This is my first picture posted on fstoppers. It's been taken by chance. I just had my small superzoom camera with me, which was just right for the purpose. Tell me what you think.
The location is near Hamburg, Germany. The power plant is not in operation any more. The water in the front is the Elbe river.
sunset over nuclear power plant
Good job on not blowing out the sunset too badly, but the problem with shooting a silhouette is the shape needs to be immediately recognizable to be effective. We only would know this is a nuclear plant because you've told us, or if we happen to know that particular building from memory. To me, it looks like just another domed-roof building.
Plus, you've got a lot of other stuff going on here: the transmission lines to the left and right of the building; the posts in the foreground; the tree on the left. All of these things tend to distract from the subject and, as usual, "if it doesn't add to the photo, it detracts from it."
Of course, this is just my opinion. Please don't let some idiot scare you away from sharing your work. I never learned so quickly as when I started sharing my own work and learning that it wasn't very good. "This is fantastic," never helped anyone learn to get better.
Hi Phillip,
don't worry, you're not scaring my away. I came to fstoppers because of the detailed feedbacks. They are much more useful than Likes on other websites.
So, thank you for giving me some of your time and knowledge.
I can agree with all of your points. I just tried to crop the picture more to get rid of the tree to the left and the posts in the front. But then I didn't like it so much. Here it's the question which idea you follow. Is it the SEX-rule (simplify and exclude) or the rule to add some context to make it easier for the viewer to relate to the subject? I guess a good compromise could be to let the crop as it is and to erase some elements e.g. the pylons and the power lines.
I think you can and should simplify as much as possible, but not to the point where you lose context.
I like this quote: "It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove." This means that you create a perfect photo by removing all the elements that don't contribute to making it perfect, but leave everything that is required to make it perfect.
I usually try not to do too much cloning and removing digitally, preferring to set up a better angle for the photo. On the times I've not been happy with distractions in the image, I will usually just archive the file instead of pouring a lot of work into something that may have been saved in the original exposure.
Hi Kandid (and Phillip)!
Interesting image here. I agree with Phillip that techinically you are fine. Composition is off a little though. For me it is the centering. I only center my subject when I can get a good symmetry with it. This is my personal thing so take that for what its worth (free!) :)
If you want to tell a story about the power plant, crop something like the first example here and just include industrial accents. I love the way you have the sun touching the plant by the way! The story of the power plant is strong.
If you want to tell the power plant plus its surroundings, I would just crop a little differently to off center the sun/plant and get a visual line flowing with the poles to the plant.
These are both just suggestions. I think you are on a great path and look forward to more from you! You should post that image of the boats in black and white - its a stunner!
Dear Ruth,
thanks for your comment.
As far as the centering goes I have been influenced by Mads Peter Iversen who questions the rule of thirds with good reasons. He says the picture has to be balanced, i.e. the left and the right side of the picture should both have elements that balance each other. If you have only one subject put it in the middle, if you have two put them on the third-lines.
I like your second crop quite a bit. The posts leading to the power plant do a good job.
I will follow your suggestion to post the harbour scene. I'll look for the right group for it.
Best regards, Frithjof
Hi,
a fun exercise would be to calculate at what time of year the sun would set over the big chimney, and take a photo when the sun sits right on top of it.