Bolte Bridge at Night

[Nikon boy]

Took this pic of the Bolte Bridge (melb) at the end of twilight one evening, i tried to give it scale with the fisherman at the bottom of the frame,jpeg converted in CS2 from original Raw file, one has distortion corrected one hasn't

D2X and Sigma 15-30 lens tripod used self timer as i left the remote/release at home,,,,aloing with the torch,,of course !!

so which pic is best the one with distortion or the one without

[Alpha_7]

For me the second shot is better then the first.

Very interesting lighting, and the top half of the image reminds me of Dooda's photos recently (one made POTW), the man made structure reaching into the sky, with funky lighting.

[Oneputt]

I agree with Craig, the second shot is best probably because it has had distortion correction. Very well exposed and good composition. Like it a lot

[Killakoala]

I prefer the first image. I like distortion as it seems to add a bit more perspective to objects. Wasn't this bridge named after a famous corrupt Victorian politician? (I realise there have been quite a few)

[Nikon boy]

Steve, yes the bridge was named after Sir Henry Bolte, he presided over the last hanging in Victoria, that of Ronald Ryan who was alleged to have shot and killed a pentridge prison warder whilst escaping, it was later also alleged the bullet that killed the warder came from a fellow warders gun (crossfire)

My uncle who has been a staunch Labour supporter all his life ( Bolte was Liberal) calls it THE HANGMANS BRIDGE !!

[JZA70-mel]

I think the distortion adds "size" to the bridge - as it towers up into the distance. Like the edges of a road converge in perspective.

The effect is most selective to the (what your brain would expect to be parallel) upright towers, and not so prominent in the other straight lines.

[Slider]

Both look good in their own right. The trouble is trying to compare them. I'll sit on the fence for this one.

[marcotrov]

The second is my pick for it's balance and adjusted perspective. Lovely lighting and exposure
cheers
marco

[antman]

I prefer the 2nd. I think that objects which are "straight" in real life such as buildings, bridges etc should ideally be captured in a similar fashion photographically. It would not suprise me if the architects / designers had an epileptic fit if they saw your 1st picture.

Love the smooth colours that you were able to achieve.

[Nikon boy]

Thank you for the replies it seems opinion is fairly divided on the distortion issue and proves yet again beauty is always in the eye of the beholder