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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Nine: Composition -- putting it together > Cafe in the Jordaan, Amsterdam, Holland, 2003
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03-MAY-2003

Cafe in the Jordaan, Amsterdam, Holland, 2003

Known as "brown cafes", Amsterdam's popular local pubs offer cozy surroundings, warm hospitality, good food, and plenty of Dutch beer. Often located in old canal houses, they are usually smoky and crowded. This one in the tranquil Jordaan neighborhood is neither -- it's a bit too early for lunch and much too late for breakfast. The boss has borrowed the bar for a temporary office. Although the boss is small and backlit, he is my focal point. I bring my wideangle lens to within inches of those glasses on the right, and sweep the eye deeply into the picture to the boss by using the entire bar as my leading line.

Canon PowerShot G2
1/50s f/3.2 at 7.0mm full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis23-Feb-2004 04:06
Thanks, Anna, for the metaphor. I never thought of it that way, but the sweep of the bar does indeed guide you into the picture and through it. The wideangle perspective (in this case 28mm) creates the illusion of depth, and used correctly, it can be the most important tool of all for photographic composition.
Anna Yu22-Feb-2004 19:08
It's like a landing field in an airport. The effect accentuated by the use of a wide-angle lens. Thx for this lesson, will try it out this coming week. I find that composition is most difficult to grasp and have to go through this gallery one image at a time.
Regards/Anna
Phil Douglis22-Oct-2003 03:36
Thanks, Dirk -- I promise I'll take you up on that when we get to Belgium someday. And I'm sure Mo will join us there.
Phil
Guest 19-Oct-2003 00:10
Hi Phil,

That's funny and yes I'm also from Belgium. I will take a look at her pictures. And you're welcome if you must come to Belgium, I will be glad to offer you some drinks in a café in Belgium, perhaps in this one:http://www.pbase.com/image/3154787
I've seen very nice portraits made by Bruce, on Pbase, if you must be interested you can see them here:http://www.pbase.com/image/3154787
I loved them, especially those from the girl with the green eyes.
A big cheers from Belgium,
Dirk
Guest 19-Oct-2003 00:09
Sorry Phil, I pasted the wrong link, it must be this one:http://www.pbase.com/bvcuma/portraits&page=6
Regards,
Dirk
Guest 19-Oct-2003 00:08
Hi Phil,

That's funny and yes I'm also from Belgium. I will take a look at her pictures. And you're welcome if you must come to Belgium, I will be glad to offer you some drinks in a café in Belgium, perhaps in this one:http://www.pbase.com/image/3154787
I've seen very nice portraits made by Bruce, on Pbase, if you must be interested you can see them here:http://www.pbase.com/image/3154787
I loved them, especially those from the girl with the green eyes.
A big cheers from Belgium,
Dirk
Phil Douglis18-Oct-2003 20:28
Glad you enjoyed this shot as well, Dirk. You are Belgian, and it is perhaps coincidental that a Belgian photographer, Monique Jansen, was having lunch with us in this cafe as I made this very shot that you chose to comment on. I first meet Mo on Worldisround.com -- she is an excellent travel photographer and she came up to meet us during our visit to Amsterdam this spring. I hope to be able to meet pbase photographers as well during future travels.
Phil
Guest 15-Oct-2003 10:45
Ah a picture from my neighbours. Again great information and I like this image and the mood very much, also the family of warm colors. Think that this one could also be very great in black and white and maybe the accent will go even more to the fine composition. With kind regards.
Phil Douglis11-Oct-2003 23:40
Thanks, Ray -- you and I see things very much alike. And yes, that is purple fringing around the door and window -- which happens whenever very strong backlight hits an edge such as this. It is quite common to digicams, less common in DSLRs. I have learned to live with it -- most people don't even know that its there, or what it is. The only way to get rid of it is not to shoot directly into a light source, yet that is what I often enjoy doing because of the abstracting power of back lighting. Purple fringing is a small price, indeed, to pay. Of course if I want to go to a DSLR, I could have my cake and eat it too -- but that would mean carrying more weight, losing my swiveling viewfinder and waist level shooting ability, as well as my live image preview. I think I'll stick with a touch of fringe and a trifle slow shutter for all the benefits my G5 brings me.
Guest 11-Oct-2003 05:06
This is my kind of picture, Phil. So many interests in one image. Great leading line composition as well. However, I do have a small nitpick about the purple fringe/chromatic abberation around the doorway. I think it is slightly distracting, IMO.
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