I took this in Valencia, about three quarters of an hour before sunset. I benefited from the extraordinary blue sky - I am not sure I have previously had the pleasure of such gorgeous light, ever.
At that time of day, and so close to Solstice, it was inevitable I was going to get shadows. If I were a very keen photographer and this was local to me, I would choose my time carefully, both the time of day and the time of year. Obviously, this isn't practical for a tourist snap.
I think I can see what I was trying to do, at least subconsciously, and indeed, looking through the internet, it is clear that I was hardly being original in the (attempted) framing of the shot. I didn't even think of it, but obviously my eye was drawn through the gateway and to the building on the other side of the road - a church I think. With a bit more care in positioning and focus, this could have been a memorable photo of the church, using the towers as an unusual frame, surrounded by that gorgeous blue sky.
The advantages of digital photography are instant review and attrition rate. I could have taken 10 or 50 or 100 attempts at this photograph until it was as good as I could make it. It seems that I didn't even bother to review, another drawback of tourist snapshots, because I wasn't just there to take photos, I was also guided tour of a two-person walk around historic Valencia.
The other problem is one of technology: the way a tall building appears to be leaning away from me, highlighting how short I am in comparison. That isn't remediable except with a wide-angle lens. I have a liking for leaning-away buildings, probably other people don't. but I think what really comes over is the flatness of the scene. I should have used a narrower aperture than 3.2. I think I got the speed right for the light.
I am thinking of taking the plunge to an SLR, although the thought of doing so is a bit daunting. I know from observation of other people that one cannot survive on an SLR alone. I suppose I would then supplement it with a small basic compact, but wouldn't want to ditch my Canon G3 because it really is an excellent versatile point-and-shoot. Add the ubiquitous phone-camera, which is no good for anything but instant photos for purely documentary purposes in good light, and I would end up with four cameras, which would be a bit silly!
I am also thinking of doing a photography course, maybe, but I'm not sure what I want to learn. I don't think I want to do a course in editing, because I much prefer verisimilitude. For example, a lot of people would edit out the car that's visible through the gateway, but I feel uncomfortable doing so. In this case it wouldn't be unethical, but in many cases it would be giving a dishonest impression. I suppose I want to learn more about actually taking photos, but how does one know if a course is any good? I don't suppose they come cheap.
