Kathleen McCrary

September 2022 - Salt Lake Tabernacle

About the Image(s)

Hello, my name is Kathleen McCrary and I am new to Group 4 and to PSA. I live in Seattle. I got involved with photography early because my father was interested in it so we always had cameras around and he encouraged me by giving me little box camera when I was eight.

This image was made during a visit to Salt Lake City in October 2018. The building is called the Salt Lake Tabernacle and it's in the large complex that includes the Mormon Temple. The tabernacle is where the choir performs and where the organ is housed. It's an unusual and attractive building and I made quite a few images of it. This is my favorite. In particular I love the morning autumn light. The clear light in Utah is beautiful, especially when one is used to hazy Seattle.

The settings for this image are
ISO 200
f5.6
1/640

I shoot exclusively with a Canon S95. I also own a Canon DSLR and a Panasonic Lumix mirrorless camera, but I rarely use them because even the mirrorless is too bulky for me especially when travelling. I shoot everything raw and manual. I do all my work on an old Dell laptop and I do my processing in an old version of Canon PhotoPro that I prefer over the newer version because it has a nice HDR tool.

I hope you enjoy this image. I'm happy to be in Group 4! I have lots of travel images I'd like to share, and I looking forward to seeing everyone's images.

This round’s discussion is now closed!
8 comments posted

Susan Albert

Welcome to PSA and PTD Kathleen. We are happy to have you in Group 4 and look forward to seeing your photos and comments.

I like the light in your photo also. The woman in the center right is interesting, as she is looking up and I wonder what she sees. There's also action on the left, where the couple is having a conversation. The texture is strong in the columns. While the dome seems sharp, I find the rest of the image to be grainy. The woman on the right is distracting- she is cut off and walking out of the frame. See my edit. There's strong balance and symmetry in this photo which makes for a great composition. Posted: 09/04/2022 21:57:16

Kathleen McCrary

Susan - The woman looking up is looking at the huge Mormon Temple which is close behind me. I appreciate yor edit and I understand your choice to crop out the figure on the right. However, I like the figure and the fact that she's walking out of the frame works for me. I often choose to include these kind of little details just to keep things interesting. Which doesn't mean I don't see your point. Anyway, thanks for your feedback! Posted: 09/08/2022 15:23:39

Dr. Isaac Vaisman

Kathleen, welcome to group 4 and as Susan just said we all are looking forward to enjoy your images. The Mormon Tabernacle building is more impressive in the inside. I agree with Susan's crop since the amputated woman at the edge is distracting. I just wonder what is that person looking up for ? The image is sharp and the colors are well balanced Posted: 09/06/2022 13:42:30

Kathleen McCrary

Thanks, Isaac. I think it's interesting how different photographers see things differently! I find the outside of this building is more interesting than the interior, but that's why we have these good discussions. The woman looking up is looking at the huge Mormon Temple right behind me. Posted: 09/08/2022 15:43:46

Tom Tauber

Hi Kathleen, great to have you join our active group! I am looking forward to seeing many more of your images.
I agree with Susan's crop. As a "street photograph" so to speak, it's very interesting, with the woman looking up and another person checking his phone. The light on the metal dome and the texture and reflections are really beautiful. You controlled the exposure very well. It looks like you may have lightened the dome and maybe even areas underneath the roof, but not the sky since the clouds in the upper left are much grayer and there is also a slight halo on the right. Let me know if I'm correct on that. Posted: 09/08/2022 13:20:32

Kathleen McCrary

Thanks, Tom. I really appreciate your noticing the light on the dome which is what I think makes this image work. You ask if I lightened the dome and I did not do anything specifically to the dome exposure because I don't have the editing capability to mask an area like that. I use a pretty "small" editing program, Canon Digital PhotoPro; no Photoshop or Lightroom because my little old laptop can't handle it. Besides, I know and like this old version of Digital PhotoPro because it has a really nice HDR tool which I use to process my raw files into JPG format. It works well to extract maximum detail in shadows and even helps some in highlights. I shoot everything raw and manual. Thanks for your interesting comments, Tom. Posted: 09/08/2022 15:38:48

David Stout
(Group 3)

Hi Kathleen, on my only visit to Salt Lake City I was so engrossed with the very large main building I totally missed the opportunity to capture an image of this unique building. You obviously have a very good "seeing eye", and I must add that I agree with Susan`s trim! Posted: 09/22/2022 15:47:33

Kathleen McCrary

Thanks for the message, David. The main building certainly dominates and I've got several pictures of it. I still like this one better, though. I'm sort of starting to come around to the cropping you and Susan prefer. But I like the "bookends" balance of having a figure on the right as well as the left. However, I can see your point. Posted: 09/23/2022 14:43:53

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