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chromasia.com

Before last Friday, when I decided it was about time that I made some changes to how and what I shoot, I suspect that if I'd stumbled across this image I would have hated it. And I can't say that I'm totally convinced that it works now, but it's definitely different.

There are two things I particularly like about it though, one is referenced by the title, and the other is the grain/noise – which in this instance is the result of a fairly major crop to the original, a drastic increase in contrast, and then a doubling of image size prior to reducing it again for presentation here.

Anyway, as this is about as far away from my usual stuff as I've got in recent times I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

camera
capture date
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
focal length
flash
image quality
white balance
cropped?
FujiFilm FinePix 40i
11.37am on 16/9/04
f2.8
1/340
normal program
+0.0
pattern
200
8.7mm
no
JPEG/fine
auto
yes
 
4x3
comment by mike b at 11:17 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2004

This is a very interesting photo...I like it a lot...good job!

comment by LunaSol at 11:43 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2004

Very, very interesting photo. I like

comment by David at 12:43 AM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

I think this is really great. Truthfully, I haven't been too crazy about the last few pictures you've had up. This one to me is completely different though.
I really like the way nothing is quite in focus, and there is no real obvious focal point. Looking at it, my eyes keep darting around becuase I don't know what to look at. Sometimes that's bad, but in this case I think it works really well. On first glance, I saw the road, but then noticed it was so fuzzy, and then the reflection of the trees came in and I realized what was going on.
If this is the new sort of direction you're going in, it's a good one.

comment by miklos at 12:44 AM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

You edited the stipes in the road so that they pop up above the map's reflection in the windshield, giving the photo a 3D look.. Very nice.
The toning is excellent. Looks like a scene from the matrix :) ..
I do like the graininess.. Especially on the top left of the image..
My eyes wander across this photo over and over again, helplessly looking for something to focus on, only to find that the lines of the map direct me to the center of the 'web' which once again helps the dividing line of the road appear in 3D..All in all, not my favourite, but I do like it.

comment by djn1 at 12:48 AM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

miklos: no, I didn't do anything special with the stripes in the road. I think it's their inherent brightness in comparison to the rest of scene that makes them appear to be above the map's reflection.

comment by miklos at 12:58 AM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

dave: ah.. interesting.

comment by bob at 06:45 AM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

David.... this rocks.... great shot... you've outdone yourself... wonderful....

comment by Jason Davies at 08:18 AM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

This one's really good, well done. I love the reflection of the map, and the blurriness of the scene in the background.

comment by mini-d at 08:20 AM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

David, do you use a noise reduction program with your pictures? Could I know wich one o what program I can buy, download for noise reduction :)

BTW: nice shots

comment by djn1 at 08:43 AM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

mini-d: yes, I've been using Noise Ninja on all my recent shots.

comment by myla at 08:49 AM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

This has a beautiful, dreamlike quality to it -- something out of a Soderberg movie. I've really enjoyed the last 3 shots, Dave -- and think this is actually some of your finest work to date.

comment by east3rd at 01:01 PM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

If this is a hint of things to come, David, I for one am excited! This is such a great idea. You are so innovative in this field, it's inspiring to watch. Keep driving down this road.

comment by erin at 01:48 PM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

I think that the map feels too vertical, like a flat plane at the front which makes the photo difficult to enter.

comment by wookiee at 03:26 PM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

I like it a lot - for the contrast of physical road with conceptual road.

comment by Seth at 03:44 PM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

I have really enjoyed your images in the last few days. They've taken a different turn from your normal work, which is full of bright colors and simpler shapes. The heightened complexity and subdued colors are looking great, keep it up!

comment by darragh at 05:10 PM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

very interesting shot. i like the tone a lot. the map seems like a tree and the overlapping road stripes add another dimension.

comment by wvs | ddoi at 05:50 PM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

this is an amazing photograph. I love it. one thing I can think of, is the highlights in the lower left of the frame are distracting and I might have cropped it a bit tighter at the bottom. again, I just love this shot.

comment by Alec Long at 10:06 PM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

The progression of shots over the last couple of days has been very revealing. Moving from the typically Chromasian saturated colors in Update #1 (about to board a train), through the darker, ominously sepia hues of Between Destinations (on a train bound for somewhere), then to a blend of color and neutrality with Almost There (pulling into a station), and now the almost netherworldly green tint of Watch the Road (charting new territory, perhaps).

I can't really say I love this image, per se, but I really like the feeling I get from it because I see where it fits in with the story you're telling. So many of your photos are about the things you see; this series reveals a great deal about your thinking.

comment by djn1 at 10:55 PM (GMT) on 17 September, 2004

Thanks everyone.

wvs: one of the things I was aiming for with this shot was to deliberately avoid a central point of focus, i.e. the 'natural' point of focus is the road ahead, but the lower-left highlights, the road markings and the map, all compete to distract you from finding a balance point - which, I guess, is the point that miklos was making. In this sense I don't mind that you found them distracting.

Alec: I guess I'm always a bit wary about thinking about my photography as something that reveals my thinking, as I don't tend to consciously think these issues through, but I guess, if I'm honest, that I have been investing some effort into rethinking what I see and how I see it - if that makes sense. I guess this is all a part of what I talked about last Friday, about it being time for a change.

comment by Maxine at 03:40 AM (GMT) on 18 September, 2004

Fantastic Dave! It is Whitechapel gallery stuff :)
Love it!

comment by william at 11:36 AM (GMT) on 18 September, 2004

really nice. i love the colour, and the fact that this feels rather cinematic. someone mentioned soderberg, but for me it's approaching david lynch territory. which is not a shabby place to be at all in my book.

comment by kendall at 12:17 PM (GMT) on 18 September, 2004

Now *this* one is really interesting. The web of cracks/tree silhouette/map is great. It adds so much texture and allows you have to multiple subjects in the frame (as if you're changing your focus as you view it) - just gorgeous. And I love the high-contrast which reduces the other cars to blobs of white or black. I really like this one.