View Full Version : Objects that intrude in your photography
Personally, I hate telephone poles and power lines, it seems like I can't escape them, I can shoot a whole roll and every shot will have a telephone pole in it. Does anybody else have something like that happen to them?
I don't know about telephone poles but when I first got my 15mm Heliar I kept finding my feet in my shots! :p
SolaresLarrave
03-18-2008, 21:48
The repeat offenders? Sky and ground.
erikhaugsby
03-18-2008, 22:22
The camera strap. :bang:
photomoof
03-18-2008, 22:46
The most embarrassing to me is to find a roll with the inside of the lens cap in some of the photos.
sienarot
03-18-2008, 23:23
Well, kinda the opposite, but I hate it when I'm out shooting and people jump out of the way when I want them in it! Haha
Chris101
03-19-2008, 00:08
Well, kinda the opposite, but I hate it when I'm out shooting and people jump out of the way when I want them in it! HahaI totally agree on that! I have gotten in the habit of not aiming the camera as they approach, then doing the quick shot when they walk through the scene. Then they apologize and I explain that they actually made the picture better.
The stuff I dislike are cars, parked or driving. As I am counting on being huge post mortemly, I don't want my stuff to look dated.
usagisakana
03-19-2008, 01:13
The stuff I dislike are cars, parked or driving. As I am counting on being huge post mortemly, I don't want my stuff to look dated.
Haha this bothers me too, totally ruins the look of a photo that could be from any time in the last century, when you see new cars in the background.
ItsReallyDarren
03-19-2008, 02:26
I think cars have their place in photographs. Kind of like a date stamp, it lets people see what we saw as the norm in our time.
To me, everything that's in the frame belongs there. Otherwise you should have chosen a different position or framed differently. Street furniture is there; deal with it. :)
I don't know about telephone poles but when I first got my 15mm Heliar I kept finding my feet in my shots! :p
Get a 12mm, and take pics of your eyebrows :eek::eek:
I like all the man made stuff, it ties the picture to its place in history, anyway best make the most of it in 20 year they’ll be gone, all the phones will be wireless and there will be no bulk energy to put down the power lines. Those that are still up will be quaint and photogenic and everyone will complain about the windmills and solar panels
I'm still not quite used to my new 21mm, so I am finding my fingers in quite a few shots. I would hate to see what I could manage to get in the shot with a 15 or a 12!
I guess I don't mind things in the shot that are supposed to be there. Cars, people, etc in urban shots. But I really hate having things like that in natural landscapes. I was at Arches National Park in January... the park was pretty empty, except for the times that I wanted to take photos. Then there were always people in the way of what I wanted to shoot. At least the wife is understanding and will wait for me to get the shot I want!
Cheers,
Alan
williams473
03-19-2008, 05:50
Telephone poles or wires - whatever is in the frame, are just visual elements. In the final photograph, it all contributes, so if you find wires or poles distracting, move around more until you get things looking the way you want them. Personally, I love wires and poles - I use them a lot in composing my images.
I hate poles and wires too. Especially when I'm trying to do a nice architectural study. As some famous photographer said "wish I had a telephone pole filter".
Back in 1976 I was in SanAntonio, and wanted to do some night photos of the Alamo. Jimmy Carter had a big campaign show the next day and they were setting up a stage in front of the Alamo. Still mad about that one - didn't vote for Jimmy either! :cool:
ibcrewin
03-19-2008, 06:17
Besides the Lens cap and the Camera strap. It's what I leave out that drives me nuts. I find that I cut off feet a lot.. I have to be more concious of that.
The automobile is definitely my bete noire.
That's French for pet peeve.
Hard to take a city photo without it looking like a study of a parking lot.
Pherdinand
03-19-2008, 06:43
Ah, the intruding wires.
Sometimes they can be funny.
Get a 12mm, and take pics of your eyebrows :eek::eek:
I like all the man made stuff, it ties the picture to its place in history, anyway best make the most of it in 20 year they’ll be gone, all the phones will be wireless and there will be no bulk energy to put down the power lines. Those that are still up will be quaint and photogenic and everyone will complain about the windmills and solar panels
And we will have the paperless office ... won't we? :p
dazedgonebye
03-19-2008, 07:02
My last couple of wide rolls contained 3 pictures of my thumb and 2 of my camera strap.
Brain...no where to be found.
Personally, I hate telephone poles and power lines, it seems like I can't escape them, I can shoot a whole roll and every shot will have a telephone pole in it. Does anybody else have something like that happen to them?
True, poles and lines are pervasive, and escaping them isn't all that easy. On the other hand, is it really that bad? You may also be trying too hard to replicate the look and feel of images and paintings that were created when these objects didn't yet exist.. Mind you, most of the clean pictures that we see, have lines, poles and airplane trails cloned out. Stronger still, some location photography is even done while power lines are temporarily removed during the shoot, or where traffic is diverted..
But if you can find a way to make these intrusions work in your compositions, then you'll face a lot less frustration..
bmattock
03-19-2008, 07:30
Personally, I hate telephone poles and power lines, it seems like I can't escape them, I can shoot a whole roll and every shot will have a telephone pole in it. Does anybody else have something like that happen to them?
It certainly happens, and for some shots there is no way to avoid it, but in general, I try to pay more attention to my composition these days. So I am looking at the background as well as my subject, and trying to get what I want in and what I don't want out.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3199/2338508311_0c72351b44.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wigwam/2338508311/)
In no particular order:
Security Fences
Power Lines
Telephone Poles
Parked Cars
Bob
Predictability... that's the worst intruder.
No matter how well you think you know what you've got, things crawl in. It's just the nature of the medium. The way the camera gathers everything in its view equally- that's one of its more unique and seductive traits. I think you just have to accept and embrace that, and the fact that there is an element of chance involved.
Cheers,
Gary
power lines (they're a nightmare in Japan)
reflections on glass
cars
concrete
signs
people
And we will have the paperless office ... won't we? :p
Yep…….. we’ll be burning the wood to power our stream cars :D
shadowfox
03-19-2008, 08:22
Personally, I hate telephone poles and power lines, it seems like I can't escape them, I can shoot a whole roll and every shot will have a telephone pole in it. Does anybody else have something like that happen to them?
Naah, they are friendly creatures, leaning in to see what you're capturing :D
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2094/2317154118_fe53749b31.jpg
Its nice to come back and see a nice long thread. Yeah I do have to just live with 'em, work with 'em, or cut them down with a chainsaw. :) I don't mind cars, and I look for motorcycles. Having just got back into Rangefinders I'll have to look forward to thumbs, straps, feet, and lens caps.
Sometimes I don't mind objects intruding into the frame ...
http://homepage.mac.com/rayhill2/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/GoodwillWaiting.jpg
What bugs me the most is people walking around with the ubiquitous plastic cup in hand...
http://homepage.mac.com/rayhill2/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/Reflect%231.jpg
Cars in pictures don't bother me much since clothes and hair styles can obviously date photos...
http://homepage.mac.com/rayhill2/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/Skater.jpg
FallisPhoto
03-19-2008, 09:31
Personally, I hate telephone poles and power lines, it seems like I can't escape them, I can shoot a whole roll and every shot will have a telephone pole in it. Does anybody else have something like that happen to them?
Elderly guys in Hawaiian shirts and shorts. i swear I think they are stalking me.
David Goldfarb
03-19-2008, 09:58
I just processed some 4x5" film from a recent trip to Hawai'i and was surprised to find the Brooklyn Bridge in a photo of Manana Island (Turtle Island) off the coast of O'ahu. Guess I forgot about that one first time around!
http://www.echonyc.com/~goldfarb/temp/BrooklynBridgeandMananaIsland,2007-8.jpg
I'm pretty careful these days about not getting the cable release in photos made with wide lenses, but that used to happen occasionally.
bmattock
03-19-2008, 12:10
Elderly guys in Hawaiian shirts and shorts. i swear I think they are stalking me.
It could be worse, like if they weren't wearing shorts.
chris000
03-20-2008, 10:43
Sometimes it's difficult to avoid those poles 'n' things - but in the case of Dungeness in Kent (UK) they are part of the overall scene and charm of the place
X-Pan, 45mm, Tri-X
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2404/2348190512_e71a5e8b79_o.jpg
FallisPhoto
03-21-2008, 13:10
It could be worse, like if they weren't wearing shorts.
That's true. Things can always get worse. Don't give them ideas.
Steve Bellayr
03-21-2008, 13:28
An ocassional overhead wire can be intrusive in architecture but the worst is the tourest who stands in front of you staring a map.
" What bugs me the most is people walking around with the ubiquitous plastic cup in hand..."
I take lots of pics of people at meetings. so any branded items--Coke, Starbks, etc. call attention away from the subject --- become product placements. I like to get shots of speakers in their context. This can means from the back of the room to identify and show the size of the crowd. The killer here is a bald head in the forground. :eek: Way worse with flash:bang:
My finger shows up once every 150 shots or so.
michaelbialecki
03-28-2008, 09:12
Hello everybody.....I used to be more conscious of "objects that intruded" into my photos and sometimes I would work around them...Now I find myself trying to use them if they can make my photos more appealing (it doesn't always work)...here are some examples that I think "worked" for me....
India (terrorist attack)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2236/2232311976_6d6a4429c7_b.jpg
another...(dirty negative)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2191/2232243087_3b595e94cf_b.jpg
Pakistan (shortly after the earthquake)2005
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2064/2233073792_95265f4c7e_o.jpg
cheers, michael
Not sure if anyone mentioned this one, but recently I've noticed that I used to have a lot more fun shooting in public before every single person on Earth had a cell phone strapped to their cranium :-) The other day I saw a group of nun's congregating outside of the bus depot. It was one of those great decisive moments and then - cell phone plastered to habit for two of them! It offered another decisive moment, but not the one I was hoping for.
Just a fact of modern life I guess - someone should do a series on cell phones or something!
-D
michaelbialecki, those are good! They convey the confusion of the moment, and the awful heartbreak of lives lost. The clutter adds to the photos in this case.
Too bad our world has to be this way - as Jesus said "Love one another as I have loved you".
Senecabud
03-28-2008, 19:08
Well, my hair when it's loose and the wind blows it in front of the viewfinder and/or lens. Hate that! :bang:
The stuff I dislike are cars, parked or driving. As I am counting on being huge post mortemly, I don't want my stuff to look dated.
Then I guess you should not photograph any architecure, and while you're at it ask the people to take their clothes off cuz their clothes will date the photos...:D
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