Old Arsenal Museum, Baton Rouge

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vmcdonald

Senior Member
Here's my first attempt at bracketing and HDR processing. This is the front entrance to the Old Arsenal Museum in Baton Rouge, LA. The arsenal was built in 1838 as a federal military post later occupied my the Louisiana militia then federal troops during the Battle of Baton Rouge in the Civil War. This is a unique part of town and has a lot of history. What is your overall opinion of this shot?

ShuttheFrontDoor_zps10047580.jpg


Nikon D3100
Focal length: 20mm
Exposure: 1/6 @ f25
ISO: 100
Lens: Nikon DX 18-55 f3.5-5.6
5 bracketed shots w/ Photomatix pro HDR

Thanks
 
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cbg

Senior Member
Nice image. It looks good, not overdone. it would have been better if you had included all of the steps and not cropped or framed it in the middle of the railing.
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
The HDR processing is OK but I wonder about your choice of f25… Not sure you're helping the sensor to get it's best results. The cropping annoys me quite a bit. The diagonals don't seem to lead my eyes to the door which (I hope) was your wanted point of interest. The cement block is also an eye catcher and distract as well.

So, all in all, I'd give it a 7 / 12. It's a door and without the explanation you gave has no interest since the eyes are not really dawned to it. But nice HDR and post processing.

Remember that practice and patience eventually pay off.

Enjoy your Nikon.
 
V

vmcdonald

Senior Member
Thanks guys... I'm new to this so please bear w/ me. I agree w/ the cropping issue, i should have included more of the railing and steps. Marcel, I don't understand what you mean by diagonals leading your eyes to the door, can you please explain? The door wasn't meant to be my main focal point although it seems as though it is; I was attempting to capture the overall detail of the building (primarily the antiqueness of it). As for the block of concrete, I don't like it either but I was trying to get a little bit of shadow cast by the door so i'm not sure how to make that shot happen w/o the concrete block. I really appreciate the criticism as this is probably the best way to learn and improve.
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
vmcdonald said:
Thanks guys... I'm new to this so please bear w/ me. I agree w/ the cropping issue, i should have included more of the railing and steps. Marcel, I don't understand what you mean by diagonals leading your eyes to the door, can you please explain? The door wasn't meant to be my main focal point although it seems as though it is; I was attempting to capture the overall detail of the building (primarily the antiqueness of it). As for the block of concrete, I don't like it either but I was trying to get a little bit of shadow cast by the door so i'm not sure how to make that shot happen w/o the concrete block. I really appreciate the criticism as this is probably the best way to learn and improve.
Click to expand...


I'm sorry if you don't understand what I meant, but don't worry, sometimes it's difficult enough to understand myself ;).

What I meant is that the line of the roof and the sidewalk are diagonal lines. Usually our eyes follow these when they lead to the point of interest (rule of thirds). In this case, my eyes just want to go outside the frame while following the diagonals. This is what I meant, but please do take it with a grain of salt. I'm just telling you my point of view. Others might very well disagree.
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Maybe you want to throw the uncropped image image up and Marcel can take a shot at it?? I might even try though I am not sure what if anything I would do.. Just a thought...

Pat in NH
 
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