Handsome – Critique

For this week’s critique, we’ll look at “Handsome.”  It’s a photo of the facade of Chernoff Hall on Queen’s Campus.  It was taken over a month ago.  Let’s go over it’s strengths and weaknesses.

One of the strengths of this photo is the viewpoint.  Here, the camera was angled so that the structure and frames are not vertical but are instead on a diagonal.  It creates a very different and interesting composition.

There is also an element of repetition.  We can see that the frames in the windows and the limestone structures are repeated.  It gives a very pleasing design.

As for weaknesses, this photo has a somewhat distracting object in it.  The branches on the right side to me doesn’t add to the photo.

As you can see, the photo was taken on an overcast sky.  I wonder if it would have worked better on a bright sunnier day.  That way more shadows would have been casted to reveal the structure better.  Also, the textures would have been more pronounced.

Please let me know what you think!  Thanks!

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Fiery – Critique

This week’s critique is on “Fiery.” It’s a photo of tulips found in front of Dunning Hall on Queen’s University Campus.  It was taken about a month ago.  Let’s go over what works well and what could be improved.

The colours in this photo are what instantly grabs your attention.  Reds, oranges, and yellows abundant in this photo suggest hot fire.  The cool greens nicely complements these warm hues.

We have some pretty good bokeh in this photo.  There are subtle circular bokeh just to the right of the tulip in focus.

The condition of the main tulip could be better.  As you can see, it’s starting to wilt and die off.

The background is somewhat disorganized.  There is no pattern to the tulips in the background.  It just looks cluttered and all over the place.  I think if I had angled the camera lower, I might have gotten a photo where all the tulips heads were aligned.

Please let me know what you think! Thanks!

House of Knowledge – Critique

Our photo for this week’s critique is “House of Knowledge.” It depicts a walkway outside of Stauffer Library on Queen’s University campus.  It was taken about three weeks ago.  Let’s look at the positives and the negatives of this photo.

The repetition in this photo is one of the positives.  You can see that there are repeating elements in this photo,  the columns on the left, the benches, the trees, and the plants beside the trees.  The repeated elements create a regular rhythm moving from the edges of the photo to the centre.

One more positive is the sense of linear perspective in this photo.  The columns and the trees gradually become smaller and diminish towards the vanishing point near the middle of the photo.

One negative is that both the repetition and linear perspective is very short.  If the pattern was continued for a longer distance, the photo would have been more spectacular.

Another low point is the distracting eye sore in the photo.  That eye sore is the ugly trash container in the centre right.  I should have paid more attention to it when I was taking the photo.

Please let me know what you think! Thanks!

Justice – Critique

For this week’s critique, we will look at “Justice.”  It’s a photo of the Frontenac County Court House near Queen’s University campus in Kingston, Ontario.   The photo was captured a little more than two weeks ago.  Let’s discuss what works well and what needs improvement.

What works well is the relationship between the fountain and the court house.   The much smaller fountain in the foreground acts like a stepping stone, or an antechamber, to the much larger court house.  You would “leap” from the fountain before landing on the court house.

I also like the minimal colours in this photo.  There are basically four dominant colours, brown, turquoise, grey and white.   The white in the sky really isolates and brings attention to the architecture of the building.  The minimal colours also simplify the photo, and help to focus attention on the geometric shapes and textures.

What could be improved is perhaps the composition.  You can see that the fountain and the building’s name are cut off.   Would it have looked better with those intact?

This photo was taken on an overcast day.  I wonder whether it would have looked more cheerful if the sun was out?  Do you think the colours are a bit drab here?

Please let me know what you think! Thanks!