First, Michael,
I commend you on putting up this image for discussion. When one visits a place, there's so much that makes it exciting. I can imagine the actual architecture is thrilling, but not the view you have used. When walking around, one is building up such a complex, multilayered understanding of the unique world the place presents. Here, perhaps, you might have done better photographing from a different vantage point or else using, for example, wide angle lens to bring out the levels you saw but can't demonstrate here.
In processing the picture, of course, you might be able to alter the lighting of different floors of each of the buildings and create an impressive new composition.
This is one of the few photos I got a 'so what?' feedback on.
There was no constructive criticism, so I do ask here.
No need to be gentle...Best regards,
Michael
Here it is:
I assume that a picture, unless stated otherwise, has been made under the control of the photographer and at some moment it seemed "right" and so the shutter was released. Here, there's nothing that gives it a title on it's own by virtue of what we see. So there's no one shot, there are no lovers kissing and the place is not on fire. All we see is a sterile modern construction of rectangular lit colored buildings with a pedestrian crossing bridge in the foreground.
So what to make of it. Well here we need the title and it says just Ebenen or Levels. Now there are figures to the left entering on to the walkway at the second level. So we'd expect, perhaps that what enters on the second level would somehow relate to the title levels. But that's just a car below. The are no levels obvious in the buildings. The theme of "Levels" is not engraved into the picture in any way I can see, beyond the obvious fact that there's entrance into the frame of machine on the lower level and people on the second level. Unfortunately, there's nothing special about either the car or the folk coming into the scene that distinguishes them from happenstance. There are no gestures or actions by the figures and no emblem or flag on the car or broken windshield to allow us to conjure up some meaning.
Now I mentioned meaning. Well there's no need to have meaning to have a great picture. Then one needs to have a demanding composition or pattern.
Now, let's start over. Imagine that we took the picture as folk were entering above and saw the car entering below and felt on implse that's worth capturing. We see that it's either about the buildings or about the folk, not important folk, just anyone, perhaps, entering this building complex.
Then what could the title be. Simplistically, one could say, "Entering", or "Entering the Crowded Workplace", after all it isn't crowded, or say on the "Entering modern nihilism" or something even smarter. If this was for an editorial, then the text would complete the composition.
As it is, it lacks a dominant thought or pattern or motif and the title doesn't belong.
Asher