Construction Compositions

Our Picture This! assignment this month was “Construction Compositions” and we requested images that incorporated the color, design, and abstractions that building and industrial sites offer. Readers sent in images that showed the complexity of potential for rich images these places afford through the use of an intermix of angles and textures, the hubbub of human activity that goes into building, and in some cases ironic images that show the effect of all that effort on nature and within the cities we live. We also received photos that were almost lyrical in nature, with plays of light and color that an abstract painter could admire.

Mine Equipment
The golden glow of this mine equipment melds with the surrounding countryside and jumps out against the blue sky in this photo by Jim Hamstra. Exposure with a Nikon D700 and a 35-300mm lens was f/16 at 1/80 sec.
© Jim Hamstra

Cincinnati Site
The deep shadows sharply define the brighter lines and forms in this photo by Emilio Fernandez. Exposure with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a Tamron 28-300mm lens was f/22 at 1/30 sec at ISO 500.
© Emilio Fernandez

Light Rail
Semicircles, verticals, curves, horizontals, X’s, and even a leading line all make for a complex geometrical study in this photo by Bill Witmer. Photo with a Canon EOS 50D and a Canon 28-135mm lens was f/18 at 1/30 sec.
© Bill Witmer

Austin Site
This amusing photo, which Carlos Cardona titled “Delivering Priority Equipment,” was made in Austin, Texas, with a Canon EOS 7D and a Tamron 17-50mm lens. Exposure was f/10 at 1/250 sec at ISO 160.
© Carlos Cardona

Las Vegas Site
Michael P. Gross combined abstract reflections with men at work on a lift using a Canon PowerShot G10 and an exposure of f/4.5 at 1/30 sec.
© Michael P. Gross

Dam Construction
Gerald W. Shonkwiler shows us an intense web of building spun at the Three Gorges Dam in China. Exposure with a Nikon D300 and a Tamron 18-270mm lens was f/11 at 1/800 sec.
© Gerald W. Shonkwiler

RoadWork
This bucolic country road is intersected by a maze of lines and pipes in this bridge reconstruction site in Ohio. Buz Miller photographed with a Nikon D80 and a Tamron 28-300mm VC lens.
© Buz Miller

Construction Mirror
William Carson offers another point of view by using a reflecting circular mirror as both image provider and interior frame in one. Exposure with a Nikon D90 and a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens was f/5.6 at 1/1250 sec at ISO 400.
© William Carson

Steeple Incoming
Dan P. Brodt caught this near-surreal image of a replacement steeple hanging in midair during the rebuilding of this 200-year-old church after a fire. Exposure with a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II and a Canon 35mm f/1.4L lens was f/11 at 1/160 sec at ISO 400.
© Dan P. Brodt

Small World
Looking all the world like a model train layout, this photo by Dwayne Taylor was made from the deck of a cruise ship in the port at Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala. He created the “miniature” effect using the Tilt-Shift filter in Photoshop CS6 with sharpening supplied by onOne’s Perfect Effects.
© Dwayne Taylor

Shafts Of Light
Sun overhead illuminated the rising dust in this construction site at the Cleveland Medical Mart. George Payerle made this photo with a Sony Cyber-shot RX100 and an exposure of f/4 at 1/60 sec at ISO 800.
© George Payerle

Color And Design
Caught during window frame installation at an office building site in West L.A., Gary Krueger’s photo shows an intriguing interplay of subtle colors and complex lines. Exposure with a Canon EOS 5D and a Canon 80-200mm f/2.8 lens was f/8 at 1/100 sec.
© Gary Krueger

21st Century Pyramids
Photographer Raymond Uzanas wrote: “After Storm Sandy, beach sand which was forced inland by the ocean’s fury at a Westerly, Rhode Island, shorefront community has been collected, screened and piled high in rows of pyramids prior to being redistributed back to the shoreline.” Exposure with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a 24-105mm f/4L IS lens was f/14 at 1/25 sec at ISO 320.
© Raymond Uzanas

Office Renovation
Rusty Smith made this photo in Philadelphia and then processed using Photoshop CS6 and its Unsharp Mask filter and a Photomatix Tone Mapping plug-in. Original exposure was with an Olympus E-PL1 and an Olympus 40-150mm lens.
© Rusty Smith

Bridge Construction
A large textured pipe serves as the eye that focuses our eyes on this bridge construction in Toledo, Ohio. Steven Miller worked with a Leica V-LUX 1 and an exposure of f/3.6 at 1/640 sec.
© Steven Miller

Picture This! – Our Next Assignment
Sense Of Scale

How do photographers convey a sense of scale in an image? Often it’s by including a subject or object that is immediately recognizable alongside a larger or smaller object. Framing, choice of focal length, and point of view all play a part. By using all creatively we can exaggerate the relative size of objects within the frame to creative effect. In this month’s assignment, we are looking for just that combination and images that use visual scale as the main compositional element.

This couple walking outside a government building in Berlin seem tiny next to the massive structure. Made with a Canon EOS 30D and an EF 17-35mm lens, exposure was f/14 at 1/125 sec.
© George Schaub

Please Read This
It is important that you read and follow these guidelines. We need to follow this procedure because of the large volume of images we receive. If you have any questions, please e-mail us at: editorial@shutterbug.com.

1) Images sent to us cannot be returned. You retain complete copyright over the images, but do grant us permission to print your image(s) in the magazine and on our website, www.shutterbug.com.

2) Because images are not returned please send a quality print or duplicate transparency. We will not accept or view images on CD, ZIP, or any other electronic media.

3) Images will be selected on the basis of content and technical quality. Please mark your outer envelope with the topic of the month (for example, “Wide View”).

4) Enclose a short caption with the image stating camera, lens, film and exposure, plus location. If you are submitting an image with a recognizable person we must have a model release or signed permission from that person to reproduce their image in the magazine and on the website.

5) Please submit no more than three photos for consideration (4x6 up to 81/2x11).

Send your image and information to:
Picture This! Shutterbug Magazine,
1415 Chaffee Dr., Suite #10, Titusville, FL 32780.
Deadline For Submission: August 15, 2013
Images will appear in our November 2013 issue

Our Next Topic: Going Around In Circles
Deadline For Submission:September 15, 2013
Images will appear in our December 2013 issue

Please note: We receive hundreds of submissions for Picture This! each month and want to be sure we properly identify each image we publish. Please put your name and all camera, exposure information on the back of the print or attached to slides when submitting. Also, please include your e-mail address in case we need to contact you.

Want to see images selected for past Picture This! assignments? Go to www.shutterbug.com and click on Picture This! in the “More Articles…” box on the homepage.

Please note: If you submit images with an enhancement through software beyond contrast, exposure, and simple saturation adjustments please indicate the software and “filter” used to attain that effect.—Editor

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