*** February 2025 Image and Video Thread ***

[Pete_W]

I've previously photographed this railroad bridge across the Willamette River near Lake Oswego, Oregon, but yesterday I captured it with my S5iiX using its 96MP Hi-Res mode.

View attachment 8749

Great image Peter! Love the colours. Do trains still cross this bridge?

 

[PJD]

Great image Peter! Love the colours. Do trains still cross this bridge?

Thanks! Unfortunately, the 2 times I’ve visited the bridge, a train wasn’t crossing it. The top surface of the connecting steel rails are shiny, so apparently trains travel there. My friend Joe believes the line is for freight trains, not passenger trains. Cheers.

 

[Travis Butler]

I think the main thing I prefer about the second shot is the framing/composition, Travis. I like that the statue figures are closer and fill the frame which makes them the main subject,

...I hadn't even thought of that. <sheepish look> I'd shown the same images to a group of friends earlier yesterday, and they said they preferred seeing more of the body.

Also... well, St. Louis is a waypoint on several trips I make regularly, and I try to stop by the Arch whenever I'm passing through and the weather is good;* I've been taking variations on that shot for years, so I tend to pay more attention to the details on a given day - weather, lens used - than the composition.

A couple of other examples:


20220530-SDIM1001 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20220530-SDIM1005 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

I think the vertical composition works best for centering them in the Arch, but I do kinda like the offset one.

and I feel that the red pavement in the first shot is a distracting element.

There I disagree; I think the red pavement gives the green and blue something to stand out against, and they also divide the frame fairly neatly into zones.

I feel that the colours are a little better in the second image too, very minor but it appeals to me more, and the image is also a touch brighter.

Huh. Well, I guess that's some of the calibration I was looking for; but I definitely prefer the opposite, stronger colors with more contrast.

*That day I was coming back from my sister's in central Illinois, and stopped by the Lincoln Presidential Library on the way; that's when I took the Slave Auction Block pic I posted earlier in the thread.

 

[Pete_W]

...I hadn't even thought of that. <sheepish look> I'd shown the same images to a group of friends earlier yesterday, and they said they preferred seeing more of the body.

Also... well, St. Louis is a waypoint on several trips I make regularly, and I try to stop by the Arch whenever I'm passing through and the weather is good;* I've been taking variations on that shot for years, so I tend to pay more attention to the details on a given day - weather, lens used - than the composition.

A couple of other examples:

View attachment 8761
20220530-SDIM1001 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

View attachment 8762
20220530-SDIM1005 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

I think the vertical composition works best for centering them in the Arch, but I do kinda like the offset one.


There I disagree; I think the red pavement gives the green and blue something to stand out against, and they also divide the frame fairly neatly into zones.


Huh. Well, I guess that's some of the calibration I was looking for; but I definitely prefer the opposite, stronger colors with more contrast.

*That day I was coming back from my sister's in central Illinois, and stopped by the Lincoln Presidential Library on the way; that's when I took the Slave Auction Block pic I posted earlier in the thread.

I like both of those shots for the same reason, ie the figures filling the frame.

Interesting that you like the pavement for the colour contrast!

Regarding the strong colours and contrast, I have been leaning towards lighter images lately. Not sure why, probably the images of others I’ve been viewing online.