paulfree17 Loc: New Jersey

Last month I got back from a trip to Rome. It was a tour so we were visiting the Forum late morning under a bright sun. I took this picture and loved the way the sun came lit up the ruins. My wife liked the picture in color, I felt the shadows, the ancient ruins and the shapes screamed out B&W. I felt the color did not add anything. Any comments on which one is better and anything I could do better regarding exposure or composition.

B&W Roman Sun


Color Version - Roman Sun

Heirloom Tomato Loc: Oregon

I vote for both! This works both ways, perhaps with an edge to the b&w. I have no suggestions regarding composition. You could check levels to make sure you have a full dynamic range, but it looks right to this non-calibrated set of eyes.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Hi Paul. In the color version, the grass is an odd color green and distracting. I like the black & white but don't care for the placement of the sun directly over the tallest element in the composition, nor does the lens flare add anything positive.

What do you think about cropping out the sun, cloning out the ray and lightening up the ruins?

Macromad Loc: New Zealand

Must agree that both variants work. Regards composition hard to say, was the arch bottom right complete? Could try a crop emphasising the pillars centre. Could try cloning out the metalwork lower left in the colour shot. In the black and white for ME the lens flare and position of the sun not only helps to understand time and weather but give a sort of crowning glory effect.

paulfree17 Loc: New Jersey

Frankly I wanted the lens flare. If I have to shoot in the bright sun I wanted it to mean something. I felt the lens flare accentuated the timelessness of the scene. The same sun rising over those pillars for thousands of years.

Maybe if I had titled it Apollo over Rome it would mean something different. It makes me realize that the title is an important part in conveying the artists intentions and I perhaps should have spent more time on the title.

IMHO without the flare it would have just been another shot of Roman Ruins. My only real question was B&W vs Color in conveying the theme.

paulfree17 Loc: New Jersey

The arch was complete but I cannot get the entire arch in without going really wide and then I would have gotten a lot of modern distractions. I could have cropped them out but then I would lose the positioning of the pillars as everything would have moved to the left. I felt the pillars needed to be centered to capture the mood I was after.

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

I think the HDR or whatever processing to bring detail from the shadows is either overdone or poorly done.
The halos are very unattractive.
Ahh what do people have against shadows?!

The composition is a bit too central for my liking but I have to admit, its a rulebreaker that probably works in this case. Maybe it almost works because there are 3 elements to the central composition and our eyes like odd numbers.

The sun glare is a bit overpowering and unattractive too.

I disagree about the title being important.
But maybe thats a wish list instead of reality on my part.
I would much rather a photo stand on its own, and the message be strong enough to come through irregardless of the title.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

The green growth on top of the stones is probably not grass, but a stone plant (carpet weed) from the order Caryophyllales. The color shown seems very close to what I would expert.

The main point of focus for the viewer is also the most difficult to control. The sun is beautiful, but it is also overpowering and is causing flare. Can you mute the son (up to 50%) and clone out the flare? Better still, I think you should return to Rome for a re-shoot; I will be happy to come as your luggage carrier, Bhisti (water carrier) and photography consultant - all this at no wage, just passage, meals and shelter (and, of course, gratuities). As the seasons change and the sun moves north, we might have an opportunity, with a slightly wider lens, to get that full arch into the shot. We would then have a composition based on the rule of thirds or - gasp - even the golden ratio. On, what fun we'd have!