Hi!
I am secretary in Switzerland and my passion is photography. All the topics interest me but I always try to photograph them with my touch! I hope that you will appreciate them!
Last example ... a steam locomotive in the night!
Thanks for your constructive comments!
Hi Jobe,
Welcome to OPF, especially if you love B&W like me. You'' note that Nicolas is not a fanatic about B&W photography but he does appreciate classic works. His world, taking fine pictures of yachts at sea with models on board, are in essence dreams in full color.
So, what's so special about B&W? Well unlike superb color pictures, the color does not define the experience rather the physical aesthetics of the subject and the way it's shown. Although some subject
must be in color for full effects and meaning, in other cases color merely add razzmatazz attention to objects that have superficial compositional value.
So, I'd claim that black and white photography
is king, (more often than not), where we are dealing with subjects whose presence is essentially physical. The shape, form presented, and writing of light in fine gradations of steam and shadow cannot be superseded by any color. So, in your making of this picture of the train you have paid homage to the massiveness of the machine and the steamy breath billowing from it's gills. This is a living monster machine. Its rails keep it discipline to work for us, but this thing has a sense of life. That you have brought to us and so the picture works for me. But how does this happen? Where is the tension created?
You have shown a view that uses the free stochastic form of the escaping stream reflecting light is such a soft and gentle way to contrast with the black firm unchanging irons and steel of the machine itself. That creates the opposiing forces in your picture. The angle and position you have taken makes the train rise above you and also gives importance to the wheels and that viewpoint is interesting.
I have some criticism about what
might be missing from
my sense of what would optimize the intent of the picture, as I can best guess from what you have shown.
The front of the train, although aptly shadowed is presented so dark that the form is lost almost entirely. That IMHO is neither necessary nor pleasing.
Since steam is so important to the essence of the photograph, I'd include the whole steam form coming from the top of the train too.
Close cropping is only for the most expert photographers who have a client who's needs they totally understand. Only they should exactly frame "as to be delivered". For the rest of us, we are better served by allowing more real estate for the subject to live in. This provides a milieu that can be removed at will, but never added. Of course, any artist can decide they know what they need and frame tight, but, I believe this is an example where close framing, perhaps removed a key feature which might have, at the time of image processing, proved significant for you.
Range of Tonalities in B&W Photography: In black and white photography one can use a limited palette of tonalities successfully. However, in this case, using rich gradual shifts from white to deep black might add to the dimensionality, textures and full physicality of this remarkable picture and impress you!
Raw gives one reserves to render more tones, working zone by zone: If you have pictures in Raw, it's likely that more work can be done and that this version will be bettered by your final processing. In any case I love your train and if I had such a fine print it would have a good place on my wall and I'd be happy looking at it every day.
I do hope my C&C is within the bounds of what you intended for your photograph and I thank you for sharing. My own views do not matter as; after all, it's only
your senses that have to give approval to
your own work. So just take my views as one guys limited impressions and I am not right, just opinionated!
Asher
