Just for fun (Re-edit)
Bloopers and Re-edits
In concluding this current series of night photographs I thought I'd describe some of the problems involved in choosing the right edit for a night shot - colour and black and white. My first version of this shot in December 2019 can be seen for comparison here: www.flickr.com/photos/luminosity7/49215280311/in/album-72...
This is the entrance gate to Luna Park in the Melbourne bayside suburb of St Kilda. It was built in 1912 and has Australia's oldest wooden roller coaster, The Scenic Railway (the second oldest in the world), which runs around its boundary.
Well, strictly speaking this is another shot of the same scene. The first blooper I made in my initial selection was to take no account of the compositional advantages of people in the photograph. Four years ago I simply didn't understand how important people can be as elements in a frame. If you want an artistic model for this, look at some of the Australian artist Jeffrey Smart's paintings, especially "Cahill Expressway" (1962). www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/3000/
That single figure makes the painting.
So you'll see in 2019 I overlooked two key figures that add interest to this scene. The first on our far left is the man standing with cap in profile against that wall that is bathed in yellow light (What is he doing? Waiting for someone?). The second figure on our far right is running from the bus towards the entrance of Luna Park. But in 2019 I chose the RAW file which neglected the foreground activities and design on the concrete. Both critical to the balance of the composition.
The second (and frankly, most embarrassing) blooper has to do with balancing the colours. In the 2019 version they are a total mess. Where did all that blue in the face come from? I am much more concerned now for accuracy of colour rendition whilst still happy to play them up for effect (we don't want a bland view that merely reproduces what our eyes can see). But unless the colours are balanced (and getting a white balance first is critical for this) and the exposure levels are congruent with the actual scene, all sorts of problems emerge.
There are more than enough problems in night colour photography as it is. And one of the reasons why I think most night shots are easier to process in black and white, is that you get fewer artefacts - or unwanted results - and when you do you can hide them to a large extent. Part of the reason I chose to produce such a dark version in 2019 was an attempt to hide some of these artefacts. In fact all I needed to do was get the colour balance right in the first place. This re-edit is a much truer version of the original scene and most importantly, the atmosphere.
Just for fun (Re-edit)
Bloopers and Re-edits
In concluding this current series of night photographs I thought I'd describe some of the problems involved in choosing the right edit for a night shot - colour and black and white. My first version of this shot in December 2019 can be seen for comparison here: www.flickr.com/photos/luminosity7/49215280311/in/album-72...
This is the entrance gate to Luna Park in the Melbourne bayside suburb of St Kilda. It was built in 1912 and has Australia's oldest wooden roller coaster, The Scenic Railway (the second oldest in the world), which runs around its boundary.
Well, strictly speaking this is another shot of the same scene. The first blooper I made in my initial selection was to take no account of the compositional advantages of people in the photograph. Four years ago I simply didn't understand how important people can be as elements in a frame. If you want an artistic model for this, look at some of the Australian artist Jeffrey Smart's paintings, especially "Cahill Expressway" (1962). www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/3000/
That single figure makes the painting.
So you'll see in 2019 I overlooked two key figures that add interest to this scene. The first on our far left is the man standing with cap in profile against that wall that is bathed in yellow light (What is he doing? Waiting for someone?). The second figure on our far right is running from the bus towards the entrance of Luna Park. But in 2019 I chose the RAW file which neglected the foreground activities and design on the concrete. Both critical to the balance of the composition.
The second (and frankly, most embarrassing) blooper has to do with balancing the colours. In the 2019 version they are a total mess. Where did all that blue in the face come from? I am much more concerned now for accuracy of colour rendition whilst still happy to play them up for effect (we don't want a bland view that merely reproduces what our eyes can see). But unless the colours are balanced (and getting a white balance first is critical for this) and the exposure levels are congruent with the actual scene, all sorts of problems emerge.
There are more than enough problems in night colour photography as it is. And one of the reasons why I think most night shots are easier to process in black and white, is that you get fewer artefacts - or unwanted results - and when you do you can hide them to a large extent. Part of the reason I chose to produce such a dark version in 2019 was an attempt to hide some of these artefacts. In fact all I needed to do was get the colour balance right in the first place. This re-edit is a much truer version of the original scene and most importantly, the atmosphere.