper focus and a slightly bigger DOF would do wonders without sacrificing the feeling that you were going for.

01-30-2015, 10:22 AM	#4
nomadkng Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,448	honestly, the flare on the first one isn't even a "good" flare. it's 2 disjointed circles. I don't particularly like flare in an image, but occasionally I've seen it used to dramatic effect, but it has been a more connected "flare". More rays, smaller (and more) circles, more like "fingers" of light. the second image, is not bad, but I think the focus on the handlebars is too far into the image. I have to get past a blurry red reflector and a semi blurry seat. maybe because the seat is the human-centric connection to the bike, that's what I want to see in focus. Compositionally, I'm not fond of the empty space to the left, when the main bike and even the bike in the background have portions missing. If there was something in the background, like even an OOF streetlight or window glow, or something that the bike could serve as a leading line toward, I'd be much more comfortable with the current positioning. Now if you were shooting for stock, it might be a different story because you need to leave room for cover art etc.