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Dust of Industry and Impact of Pigeon
Dust of Industry and Impact of Pigeon
Stemo


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Industrial (Basic Editing III)
Camera: Nikon D70
Location: Redondo Beach, California
Date: Nov 28, 2005
Aperture: 2.8
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1000
Galleries: Nature, Black and White
Date Uploaded: Nov 29, 2005

 My office faces a large electical power plant. I found this pattern of dust on a window down the hall from my office as the sun set. Surely a pigeon flew with some force into the window in order for this amazing dust pattern to be formed. There is an industrial powerplant beyond the glass but in focus it would have robbed the images impact I feel. I used slight amount of smart sharpening, channel mixer, and levels to make this black and white image. I shot with a Nikon D70 with a 80-200 zoom at 200mm F2.8 at 1/1000 of a second because I had no tripod handy and I feared the coming rain might wash it away.

Statistics
Place: 143 out of 223
Avg (all users): 5.1875
Avg (commenters): 7.0000
Avg (participants): 5.0526
Avg (non-participants): 5.2599
Views since voting: 969
Views during voting: 392
Votes: 272
Comments: 19
Favorites: 4 (view)

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AuthorThread
 12/09/2005 10:58:32 AM
Hello from the Critique Club!

I applaud you on taking the challenge topic outside of the box! This is quite an interesting image.. The dust adds such an interesting effect, almost as if the photo has been aged or mistreated. If I hadn't read your comments, I would have thought the effect was added in Photoshop or something. I agree with you that putting the powerplant in the image would have really lessened the impact (no pun intended). I obviously don't know what this would have looked like in color, but I like it in black and white, and I think that was a good choice on your part.

One thing that I notice is that there seems to be a lack of deliberate composition.. The bird is not quite center, but not far enough off center to be considered rule of thirds. I think that if it were me, I would have put the bird directly int he center of the photo and zoomed in a bit more, as the dust pattern of the tip of the bird's wing (in the upper left corner) is a bit distracting. I think making the bird larger would give it more of a dramatic, intense feel.

I like this photo as a sort of artsy shot, but I don't think it fits in well with the typical DPC challenge winner, if you know what I mean. I think this might do well in a gallery, or on a website, where it might fit in more with its surroundings, but in this particular environment, I can see why an otherwise good photo did not do exceedingly well.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
12/05/2005 09:21:57 PM
gracefull. exquisite
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/03/2005 07:10:44 PM
You found something very interesting here!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/02/2005 06:20:20 AM
Didnt know what this was until reading the caption.
Great fortune!
Makes you think of when he hit the window/wall.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/01/2005 10:36:45 PM
Very interesting image. Looking forward to reading any photographer comments there may be.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/01/2005 10:05:33 PM
Man, that's a good title!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/01/2005 09:55:16 AM
Not sure I get this, too abstract for me I guess. How is this industrial?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/01/2005 07:59:24 AM
Hah! Saw the image before the title, thought this was going to be Pigeon Forge.
What a powerful image, I'm not even sure I understand it. Either a 1 or a 10...
10 for now
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/01/2005 07:58:07 AM
wild photo ... industry seems a bit of a stretch
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/01/2005 05:08:39 AM
Awwww! I've seen this before on a window that is a walkway from a parking garage to a hospital...........amazing how the poor fella's details are so vivd on the glass as his body lieaves the imprint.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/30/2005 10:51:27 PM
Wow!!!!!!!! What a shot, how did to chance on this one. I love to know so please inform us on how you happen to be in the right place at the right time. Unbeleaveable shot. Fantastic
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/30/2005 03:03:36 PM
Ouch, very interesting picture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/30/2005 12:29:37 PM
Great, took me a while to work out, but then couldn't help imagining someone wrestling with a pigeon against a car bonnet.!
but it obviously a poor misguided bird but a very lucky photographer to spot the opportunity
well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/30/2005 10:56:10 AM
Very interesting. Kinda looks like an x-ray shot. On the negative, the contrast is too low.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/30/2005 10:50:52 AM
WEIRD! Really neat find and image!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/30/2005 06:56:57 AM
wow.
 11/30/2005 06:29:56 AM
Pigeon dust. I've seen that. Owl dust is more fun. Nice shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/30/2005 04:20:20 AM
OK, This is one for the "How'd they do that?" section. Is this actually a photo of a pigeon hitting a window? If so, I'm amazed that not only were you able to do that, but that the image is aesthetically interesting as well. It's even fits in the challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/29/2005 10:44:10 PM
Holy crap. beautiful. stunning. this is what photography and art is all about and why I even bother looking through challenges to find a gem like this. 10 and favorite.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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