# Twilight Tower of Terror



## vipgraphx (Aug 3, 2012)

This one is from California Adventure. I went with the Black and white and added textures to this image as I felt it kinda went with that spooky old run down hotel look. 




tower of terror by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

Hopefully folks will like the outcome of this.


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## Bynx (Aug 3, 2012)

Your images would look much better in my opinion, if everything wasnt falling over. You might like that over the top distortion, but it really ruins a good image.


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## vipgraphx (Aug 3, 2012)

That light pole bothers me to, but when I try to make straight the rest 

Of the picture looks funky. 

I will try the warp tool and see if I can fix it.


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## Bynx (Aug 3, 2012)

You might want to take into account the image you loose like the light pole if and when you straighten it up. But I like the processing here. I have a pic of myself and my kids going down that hotel ride. It was pouring rain at that time. Ah, the one I was in was Disney World not Disney Land. When I was in Disney Land I saw Walt there. He was actually in a New Orleans type street with musicans. I have a pic here of him somewhere. This was in 1969 or 1970.


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## Steve5D (Aug 3, 2012)

For this image, which is obviously going for an ominous, overbearing feel, I think the original works best...


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## vipgraphx (Aug 3, 2012)

Here is with some lens correction applied via the skew tool




twilight tower of terror by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


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## Derrel (Aug 3, 2012)

Steve5D said:


> For this image, which is obviously going for an ominous, overbearing feel, I think the original works best...



Yes, I agree...the well-corrected image Bynx posted has had excellent keystoning correction applied...and in some ways it DOES look better after his re-work. But I am not as fond of the more-precise,more-measure composition Bynx created by lopping off that right hand light pole's second lamp...the re-work looks more "controlled" and "studied", like a careful shooter shot it, whereas VIP's original shot had a more offhand, casual, 1920's feel to it...I think in a technical sense, Bynx's rendering of the source material (an effects-processed image file) is an excellent job, and that VIP's rendering of the source material (ie the hotel itself!) was not quite as well-composed as maybe it could have been.

The problem as I see it is those poles, and the way the camera was angled upwards...some people HATE keystoning....buildings and wine bottles and light poles that appear to be *"falling over backwards*" gets into an aspect of lens rendering that MANY people realllllly have strong feelings about. I think vipgraphix's original shot has just enough keystoning to look offhand and unstudied, but NOT enough to look super-creative and "cool".Using an entirely different focal length and a different camera placement (ie, HIGHER, like ladder-high), OR a camera with movements, or a tilt-shift lens, or maybe a 16mm rectilinear fisheye, would have made this shot and effect AWESOME....

BTW, I absolutely love that old,distressed, sepia tone "look"...looks fantastic on this California vintage architecture + palm trees. How about a re-shoot??? FABULOUS location for this processing/exposure treatment.

EDIT: As I was writing this, vipgraphixs posted his OWN re-work!!! ACK! I type too slow!


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## vipgraphx (Aug 3, 2012)

Darrel, great points, I still have much to learn! I how I wish I could go back and reshoot with no people in the way and my tripod but my vacation came to an end last saturday. 

I think one problem with wide angle lenses is the great distortion it gives, as you said some people can not stand it while I on the other hand invested 2k on a lens especially for that so where do I go from here? 

I really appreciate your time in your post and like I said great points, that I will keep in mind. I have been learning a few things here and there and maybe I should have taken this picture in portrait mode vs landscape. 
Perhaps that would have helped out...

Thanks!


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