Amateur Photographer is my website of choice when it comes to news, forums and general photographic stuff (check it out here). They also run a great monthly competition, which has a high standard of entries. This month I didn’t get a new mug or camera awarded to the top three spots, but I did get a special mention. Not only that, I also got a critique of my photo from Editor Damien Demolder. Which is probably worth more than all the prizes together.
Here is what he had to say, and the improvements he did:
“His City Worker is a masterpiece of content, with the CCTV camera looking down on our unfortunate worker, checking he is on time for work, as he approaches the brick tree that passes for nature in this 1984 Big Brother era. The light is perfect, picking him out with highlighted clues to his existence on his bag, head and shoes, and it is directional enough to paste that tree, melting upwards Dali fashion, on to the wall in sharp factual relief.
But you know what a freak I am for uprights being upright, and all I can see in this image is a wall that is about to fall over backwards. In fact, I so worried about the wall coming down it has stolen my consciousness away from the glorious scene you have spotted and captured. So, I’ve taken the liberty of straightening the wall for you, just so I could relax, and at the same time I’ve reduced the picture to its graphic elements by switching it to black and white. I wanted to emphasis the structure of the brick wall, so using the dodge (highlights 8%) and burn (shadows 8%) tools I’ve increased the contrast of the wall to make the brick pattern more vigorous. Some vignetting prevents my attention leaking from the edges of the frame and some burning on the fence stops it from competing with the worker for my eye.
You’ve made a brilliant picture, I’ve just brightened the blade, but with that sloping wall its impact is so reduced. It is a small detail, but like the difference between salt and sugar to a cheesecake-maker, it is a detail that means everything.”
And here is the photo.
My original version is on the left, Damien's verison is on the right.
So what do you all think?
Hi Neil, I think he’s right, you did a great job getting the fantastic photo, but he’s made it exceptional just by putting the wall upright.