The Traditional Mask Carnival Photo

Photographer’s Note

The photo was taken in St Mark's Square during the traditional Mask Carnival.

It was a very cold and foggy day in Venice and as I walked around St Mark's Square I saw more and more people displaying their beautiful costumes.

This 'peacock' outfit was the best one I saw.

No one seemed to be paying much attention to the pigeons on this occasion.

Tech: Scanned. Cropped to remove the foggy white background. Added 20% uniform noise - to the noise that was already there. Brightness +3. Contrast +6.

RGatward, papagolf21, nwoehnl, kajenn, avigur_11, jmdaoudal, Kenny10pin has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

RGatward (19751) 2004-12-17 3:37

Interesting subject. Not sure about the noise here (which learned to like here on TE) since the subject really more of interest shot than a artwork/abstract type, though I suppose if it started out that way, worth a try.

Spoony (3539) 2004-12-17 3:57

I like the global effect here... lots of creativity here. You are an artist ;)
Well seen and obvisly done.

papagolf21 (57029) 2004-12-17 5:31

Cher Andrew,
Une photo prise en 1989 avec un instamatic c'est impressionnant comme les appareils d'aujourd'hui ont fait des progrès. ! ;-)
Une photo nostalgie qui ne manque pas de charme.
Je vais essayer un petit atelier pour le plaisir.
Bien amicalement.
Philippe

[workshop] [compare] +

technogran (1339) 2004-12-17 10:54

The added noise gives this photo a look like a painting. It creates an artistic mood, which is appealing. The people in the background also add to the mood, as they are dressed for the cold and their closeness to the foreground gives the feeling of a crowd. I like it.

nwoehnl (120) 2004-12-17 15:07

The noise was actually not a bad idea here, Andrew - a creative way to salvage a less-than-ideal scan quality, and not least a way to give an artistic touch to your presentation. We can still clearly make out the scene, and the indeed attention-drawing peacock costume steals the show. Good colors. Well done.

kajenn (2325) 2004-12-17 18:50

"Well, something's gone wrong, very wrong" - that was my first impression, Andrew, but then I realize it's a scanned 1989 shot from an Instamatic camera. And although the technical quality of the image is low, there's something fascinating about it. Almost like looking at a daguerreotype - a print from times long gone by. And then again it's only 15-16 years ago, so I guess it's the eccentric outfit and the heavy noise that adds up to that impression. The composition is very nice - cropping was well done - with people filling the frame below the peacock feathers and colors are relatively good too. After a while I find the noise a wee bit too intrusive. Good job - well done!

avigur_11 (21307) 2004-12-18 2:10

The unique PP makes this shot very interesting and very artistic, Andrew. I could stare at it for hours. The woman with the glasses catches the eye, because she looks like the only REAL object in this odd scene. VEry well done.

jmdaoudal (82) 2004-12-18 5:27

As Artistic as the festival is.
Like very much the colors and the athmosphere created here.
Compliments
Jean Michel

maphoto (8076) 2004-12-18 16:53

Good work Andrew and interesting picture, good atmosphere, looks like an amaxing event, thanks for sharing.

pamastro (7215) 2004-12-19 1:22

This is quite a costume. The plumes spread out pretty far. I like the colors against the greyness and the spectators looking on around him. The shot is well framed and composed using the elements there. I somewhat like the added noise here as it adds a different type of depth to the image. It gives a feel of looking through something like looking through the fog. And it's a good way to hide normal noise. You've had a lot of bird photos recently. Is this a return to Venice to get in a different kind of bird shot? It's well done and quite an impressive plumage. I'm sure those pigeons in the back are jealous.

dsidwell (9745) 2004-12-19 21:54

The addition of the noise brings a painterly feel to this image, Andrew. I'm not sure if it's better than just the image, but the colors seem as if they could be a bit more vibrant with this choice.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2004-12-19 22:12

Interesting phot, I like the paint look.
I like the originality here

Well done

jrj (34779) 2004-12-20 12:29

Hi Andrew
Good ol' 'vintage' shot from the carnival. Impressive dressing of the main motive. Good idea to add some noise as opposed to reduce the present noise of the old dias.