[Chimpster]

First post on this lovely community and I thought it may as well be a submission as opposed to a simple hello

Looking for some feedback on how to improve the shot generally as I think it's the pick of my shots on holiday.

Great site btw, very simple and full of features that so many other photo communities tend to charge for - hope to stay a while and develop my skills!

[Hooky]

Hi and

I am not sure I am the most qualified person to comment, however here goes.

The point of focus appears to be the clock on the right hand side, perhaps a narrower aperture would have added more feeling to the depth of the image. Did you shoot using a tripod?

I like the motion blur to the cars and people, they add to the atmosphere of such a vibrant, busy city

These are JMO and I hope that my comments are constructive.

Well done and keep them coming!

Cheers,

Alan

[Dabhand16]

Welcome to Pixalo Chimpster Glad you like the site

I think you've done quite well here - better than the ones I got a few years ago.

As you have asked for some ideas there are a few things to bear in mind when taking the shot like either waiting for the car to get right into the shot, or if it was parked changing your viewpoint to include it all (or exclude it). I think you could afford to loose some of the top of the image to get the whole car in. Having said that, I know that there are other factors to consider here like the pedestrian traffic and grabbing the moment.

The high contrast of these scenes make it pretty much impossible to get the exposure right and you will always end up with a compromise unless your camera allows you to select settings that will minimise, although not completely cure the problem. But if you have any editing software you can make two versions of the picture - one with the highlights toned down and the other with the rest of the image as it is and blend the two together. Some skill with processing is needed for that - but not a lot.

Any highlights that are 'blown' that is having no detail - are a lost cause, so in these situations it is best to get these right and try to recover detail in the darker areas. Shooting in RAW format helps a lot, but I don't want to get too complex here.

All in all I'd be pleased with this shot that has captured the atmosphere of Times Square and has brought back some memories for me - thank you!

[Chimpster]

Great feedback - thanks for your comments so far.

I didn't shoot using a tripod as setting up on the sidewalk at night there is virtually impossible :P

Like you say Dab, half the challenge is grabbing the moment due to how hectic and busy Times Square is at night.

The original image is in RAW format and I fiddled with it quite a while to try and get a balance between contrast and details but as you say, I do lose some detail in the background. Do you think that some extra fill light might do the trick?

Just Resized and uploaded another image to my gallery from my trip...

[marcinklysewicz]

Chimpster that's a really nice photo. composition is good (exept that car at the bottom), nice colours, and details. and i'm surprised that with iso400 there is no visible noice on the sky.

if you are asking what you could try next time (if i may say something) - try f11 or higher with longer exposure time. lights will look like stars (if you like this effect) and everything that is moving will be blurred (also - if you like it). if you have time at place like this - experiment and you'll find what you like.

i would like to be there and try HDR

[JMitchell]

Commented in the gallery, the thumbnail drew my eye, and I think you managed really well with the exposure

[M1ke]

Hi and welcome. Great picture!

[Chimpster]

Originally Posted by marcinklysewicz

Chimpster

if you are asking what you could try next time (if i may say something) - try f11 or higher with longer exposure time. lights will look like stars (if you like this effect) and everything that is moving will be blurred (also - if you like it). if you have time at place like this - experiment and you'll find what you like.

i would like to be there and try HDR

I tried with a couple of different exposures, half the problem is that there are so many light sources of varying brightness that it's difficult to not overexpose them while at the same time not underexposing everything else. HDR may have solved the problem nicely but the problem there is being able to setup a tripod, which is sadly almost impossible with the pedestrian traffic.
The final challenge was the rain :P It was raining quite heavily and avoiding drops on the lens was another real pain in the backside :P

Think you're right about the car though everyone, shame I didn't just shoot it a bit further down.

Thanks for the kind words though chaps!

[Rob Barron]

This is a classic photo opportunity where those with CS3 could try the Stacks Tool, a little known gem that is brilliant when you get to work with it. It allows you to take loads of shots from the same spot (tripod really helps) and then the Stacks tool will enable you to make a picture from the 'Common Parts' of the picture. In other words, it will only include in the final shot, things that appear in more than one shot. This means if there is a car in one shot but empty road in the other shots, it will show that part as an empty section of road and the car will be gone without any cloning whatsoever

This has been possible for ages using a myriad of layer masks of course but that takes a huge amount of work when the Stacks tool will do it for you

It is found at: FILE > SCRIPTS > LOAD FILES INTO STACK...

I like this shot though Chimpster, you've done very well, especially considering you didn't use a tripod. The converging verticals add a dynamic edge to the shot (though I must admit I'd pull them back slightly but not altogether) and I don't have too much problem with the first car, though yes I'd prefer it not there. I would like to see the person with the umbrella on the right lightened selectively just to make that person inclusive in the shot, not so bright the person looks like a visiting angel! Just enough to increase the person's presence in the shot.

I do like the buzz of Times Square and you have captured it well here.

Cheers,
Rob

[j sotelo]

Great shot.
The City That Never Sleeps