I have just started with urban photography as a complement to nature photography. Yesterday I went to the most famous skateboard park in Malmö (Stapelbäddsparken) situated in the gentrified harbor area. Since it was rather cold, only a few degrees above the freecing point, I went there mostly to capture geometrical images and light and shadows thinking no one would show up. However, a few kids with parents turned up, the kids were to young for any action but I anyhow captured this image.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I positioned myself to have the shapes and light and shadows within the frame and waited for any kid to come into the picture. I got a few different images but liked this one the most. I like the shapes and the light and shadow of the concrete structure as wellas the cracks. This make a good backdrop for a subject, here a kid high-lighted by the light. To me the kid seems to be a little bit afraid of the downhill, being in doubt if to go or not.
Technical Details
1/1250, f/8, ISO 200 (base ISO), Olympus 75 mm (150 mm equiv.) lens, Olympus travel camera PEN E-P7
This is so interesting. I saw the thumbnail and couldn’t tell what the blue was in the bottom of the frame. So glad I opened it. Love the creativity of this image.
Same here. I thought it might be a composite with an easter egg placed in it for a holiday motif. Then I noticed it was a helmet and even later that there was a head in it, too. Nicely done and a distinctive take on a familiar subject. Well to those of you who don’t live where there are more cows than people. I really like the shades of gray and the way you’ve put the slopes together. Amazed it isn’t covered in snow.
The shapes, the highlights and shadows are wonderful and the cracks being damp really help accentuate the patterns.
I like the artwork of ice cream cones, cupcakes, hot cocoa and other goodies on the child’s helmet.
I also like the child’s left arm positioned straight out to help him maintain balance on the skateboard.
You done really well at creating the illusion that all of the shapes are domed rather than flat topped, it appears that the only dome shape there (of any size) is the one in front of the child (according to Google Maps).
This is sooooo creative. I had no idea what the object was in the lower portion of the image thinking that maybe it was an Easter egg so I opened it up and what to my surprise was a child’s helmet. I had no idea. The lines, geometric shapes and patterns created by the shadows and highlights is incredible. You certainly have a good eye for this type of scene so street photography might be right up your alley. Well done, Ola!
Just adding to the praise - it is nice to look at and keeps you pondering. The contrast between the grey and the helmet works really well. Nice seen and composed
Very creative. This would make an excellent abstract even without the helmeted child. But the child, both for the splash of colour and for the surprise story he tells, make this photograph something special. Well seen and executed.
I live in the southern part of Sweden. This winter we have only had a few days with snow, and it very often melted away just a few hours after it fell.
Funny how I think of Sweden as having basically a mono-climate and that’s so interesting that it doesn’t. Reminds me of the extreme northwest coast of Washington, near Bellingham, that area - they have similar winters to what you describe. My friend (the 1/2 German one from the other thread) lived there for a time and would complain about having to mow the lawn in January. Unthinkable where we grew up in New Hampshire which is almost on a line in terms of latitude, but so completely different in winter. Same with nearby Long Island - New York City gets slammed with some snow and LI gets barely any. Must be the effect of water and currents.
Sweden is almost 1000 miles long in the N-S direction so the winter is much more severe in more nothern parts of the country. We are also affected by the Gulf Stream, making the climate here warmer than expected. However, some years we also have cold winters in the south, even if they seem to be rarer nowadays.
