Ice on the River Elbe
After many days of snow, freezing temperatures and grey sky, today we finally had some sun so a colleague of mine and I took a longer lunch break and photographed a bit around Hamburg’s Speicherstadt.
What do you think of these two images?
The first one looks very well, but its right piece needs some contrasting little details, something in water. However, snow amount is OK. In one side this image looks like pure art, in the other – like photographic truth. And it is substantial. I think, in a situation when something is lost in natural scene, you may add it with your hands. In some situations only.
The second one should be properly cropped. I like your idea – unite “monotone contrast” of winter river with little subject that make contrast in other way, and in our mind. But snow field is too large and perspective is too large, and there shouldn’t be edge outfocusing.
Once you wrote about choice of frame size. Don’t you want to work with different formats? And, of course, use framing and frame shift? I don’t think that shop assortment should bound photographer, as everyone is able to make ascetic photographic frame manually.
I’m glad to enjoy your photos…
Thank you, Aleksei, for your thoughtful comments, and I think you are right with your suggestions on both images! While I am free to choose any crop that looks good, I do try to use the standard ones (1:1, 2:3, 3:4 or 4:5) whenever possible.
Anyhow, according to your suggestion I’ve come up with a different crop of the second image. Do you like it better?
I’m sorry, I made you waiting. In this square frame space feels better, but perspective is quite strange and water gathered to big pool. Ice floats in diagonal direction, it is difficult to underline its slow movement with rectangular frame, on the first side. Spire and cross should be underlined with vertical frame, on the second side. Water pool should fits better into horizontal frame, on the third side. And these too pools have unique look that make difficult to frame them with something else. If you met more water, framing could be easier. But there’re two additional factors. These are: perspective that forms space nook and leads eyes, that should combine spire reflection with ice banks. Here we should feel breadth, see live nature. And central idea: little spire. It should dominates in clear water. Image should be contrasting. I agree with your position for the spire. I copied your two shots and tried to find right frame. I found that cropping with 3:4 vertical frame will be good. Make it a bit closer than original 2:3 and place it quite lower, with some left shift. Do you enjoy it?
Thouh, my decision isn’t perfect too. Wide frame catches more snow, brings more contrast and nature. But whole pools are teared away. So the first image is more emotional. I think this picture was interesting, but not enough photogenic.