London Town

[sizifo]

Hi, everyone! This is my first post to the forum. I recently "came back" to photography after getting the wonderful GX-100. Before that, my DSLR probably made it harder to go on shooting rather than helping it.

The GRD did the same for me. I like the photo. Was the composition deliberate?

 

[ntrolls]

The GRD did the same for me. I like the photo. Was the composition deliberate?

First of all, thank you! It was half deliberate, half by chance. My original intention was to shoot the reflected image of the lamp post. As I took out my camera, a couple of people passed by the lamp post. The first was a guy coming toward me, followed by a lady who walked past me from behind. I also shot the guy, but I liked the second one.

Later I thought: 'hmm maybe I should have included more of her upper body to make it more balanced.' However, the reflected image being the focus of the picture, I tried to make it up for weird(?) composition by turning the photo upside down instead of cropping.

That's probably way more detail than what you wanted, but there it goes anyway

 

[Terry]

A couple of older ones of mine from London (they've been posted before sorry)....

 

[helenhill]

Terry: LOOOOVE your second shot ....Spot on Lovely

Best, H

 

[Will]

Tottenham Court Road GRD2

Liverpool Street Station GRD1

 

[helenhill]

Will your shot is FANTASTIC
Brilliant composition........
between Darks & Lights, Curved & Straight :clap:
Cheers! H

 

[pollobarca]

All your pics of London are great - Especially like the Tate pics from Will and Vladimir, also the Millenium dome is a cracker from Vladimir.

My contribution:-
C5050z:-
River and Tate

Lincolns Inn Fields

GX100:

Inside the tate

All the best

paul

 

[Per Ofverbeck]

Paul, very good images; especially the third one ("GX100") is a minor masterpiece!

 

[sizifo]

First of all, thank you! It was half deliberate, half by chance. My original intention was to shoot the reflected image of the lamp post. As I took out my camera, a couple of people passed by the lamp post. The first was a guy coming toward me, followed by a lady who walked past me from behind. I also shot the guy, but I liked the second one.

Later I thought: 'hmm maybe I should have included more of her upper body to make it more balanced.' However, the reflected image being the focus of the picture, I tried to make it up for weird(?) composition by turning the photo upside down instead of cropping.

That's probably way more detail than what you wanted, but there it goes anyway

I've flipped over reflections a few times like this, and most of the time it doesn't work. I think the reason why yours works is that the reflection also looks like it has its head cut off. It would be slightly better, in my opinion, if the real person was decapitated exactly at the shoulders :thumbup:. Here is one reflection shot of mine that I did like. Nothing to do with london thought. Small diversion.

 

[sizifo]

A couple of older ones of mine from London (they've been posted before sorry)....

Nice. Are these shot with the small Leica?

 

[sizifo]

Paul, very good images; especially the third one ("GX100") is a minor masterpiece!

While I like all the images, especially the last, no. 3 would never strike me as a minor masterpiece. Nos. 2 and 3 do strike me as interesting and quirky (with some phallic stuff going on, or maybe it's just me...) Per, could you elaborate a bit on why you think no. 3 is so excellent? Paul, I'd love to hear your comments as well of course.

 

[sizifo]

Some photos of the south bank from me. The first one is of the artificial sun at the tate, that was a while back.

 

[pollobarca]

While I like all the images, especially the last, no. 3 would never strike me as a minor masterpiece. Nos. 2 and 3 do strike me as interesting and quirky (with some phallic stuff going on, or maybe it's just me...) Per, could you elaborate a bit on why you think no. 3 is so excellent? Paul, I'd love to hear your comments as well of course.

sizifo,

I think Per was saying the camera is a masterpiece.
I took that nr 3 pic wanting to show the bridge from a different
place.There was queue for the normal photographing position that everyone uses.They could sell tickets... Phallic - I thought it was a funny shot ,St.Pauls
cupola grew out of the bridge. I dont normally see willys everywhere! Although now I see it.Must be a freudian slip.I also liked the different things going on in the picture , water flowing,girl looking at and moving towards something, writing on the glass etc etc. I had to work a bit on the picture
while I was taking it.

Nr 2 I liked the flowers and the guy ran into the picture , and got a branch
in a strange place. I wanted to show how green London is in the centre of town.The runner made the picture for me.

Now if the Tate would clean its windows:-

Glad you like nr 4.This I saw when I was on the escalator.The Ricoh powers up quick and I was able to snap this.I think this is one of my favourite pictures.

thanks for the comments Per and Sizifo

b rgds

paul

 

[Per Ofverbeck]

sizifo,

I think Per was saying the camera is a masterpiece.
....l

Well, no; I did mean your image (which you gave the caption "GX100" )

While I like all the images, especially the last, no. 3 would never strike me as a minor masterpiece. Nos. 2 and 3 do strike me as interesting and quirky (with some phallic stuff going on, or maybe it's just me...) Per, could you elaborate a bit on why you think no. 3 is so excellent? Paul, I'd love to hear your comments as well of course.

Well, there are several details, not all of them easy to verbalize (why is Alfred Stiglitz´ "The Steerage" a major masterpiece?).

First, the obvious surprise effects, like people walking around above the water in a not entirely obvious topology, and the unexpected dome of St Paul´s exactly above the bridge pillar. Then the entirely different colour keys in the upper and lower parts, and the careful balance between the heavy pillar-dome structure and the main figures on the bridge.

All these elements contribute to a puzzling mixture of disconnectedness and unity, in a very complex image, and thus one tends to remain with the image and try to sort out what exactly is going on in there. Obviously, all this is subjective, but I find I have to look far longer at this image than at the superficially similar, but far simpler, escalator image directly below it.

 

[Terry]

Nice. Are these shot with the small Leica?

Yes, they were with the D-lux3

 

[Terry]

Well, there are several details, not all of them easy to verbalize (why is Alfred Stiglitz´ "The Steerage" a major masterpiece?).

First, the obvious surprise effects, like people walking around above the water in a not entirely obvious topology, and the unexpected dome of St Paul´s exactly above the bridge pillar. Then the entirely different colour keys in the upper and lower parts, and the careful balance between the heavy pillar-dome structure and the main figures on the bridge.

All these elements contribute to a puzzling mixture of disconnectedness and unity, in a very complex image, and thus one tends to remain with the image and try to sort out what exactly is going on in there. Obviously, all this is subjective, but I find I have to look far longer at this image than at the superficially similar, but far simpler, escalator image directly below it.

Paul,
I agree with what Per wrote above. I really like that shot and it forced you to look at it longer and sort out all of the details. Really well seen.

Now, through the window at the Tate I actually think works better with the dirty windows. Contrast of old window looking out to the modern bridge etc. Another image that keeps you looking longer. Well done again.

 

[sizifo]

Well, no; I did mean your image (which you gave the caption "GX100" )



Well, there are several details, not all of them easy to verbalize (why is Alfred Stiglitz´ "The Steerage" a major masterpiece?).

First, the obvious surprise effects, like people walking around above the water in a not entirely obvious topology, and the unexpected dome of St Paul´s exactly above the bridge pillar. Then the entirely different colour keys in the upper and lower parts, and the careful balance between the heavy pillar-dome structure and the main figures on the bridge.

All these elements contribute to a puzzling mixture of disconnectedness and unity, in a very complex image, and thus one tends to remain with the image and try to sort out what exactly is going on in there. Obviously, all this is subjective, but I find I have to look far longer at this image than at the superficially similar, but far simpler, escalator image directly below it.

Very interesting.

Let me first say that I've been over that bridge so many times, that the geometry struck me as nothing weird, and I knew exactly where everything was. In fact it it was only after a few viewings that I realized the pillar and the dome were aligned on purpose. I can be an idiot, I know.

So I missed a lot of what's going on, because I knew the place, and also thought that the composition of the people didn't quite work. (And when I say "didn't work" I mean in terms of it being a really GREAT photo. I like the photo a lot, no question about that). What I was looking for instinctively - imagining that I was there taking the photo myself -, was a person doing something interesting, people whose heads are barely visible to be more apparent, the guy on the lhs to get out of the way, and not at the geometry of the composition as you described it.

In general I find that certain photos immediately strike me with something, whereas others take a lot more time to appreciate. For example, "The Steerage", which you mention, I just saw for the first time, and was immediately very impressed, w/o appreciating any of the details in the photo. On the other hand, I was looking through a Winogrand book a few days ago, and must admit that a lot of the stuff didn't strike me at all immediately. It took quite a lot of thought to begin to appreciate the intricacies of the compositions.

I'm not sure whether I'm won over by your description, but am very grateful for it.

This might be an interesting question more generally. Does a photograph lose some of its appeal if you are very familiar with the place where it was taken?

 

[Lili]

Some photos of the south bank from me. The first one is of the artificial sun at the tate, that was a while back.

Lovel all of them, however third one of the jumper off the stairs simply rocks!

 

[pollobarca]

All,

thanks to you all for the comments. I am a Londoner but I havent lived in London for 27 yrs now. So London is all new to me . This was the first time I had seen the Millennium Bridge ,I did wait a few seconds for the people in front of the dome to move on and give a better view. It actually had snowed a few minutes before this picture (GX100) was taken.
The Picture through the Tate window. I wanted to zoom and just get the bridge and background. But the glass was so dirty thought it best to show the window too and use the dirt. Thanks TEB newyork for the comment. You have to be quick to get the pic as the Tate doesnt allow photography in that gallery and the staff stop you.This is where a camera like the GX100 wins.You couldnt pull out a DSLR from your jacket and get the picture.

Thanks to all

b rgds

paul

 

[sizifo]

All,

thanks to you all for the comments. I am a Londoner but I havent lived in London for 27 yrs now. So London is all new to me . This was the first time I had seen the Millennium Bridge ,I did wait a few seconds for the people in front of the dome to move on and give a better view. It actually had snowed a few minutes before this picture (GX100) was taken.
The Picture through the Tate window. I wanted to zoom and just get the bridge and background. But the glass was so dirty thought it best to show the window too and use the dirt. Thanks TEB newyork for the comment. You have to be quick to get the pic as the Tate doesnt allow photography in that gallery and the staff stop you.This is where a camera like the GX100 wins.You couldnt pull out a DSLR from your jacket and get the picture.

Thanks to all

b rgds

paul

Thanks a lot. I found this discussion very illuminating. My esthetics often don't agree with people who know a lot better. It's great to pick up on how different people see the same photo, and there's a lot to learn from it. I just hope you didn't take my comments as dismissive of your photos, because I really liked all of them, it's just that to start an interesting discussion it's necessary to go a bit beyond "great photo" etc.. As for the phallic thing, well, the runner had the branch in a strange place, and one photo leads to the next... It's what happens to me in springtime.

The reason I know that area so well is that I used to go jogging around the themes, usually crossing the millennium bridge, for a few years. It must be one of the most impressive jogging paths in the world.

Cheers,

Vid