People Cooking on Gas

cantthink193 · 09-01-2015, 11:00 AM

I took this in a cave in Swanage after dark - took me a lot of attempts to get the focus right and needed a relatively high ISO to manage a halfway-decent shutter. I'd appreciate your thoughts on composition, in particular any on the 'mood' of the shot, and on sharpness as I get the feeling it's a little soft. Full-size on flickr, just click.

DeadJohn · 09-01-2015, 03:26 PM

Sharpness is fine IMO. It's not tack-sharp but it doesn't need to be.

The way it's lit draws attention to the cave wall. I wonder if darkening the cave wall would draw attention back to the stove.

SpecialK · 09-01-2015, 09:01 PM

Lots of surrounding black space, and hard to see the subject.

My 15 seconds...
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Macario · 09-03-2015, 02:09 AM

very nice shot. But yes the wall draws the attention. darkening should make the stove the focal point. It doesn't have to be much, but now it is too light. But composition wise, I do like it

cantthink193 · 09-03-2015, 10:05 AM

Thanks all for feedback - I'll give darkening the wall a shot and I may lighten the man's face just a touch. SpecialK - I'm not sure I'm convinced by your edit, purely because it takes the man's face too far from the centre of the frame and makes the subject too-much-stove. I also think a little of the mood is lost by lightening the whole scene. I do agree that the top could be cropped slightly to remove some black space, however. I'll post results once I've finished my night shifts - no energy for anything else at the moment!

cantthink193 · 09-05-2015, 06:33 AM

The edited version. It does work better - I darkened the wall with a grad and dodged a little over the man's face. I tried a range of crops and aside from almost going with a 1x1 aspect ratio I didn't like how they panned out.

Macario · 09-06-2015, 12:11 PM

yes, it is now more in balance

09-01-2015, 11:00 AM	#1
cantthink193 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 74	Cooking on Gas Lens: Takumar 50mm f1.4 Camera: Pentax K-S2 Photo Location: Swanage Coast ISO: 3200 Shutter Speed: 1/15s Aperture: F1.4 I took this in a cave in Swanage after dark - took me a lot of attempts to get the focus right and needed a relatively high ISO to manage a halfway-decent shutter. I'd appreciate your thoughts on composition, in particular any on the 'mood' of the shot, and on sharpness as I get the feeling it's a little soft. Full-size on flickr, just click.

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09-01-2015, 03:26 PM	#2
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,834	Sharpness is fine IMO. It's not tack-sharp but it doesn't need to be. The way it's lit draws attention to the cave wall. I wonder if darkening the cave wall would draw attention back to the stove.

09-01-2015, 09:01 PM	#3
SpecialK Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: So California Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,481	Lots of surrounding black space, and hard to see the subject. My 15 seconds...

09-03-2015, 02:09 AM	#4
Macario Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Hoek van Holland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,393	very nice shot. But yes the wall draws the attention. darkening should make the stove the focal point. It doesn't have to be much, but now it is too light. But composition wise, I do like it

09-03-2015, 10:05 AM	#5
cantthink193 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 74 Original Poster	Thanks all for feedback - I'll give darkening the wall a shot and I may lighten the man's face just a touch. SpecialK - I'm not sure I'm convinced by your edit, purely because it takes the man's face too far from the centre of the frame and makes the subject too-much-stove. I also think a little of the mood is lost by lightening the whole scene. I do agree that the top could be cropped slightly to remove some black space, however. I'll post results once I've finished my night shifts - no energy for anything else at the moment!

09-05-2015, 06:33 AM	#6
cantthink193 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 74 Original Poster	The edited version. It does work better - I darkened the wall with a grad and dodged a little over the man's face. I tried a range of crops and aside from almost going with a 1x1 aspect ratio I didn't like how they panned out.

09-06-2015, 12:11 PM	#7
Macario Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Hoek van Holland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,393	yes, it is now more in balance