AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY + DIGITAL JULY 2015 AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM 81
A very busy scene
George Halasz was strolling above the Garden
Terrace Cafe at the Getty in Los Angeles, and was
taken by the mosaic of shadows on a magical late
afternoon. He writes, "I felt something was missing.
Then the waiter appeared and he completed the
scene. I waited as he walked across the terrace.
I hoped he’d step on a shadow, maybe the central
square. I enlarged the image, and I’ve returned time
after time to gaze, examine, ref lect, as each time
I see new details for the first time. This image just
keeps on giving." This shot is reminiscent of some
of the great black-and-white abstract cafe chair
silhouette shots by past French master photographers.
I especially love all the patterns and the shadows
of the tables and chairs. For me, they are the key
elements, and I feel you should have concentrated
your efforts on more close-up shots of these rather
than going for such a "big picture". Much of the
other stuff (pillars, garbage bins, pot plants, the
pram) just add clutter. You also had the problem of
a high-contrast situation here so exposure was going
to be an issue in a big scene with overblown whites
and dead blacks. When you say that something was
missing, I don't think that adding another element to
an already visually busy scene was really the answer
to your concerns.
S A I M A'S T I P: More in a scene does not necessarily
make an image better or more interesting - it may
just make it busier and more cluttered.
TITLE: Cafe Sunset
PHOTOGRAPHER: George Halasz
DETAILS: Nikon D 800 18-200mm lens @ 48mm
focal length 1/250s @ f/3.5, ISO 100, camera rested
on bannister for stability
Get it right in-camera
Geraldine de Korte took this shot while on holiday in
Lithuania. “Our bus driver stopped at the Hill of Crosses,
a pilgrimage site where people plant a cross to remember
loved ones. Over the years it has become enormous, and
it covers a whole hill. As I was taking a photograph, a
storm was about to break. The dark clouds added to the
sombre and dramatic scene, and it became for me more
than just a tourist snap.” This is certainly an unusual
and interesting off-the-beaten-track location. It’s a shame
about the railing and rubbish bin – they spoil the scene.
It would be better to shoot with a viewpoint that excludes
these aspects, rather than try to get rid of them later. Since
you say that the site was enormous, there was bound to be
other shooting angles, and you could have even stood on
those stairs to shoot. You have also used a very wide-angle
setting, so many crosses look to be falling over backwards.
Shooting with a less of a wide-angle would produce less
distortion. However, you can easily straighten those crosses
with software. This image could look great in black-and-
white, and those storm clouds could be made even more
dramatic with some selective darkening of the shadows
and lightening of the highlights.SA I M A’S T I P: It can be easier to crop unwanted bits
and pieces from a composition at the shooting stage by
framing from another angle - maybe lower or higher -
than at the post-production stage.TITLE: Untitled
PHOTOGRAPHER: Geraldine de Korte
DETAILS: Nikon D5100, 18-300 lens @18mm
focal length, 1/250s @ f/16, ISO 200.