I rather like empty streets at night; they\u2019re often colourful and look unusual. We\u2019re used to seeing them full of cars, trucks and human life, but at night it\u2019s all swept away and the scene takes on a completely different appearance. Sometimes, though, wide streets at night can lack a point of focus \u2013 something for us to latch onto that draws our attention. I try not to create images in which all elements have equal importance, as the viewer doesn\u2019t know where to look first. Open, empty streets shot without careful composition can easily leave the viewer without direction.<\/p>\n
What I like about Alexey\u2019s image is that we have the (almost) empty street scene, but there\u2019s the wonderful added interest of the man waiting for his kebab who we can see through the shop window. Suddenly we have a strong subject, and the rest of the frame, the street scene, becomes just backing vocals.<\/p>\n
The problem with the street area of the shot, though, is that we don\u2019t believe it really looked like that. Alexey is showing off the dynamic range of his Nikon D3, but in doing so has created a tonal range most humans won\u2019t recognise. Whenever we\u2019ve been out for a kebab late at night the shadows aren\u2019t filled quite like that, and the dark parts of the street are actually dark. And if we opened the front door and saw a sky like that, we\u2019d more than likely assume that a volcanic eruption must have happened in the next town and we weren\u2019t hungry any more. Alexey\u2019s moderating of the architectural contrast does not match his darkening of the dramatic sky, and they seem to have come from two different scenes.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve reintroduced a bit of contrast, darkened the shadows and allowed the colours to shine through. I think that\u2019s probably more like the way the place looked, and we can relate to it more readily. I can\u2019t do much about the sky without the original file, but it\u2019s a little less threatening and imposing now. There\u2019s a good deal more road than we need for a run-up into the picture, so I\u2019ve also cropped the scene to 16×9 widescreen to enhance the movie-like atmosphere.<\/p>\n\t\t
![\"After-AS\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Alexey-Samoylenko-After.jpg\")
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