Tunisia v. Tokyo C&C and tips for Barcelona

Thirdfox

Guess which one is which?

I am looking for C&C so be harsh Personally in the first one I feel like there's something lacking, no specific focal point maybe? And apart from the tiny Tunisian flag in the bottom corner you don't really know it's Tunisia at all...

As for Tokyo - did I get the curves wrong? Are the blacks okay on your screens or is it too dark? And it always seems to me that the tower is a bit slanted... paranoid or correct?

Any other C&C would be greatly appreciated!


I'm heading off to Barcelona in a 2 weeks, any tips about good photographic opportunities? Do Spanish people mind getting their photos taken? Thanks for your advice.

AnimalRights

I prefer #1.
#2 types are done so many times.

Mr. Grieves

I really like the light in the first one, but I think you're right about the lack of a focal point.

I was in Barcelona last week and I'd suggest the market off the Ramblas for colour and people. There's loads of interesting stuff in that area. Also, if you go to the Sagrada Familia, I think the inside is possibly more spectacular than the outside, but very hard to do justice in a photo.

Thirdfox

Ramblas and Sagrada Familia... check. I'll have a look for them on the internet.

I really loved the "god light" shining down - pity the buildings were so far away!

Crash

Sagrada familia provides so many opportunities, at a detailed level and at an overall level. Also, there's a lot of buildings in the main parts of town that have amazing detail on the building, so keep an eye out.
EDIT: one of the buildings I have in mind is a theatre, cant think of it but each window bulges out surrounded by dragon scale kinda plaster detail. its amazing, get photos :P

As well, Camp Nou (barcelonas football ground) provides a great photo op if you want to go out there.

As for which I like, 2 I prefer. I think the building in the lower right of pic 1 distracts a lot from the rest of the pic.

leohoju

Of the two I prefer the second one, I like the almost Blade Runner feel from it (minus the constant rain). The first one suffers from the lack of focal point as you already pointed out, but I do like the sky for that one.

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In Barcelona you'd also have Parc Güell (reasonably close to Sagrada Família), all sorts of Gaudí buildings around the city centre area (Casa Vicens, Casa Calvet, Casa Batlló, etc., etc.).

Tip: Go up Montjuïc by cable car (about €12), walk around Montjuïc and see the park there, the old castle, then head down to the Olympic Stadium and finish off the day with a walk down to the "Magic Fountain". That'll take up a good half day or so and you'll have some really nice views from the cable car as well as from up on Montjuïc. The "Magic Fountain" is worth seeing for the colours and the music show that's put on to correspond with the fountains.

There's also the Gotíc area, the beach (not so pleasant), Port Olímpic (again not so pleasant), Arc de Triomf, Torre Agbar (giant gherkin thing) and lots more besides.

Thirdfox

Thanks for advice guys.

I was just watching blade runner yesterday!

I don't know too much about Barcelona,I went there as a kid and only spent about an hour there before travelling back down south again.The only thing I can remember is that it's nutorious for pick-pocketers.Hope I've helped

As for the shots I think the first would look better if you cropped the bottom so that only the top half of the trees were in view,then I'd up the contrast majorly to bring out the light rays which aren't strong enough at the moment,making a silhouette of the buildings in front of the tree line.I'm not too sure if it would work but just an idea.As it is, it's a great shot but I feel more emphasis needs to be put on the rays as they're quite interesting.

The second shot is very nice.Exposed correctly and nicely composed with the skyscraper just off centre.The blacks look grand on my screen and the tower looks straight,the smaller tower on the left is probably making it look unbalanced.

Good luck in Barcelona!

moralproduction

as the above poster said,be very careful of pickpockets over there,ive been there six times in the last two years and nothing has happened to me thankfully,but ive heard and met so many people it has happened to its frightening,also dont just mind your pockets,even a bag hanging on your back be very wary of,theres a nice area called el born,really funky area with a nice cathedral etc,stay away from the raval,its an area to the right of the ramblas if your walking towards the port,thats meant to be the dodgiest spot in barcelona,also the ramblas can get quite seedy at nightime,hope some of this helps

Thirdfox

Hmm I haven't really worried about crime while travelling by myself before (in Japan crime seemed to be non-existent if you don't mess with the gang's i.e. Yakuza etc. and Tunisia was a bit rough at times but I would have thought Spain was generally safe?)

Are there places that a guy shouldn't walk alone carrying a tripod and camera after dark etc.?

moralproduction

i think you would be ok all over the city with camera and tripod apart from the raval or the bottom of the ramblas at night,theres very little muggings or violent crime over there,i have walked for twenty mins numerous occasions through the city at 3 am with laptop bag and a camera bag and no one ever approached me and i felt perfectly safe,safer than in dublin even

PonderStibbons

They're both great shots, but tbh the Tokyo one does look a little dark. I think the problem was the time of day rather than any post-processing. If the photo had been taken at twilight rather than full night you would have probably got a better balance between the buildings and the lights, and a nice blue sky as a bonus. Obviously you can't do anything about that now, but it's something to think about for the next time perhaps!