Comments: guest | selective memory

Striking (& splendid) composition - the two splashes of yellow balance perfectly. I like the focus and the distortion a lot, too. This photo creates such an ambiguous mood...

Posted by Q at May 28, 2004 11:35 AM

Fantastic shot, Mark! I love the morning light and the fog brings out the drama of the modern architecture. That street light on the right side is a great balance/perspective tool. Nice work, as always...

Posted by Kathleen Connally at May 28, 2004 01:01 PM

Sorry to disappoint you but this photo looks as if it has been made up in photoshop (the fog I mean) or possibly taken from inside a car.

Posted by Mirza at May 28, 2004 05:54 PM

Mark I loved this picture as all the others ones in your site.
I want to let you know that I create a blog to say things about Toronto (because I lived there for a while in 2000) and just took some pictures from you to ilustrated it. This way I am trying to show your photos and things about Canada and Toronto to all Brazilian people. I always give you the credits for the pictures. I hope you donīt mind. If so, let me know, ok.
Thanks

Posted by Tuca at May 28, 2004 06:03 PM

Unlike any shot I've seen on a photoblog before - well done!

Posted by James at May 28, 2004 07:16 PM

Lovely shot.. very peaceful feeling.

Posted by Tudy at May 28, 2004 07:49 PM

Buildings engulfed in the fog; it's the day after tommorrow.

Posted by Boreo at May 28, 2004 10:38 PM

Great shot!

I remember being out on Victoria day in Toronto and it really was that foggy! So I don't think it was Photoshopped at all.

But I have untrained eye, so I could be wrong..

Posted by mistral8 at May 29, 2004 12:04 AM

Wow. Amazing shot.

Posted by Jinky at May 29, 2004 05:02 AM

really great shot, reminds me of Gotham city or a dream like image, doesnt' look real............

Posted by mooni at May 29, 2004 05:58 AM

I agree with Mirza... There's some Photoshoppery going on there, look at the streetlight, that's that "duplicate the layer, blur it and set opacity to ~20%" trick but with a layer mask to keep the bottom sharp. Tsk. As if nature isn't beautiful enough!

Posted by Aegir at May 29, 2004 09:28 AM

Thanks for the comments, everyone. And thanks to Sam for the invitation. There was some Photoshopping here, but not in any attempt to create a scene that didn't exist. This was taken with my Canon A80 @ ISO 100 and the fog was very noisy, so I did just a bit of selective noise reduction and Gausian blurring to get rid of it. Mistral8 is right that this is pretty much what it looked like last weekend.

Posted by Mark at May 29, 2004 11:08 AM

Outstanding! Love how the lamp is still on - like it's emitting the fog somehow...

Posted by kara at May 29, 2004 04:19 PM

My My! There must be an election on. The Cynics are coming out of the woodwork!
Great Shot!
I suppose if the fog effect had been added in the darkroom it would have been OK!
Bob

Posted by Bob at May 29, 2004 07:37 PM

Great foto !

Posted by osampo-hana at May 30, 2004 05:31 AM

Superb! And @mirza: what's wrong with taking pictures from inside a car? And what's wrong with Photoshop? If a photographer dodges and burns in his darkroom, is that wrong? It's the image that counts, and I for one love this one.

Posted by Edwinek at May 30, 2004 02:14 PM

i don't care how you did it (being familiar with your splendid site, though, i'm convinced that you simply have an instinct for drama and beauty)..but i'm glad you did. it's brilliant.

Posted by lynn at May 30, 2004 04:21 PM

Sam, you're making us nervous. You haven't updated your site since the earthquake in Iran... Let us know you're okay!

Posted by Scott Murdoch at May 30, 2004 04:22 PM

Edwinek, there is nothing wrong with photoshop or taking photos from inside a car. But the caption of this photo does not say anything. The way the fog is distributed around buildings, the way it is lower in between buildings comparing to their front, the way the blue sky looks, the way the golden building reflects the sunshine, all just don't look natural to me. That's my opinion.

Posted by Mirza at May 30, 2004 09:29 PM

It's not the tools used but the end result that matters. This is a GREAT shot!! I've always thought of this site as an art appreciation site, not a how to use a camera site.

Posted by qOJ at May 31, 2004 08:26 AM

this shot is so obviously faked that it is sickening. a child playing around in photoshop can make the samething... i cant believe you all flipped for this waste of a photo ... had it been left orignial im sure it might have been a half decent shot of the sky line

Posted by scott at October 4, 2004 02:32 AM

oh and did anyone even stop to notice that the rectangular blotch in the bottom right hand corner doesnt even exist in toronto... let along the impossible perspective on the added in streetlamp... or... the cut out smudging around the fog that if you change the contrast on your screen is clearly visible from the photoshop smug effect... waste of valuable space on a other wise great website sam... this one i could make with one hand tied behind my back

Posted by scott at October 4, 2004 02:35 AM

oh and did anyone even stop to notice that the rectangular blotch in the bottom right hand corner doesnt even exist in toronto... let alone the impossible perspective on the added in streetlamp... or... the cut out smudging around the fog that if you change the contrast on your screen is clearly visible from the photoshop smug effect... waste of valuable space on a other wise great website sam... this one i could make with one hand tied behind my back

Posted by scott at October 4, 2004 02:35 AM

the problem i have is not with the artistic changing of the photo. Thats fine... its a kin to a painter changing the landscape slightly in his painting, but I have a problem with the misrepresentation of the photo and the claim that it is natural. simply put: It's a lie

Posted by scott at October 7, 2004 01:45 AM