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Oh Oh…it’s the Custom’s House!!
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I know this building has been done to death by photographers everywhere..but I couldn’t resist the lure on a recent night trip..and despite Graham’s protestations I set up my tripod and took some shots. It’s not perfect..by a long way..but it’s my first attempt at shooting it. Any c&c gratefully accepted. Doubt it will be the last time I’ll have a go :D
PS..sorry if it’s a bit big..but it looks crap small.
You’ve photographed this exceptionally well Robbie, good perspective, great reflections and
pleasing composition. Verticals seem to be spot on, though there is a little bit of barrelling on the
horizon (I’m taking the horizon to be the top of the quay wall). My only issue really with this
image is the colour. I just don’t buy it I’m afraid. The last time I saw a sky that colour was in
Tomb Raider 4 on a Playstation. Might be worth a monochrome or duotone version if the colour
isn’t correctable. Aside from that, well taken shot.Rob.
Thanks Rob :D It’s actually a composite of two images…well..two exposures from the same RAW file. No way I could get the building and the sky in one shot. I Didn’t do anything to the sky except bring it through from the over exposed shot. But then again..it was a long exposure and they tend to play havoc with colours. I actually like the idea of a Tomb Raider sky…hehehe!! Now if only I could get Laura Croft to pose for me!!
I was a bit worried about the verticals to be honest..and I’m glad to see everything seems in order :wink: I did use the top of the quay wall as my horizon…I was at the 18mm of the lens..so probably is a little barrelling..though I can never really spot that anyway…
Anyway…I’m fairly happy with this as a first attempt…thanks for the comments Rob :D
I think it’s fine Rob. I think it’s better than fine. The sky can be taken as unnatural but we get that on any cloudy night around Wexford. The roundabouts surrounding Wexford have those God awful orange lights and with low cloud you can see red halos for miles…so the sky stays??
I love the stillness of the reflection and the complete absence of any distractions such as traffic or people (at least that I’ve noticed). A very sharp, well taken image. And feck Graham! Tell him to have another lie down :wink:
Alan.
You really are trying to corner the postcard market Robbie-
another good one here- great detail again-
and well handled-could maybe do with a slight bit of distortion correction though-
and the granite is maybe a little bit warmI like the fluorescent under the arches-
not often I say that-j
Nice, sharp and well balanced shot Rob. Definitely one of the better versions
of the Customs House posted on PI… I have experienced the same colour sky when
doing long exposures of the boardwalk in Dublin at night. It those bloody horrible
lights (sodiums I think)… God I hate them… I know why they are used but the
leakage is just terrible and yeah the long exposure really emphasises it.Richie
I like it as well – though there seems to be a blue tinge to the sky on the lower left side and also the white balance seems a bit off in my view. Composition wise its fine and the detail is also very good – as Joseph said the light in the arches is a nice touch. You mentioned this was a dual raw exposure – it might be worth experimenting in 2 different merged raw exposures with different white balance in each ie one for the sky and arch detail and one for the rest of building & reflection. Just a thought.
Apart from the couple of corrections mentioned, I think this is excellent.
Excellent Robbie – great job getting rid of that van to
Oh and I wasn’t protesting that much – I know it was a big photographic milestone for
you – :wink: :lol:Postcard markets? Colour tinges? White balances? I’m overwhelmed…hehehe!!
Thanks for all the positives and critical comments folks. As I said, I do have the RAW file so I can go back and play with the white balance etc if I’m inclined to.
Really I just wanted to see what Kind of a job I could do photographing this building. My Photoshop skills are rudimentary at best..I’ve only just recently learned how to use layers on a basic level..so I’ve a long way to go, but this has put me in a frame of mind to try a similar treatment with other well known Dublin Landmarks.
Any suggestions for interesting buildings in the Dublin City environs would be welcome. Have car….will travel :D.
Oh and Graham…thanks for your technical help on this one… :D
So glad you took my advice too.. (and you know what it was) :lol:
This is excellent.
You’ve now mastered layers.
I havent got anything constructive to add….just wanted to let you know..this is beautiful and a job to be very proud of!
DenverDoll wrote:
You’ve now mastered layers.
Hahaha!! I wish Shar :wink: But it’s a start anyway. From little acorns are massive ego’s built 8)
Beaut sharpness Robbie. And nice control over the lights too. Would’ve been very easy to blow them out. Have you tried using a cool down photo filter in PS to see what it looks like?
Thanks Aiden…and no…haven’t tried that yet…must give it a shot. I guess there are a few things I could try with this to achieve different results. Just wish I wasn’t such a lazy so and so…. usually when I’m finished with a shot..I rarely go back to it. But in this case I might.. :D
Overall I’m pretty impressed at how sharp the 18-135mm Nikkor is with this kind of shot. It’s a pity I can’t get this kind of sharpness with shorter hand held exposures.
One of the best pictures i’ve seen of Custom House – tried this a few times myself and never managed to come away with a good pic. Definitely worthy of a postcard print.
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