The Rider Looks Out, a photo from Khomas, South

Photographer's Note

A more traditional postcard shot of Windhoek taken from the steps of the Alte Feste (Old Fortress and now a museum). The building was the headquarters for the imperial German Schutztruppe (colonial military force) during German colonisation of Namibia (previously German South-West Africa). The statue in the foreground is the Reiterdenkmal (equestrian monument) more commonly known as the S�dwester Reiter (Rider of South-West). The controversial memorial to the fallen commemorates German colonial soldiers and civilians killed in the Nama and Herero wars and has been the cause of much argument. The memorial was proposed by Colonel Ludwig von Estorff, designed by German sculptor Adolf K�rle, and unveiled by German governor Dr Theodore Seitz in 1912, the birthday of Kaiser Wilhelm.

The building just behind and to the left of the statue is the National Bank of Namibia building and the one at the far right rear is the new Hilton Hotel, interesting designed by Jaco Wasserfall, the same architect who designed the FNCC (see my last upload).

Looking through the gap between the buildings you can see how small Namibia痴 capital is, the greenery pretty much ends at the boundaries of the city and the hills form a circle around all sides of Windhoek which sits in the centre of the bowl they form.

I am uploading two versions of this shot. If you have time I would appreciate some feedback on the editing as I am trying to fine tune the PP work which I find quite challenging with the Sony RAW format. Is one any 祖leaner� than the other?

More about the statue can be read here http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMG3NV_Equestrian_monument_Reiterdenkmal

This photograph is copyright of Rosemary Walden - ｩ Rosemary Walden 2013. All rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction of the image in any form is prohibited. You may not, except with my express written permission, copy, reproduce, download, distribute or exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system

Periko, Romano46, tyro, snunney, timecapturer, krzychu30, rogerl has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

No_One (4) 2013-05-13 11:25

Hi Rosemary,
A beautiful scene, and what a view the rider of the south west has, over the vista of the city to take in the view, and the architecture of the Hilton hotel. The clouds create a beautiful atmosphere here. I love the lush greenery of the city too, I doubt many cities are beautifully fertile as this. Excellent POV.

As regards preference, I prefer this shot a little more than the one in the workshop, it feels a little lighter and the shadows are not as intense. I think it would probably depend on the shot and how important the shadows are, but I feel in this one, the shadows are not a big part of the image, so I prefer slightly less. The colours also seem a lot more real.

Thanks as always
Noel

holmertz (102800) 2013-05-13 11:56

Hello Rosemary,
This is a very nicely composed postcard. It's interesting too, since it shows us several aspects of Windhoek. Furthrmore the colours re very good and the light perfectly managed. I certainly prefer this to the workshop, which looks considerably more heavily post-processed. Not really overdone but going in that direction.
But this one is very clean ;-).
Kind regards,
Gert

Silvio1953 (221751) 2013-05-13 12:36

Ciao Rosemary, great view of beautiful statue, wonderful colors, excellent clarity and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Romano46 (18472) 2013-05-13 14:37

Ciao Rosemary
la classe � classe! E nelle tue foto esce sempre fuori con prepotenza. In questa mi piace molto la composizione che contrappone il cavaliere agli edifici dello sfondo . Un insieme che potrebbe sembrare azzardato ma a giudicare dal risultato sei riuscita a conciliare ottimamente i due oggetti. Segn
o di un gusto della composizione insito nella tua persona.
Ottima come tuo solito la nitidezza. Stranamente - almeno per questa volta - non vedo contrasti di colore.
Ciao e buona serata
Romano

tyro (30513) 2013-05-13 16:35

Hello Rosemary,

You have given us a very interesting note here. I've just been doing a little research and I see that Windhoek has a population of nearly a third of a million - where do they all live in what looks, at least in the picture, to be a fairly small city?

Your photograph is well composed and the statue of the horse and rider is perfectly placed in the frame, nicely balanced by the more distant cylindrical building on the right and with a fine distant view between them. Even the red rooftop at the bottom supports and "underlines" the composition. And all beneath a wonderfully expansive clear blue sky with just some soft clouds.

Lovely vibrant but true colours, fine bright light, perfect exposure and exquisite details and sharpness.

And now we come to "decision time". I have both this picture and your workshop one open in separate windows so that I can flick between them. On balance, I think I prefer this one although there is not a huge amount to choose between them.

This picture, I believe, has a better dynamic range with more detail visible in the deepest shadows and also in the lightest parts. Your workshop picture shows some lack of detail in the deep shadows around the rider's face and the butt of his rifle in particular. The distant hills in this one seem better exposed whereas in the workshop picture they appear just a tad too pale and there is less contrast and detail seen in the most distant buildings in the workshop picture too. Also, I think the colours are perhaps truer in this picture - I'm now looking at the bronze underbelly of the horse as well as the verdigris on the upper parts of the statue.

But, as I say, the difference isn't huge and I'm not sure which picture I would consider "cleaner" than the other one.

So does this "put you off" your DXO software, because I see that is what you used for your workshop picture? And does that mean you're going to be happier with Lightroom which is what you used for this one? Perhaps a few more comparisions and a bit more quizzing of other TE members is in order!

Have I written enough?

In the meantime, a lovely photograph and either image is certainly deserving of a full deux points!

Excellent!

Kind Regards,

John.

jjcordier (79299) 2013-05-13 22:43

Rosemary
Personnellement, je pr馭鑽e le rendu de ton post principal, en particulier sur la statue et le premier immeuble. Les d騁ails sont plus visibles et la d馭inition de l'image meilleure.
Bonne id馥 de composition sous une excellente lumi鑽e.
Amicalement
JJ

snunney (130967) 2013-05-14 2:54

Hello Rosemary,
It is indeed surprising this statue remains standing given the history behind it. Notwithstanding, it makes an excellent photographic subject outlined against the modern building behind. The image is very well composed with the statue ideally placed and nicely counterbalanced by the block on the right. Captured under a good light and having very good colours and clarity.

Sergiom (117241) 2013-05-14 5:09

Bonjour Rosemary,

J'aime bien le cadrage.Le cowboy semble vouloir nous faire d馗ouvrir le paysage urbain qui l'entoure. L'image est nette et profonde sous une lumi鑽e spectaculaire.

Amicalement

Serge

timecapturer (49288) 2013-05-14 6:36

Hi Rosemary
a textbook composition this and a wonderful mixture of elements and colours. The clarity and detailing here are flawless and I would say that this one is marginally cleaner but hey! there is not much in it. Super image anyway.

Regards - Brian.

ACL1978 (7511) 2013-05-14 16:02

Rosemary -

first the shot itself, which I like; being able to follow the statue's perspective over the cityscape and out onto the hills in the distance is great. The architecture here is really quite interesting as well, and I'll admit not what I was expecting to see in Windhoek. Great sharpness all the way through the frame really enhances the depth here, too.

I can certainly imagine the controversy a statue that presents the Germans who fought in those wars to be controversial, and I can imagine there have been plenty of calls to remove it or replace it. I assume the city and/or country has memorialized those killed by German forces elsewhere? Or is the small pink bracelet on the horse's hoof in the shot a subtle counter-memorial?

As for the comparison between the two, I'm torn. Overall I think I prefer this one; it feels a bit sharper, especially in the background, and the colors seem more vivid without - as Gert noted - looking processed. That's true everywhere but in the sky, which looks in this one just slightly flatter than the workshop. Two really strong versions of this, though, and an interesting look at both Windhoek and the manner in which it is remembering the country's history. Thanks!

Andrew

dkmurphys (79209) 2013-05-14 23:23

Hi Rosemary,
A very fine composition with the rider's look as the main subject. I like it, simple and attractive.
Have a good day.

Daniel

marabu61 (11587) 2013-05-15 0:48

Hello Rosemary
I for one prefer your original upload to the workshop version. The colors seem to be more natural to me and the light is more pleasing.
Having said that, Windhoek really looks like a small village here looking at the gap between the bank and the Hilton Hotel. Your composition is really good here as we have the feeling to look out over Windhoek together with the rider.
The only thing I have ever seen of Windhoek was the airport when I first went to South Africa for work in 1984 as we had to land there for refuelling as SAA wasn't allowed to fly over Africa at the time and had to fly around the coast .
have a good day
Daniel

krzychu30 (15512) 2013-05-15 23:46

Hello Rosemary,
I prefer slightly this version.Both pictures have equally superb clarity and colors.But this one captured better tonal range of the image(you can see especially good on the trees and the Statue).I know how difficult is to "learn" a new camera.I had also difficulties with my Nikon and its NEF-format.
But the quality of both pictures is really superb,so it looks like the Sony was a right choice.

Have a good day
Krzysztof

rogerl (1632) 2013-05-16 5:37

Rosemary, I like this shot, with the rider looking out over a much more modern city than in his day. I understand why this statue has generated controversy. As with so many of these statues, though, all around the world, they are part of history, and with appropriate interpretation, they form a valuable part of the historical record. A great combination of old and new, with lots of contrasting colors here and there.

As regards the two images, I definitely prefer the one you've posted here. The colors look better - particularly the red roof at bottom, and the image looks less washed-out (see the stone pedestal of the statue) - or maybe the workshop image has a slightly higher top end on the whites. In any case, based on what I see here, I'd pick the one you posted.

Roger

Cricri (176) 2013-05-16 11:21

Hi Rosemary
Une pr馭駻ence pour l'original, surtout au niveau de la statue, le regard tourn� vers le paysage, int駻essant cadrage et architecture
Belle soir馥
cricri

mkamionka (74577) 2013-05-24 5:32

Hi Rosemary,
what a coincidence: I have just uploaded a photo of a statue with a man on a horse.
This is here a very unexpected for me image from Namibia. I would never guess the country. I would think about a wstern country probably.
Nice composition with the statue in the foreground and some modern architecture appearing behind. Have a great weekend,
M