Sky City: I am asking for help in working up a frame-able photo for a friend for Christmas. I am guilty of trying to stuff too much into a frame and I may have here. I have a few...

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

I am asking for help in working up a frame-able photo for a friend for Christmas. I am guilty of trying to stuff too much into a frame and I may have here. I have a few versions with just a ladder and not much else. If the consensus is that this one's a dud, I will post another version for consideration.

Sky City, or Acoma as it is rightfully called, is the oldest continuously inhabited town in the US. The citizens have lived in these same houses for 1000 years passing them down mother to daughter. Acoma sits on a very high mesa in New Mexico and is pretty much a natural fortress. I have been there a couple of times and my friend, hearing me rave about it, took her teenage son there recently and they found it magical too but no photos. She is a lapsed photographer who shot only B & W film, so I wanted to do it in monochrome.

This version is edited in silver efex. Suggestions about re-edit, cropping, or toss/replace are appreciated in addition to general critique. I can't rush right back for a reshoot but I hope to visit again some day so shooting advice is good too.

original

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

I love how you have composed this MinnieV and do not think there is too much in the frame at all. The tall ladder (?) captures the eye as the focal point with that interesting shadow and then the details reveal themselves as the rest of the photo is inspected. The exposure seems fine and in the black and white rendition imparts a dramatic sky. The photo is focused well and I enjoyed viewing both variations including that teal door on the right in the color picture. Well done! :thumbup:

By the way I also visited Acoma, but, unfortunately and unusually, it was raining quite heavily so I hope to return one day. 8-)

Heirloom Tomato Loc: Oregon

Both color and b&w versions are extremely good. Not too much in the frame. Just right!! Don't change a thing. :-P

Beowulf Loc: Aquidneck Island, RI

Silver Efex version is right on! Great pic!

Nightski

You don't need to rush back for a redo, Minnie. I love how my eyes travel from the door, up the ladder, and onto the roof to see the sky. I love the colors because they are so perfect, but man that mono brings out all the wonderful textures in this image. This is one of the best examples I've seen showing how mono brings out the textures of an image.

Bob Yankle Loc: Burlington, NC

If were me, I would clone out the metal smoke stack jutting up to the left of the ladder.

Country's Mama Loc: Michigan

I finally have a minute to devote to these. I like both the color and the b&w for different reasons.
The monochrome says old been here a long time. Go ahead clone out the stacks, but the color says I have been here a long time, and I am still in use. The building has a modern door and color. It screams alive. I would leave the stack in because it goes with the theme, old but adapting.
The ladder as stated earlier leads us right in and up to the building and then up to the clouds which send out eye back to the building.
I wouldn't change a thing.

Bob Yankle Loc: Burlington, NC

A different monochrome rendition:

- Removed contrail from sky
- Removed all stacks and their attendatnt shadows
- Lightened sky
- Added structure to the texture of the buildings
- Leveled on the building to the right, first story. In retrospect, I probably should have left it alone as now the ladder seems to leaning to the left

Variation on Sky City

Bill Houghton Loc: New York area

This photo looks good no matter how you play with it. Bob is right in removing the stacks, I also removed the contrail above the main ladder. This isn't in BW, but HDR effect. I ran it threw allot of B&W modes and they all looked good. Old building and structures always seem to ring my bell so say. Thank you for showing it to use.

My internet is to slow to post it. Sorry

Nightski

Bob, I like it without the smokestack, but I like Minnie's dark sky. I'm a sucker for the dramatic, I guess :)

Heirloom Tomato Loc: Oregon

Bob Yankle wrote:

A different monochrome rendition:

- Removed contrail from sky
- Removed all stacks and their attendatnt shadows
- Lightened sky
- Added structure to the texture of the buildings
- Leveled on the building to the right, first story. In retrospect, I probably should have left it alone as now the ladder seems to leaning to the left

Bob, you did a nice job removing the stacks and shadows, but the image looks washed out with the lighter sky. There are too many mid-tones now. This image needs its formerly dark sky to retain its dynamic range. Looks like you cropped the right side slightly too, and I think it should go back to the original dimensions.

Bushpilot Loc: Minnesota

They are both superb photos, I love the both for different reasons. The sky is so dramatic in the mono, and that teal colored door works so well in the color version. The nearly modern windows and smoke stacks don't bother me at all. The ladder and its shadow draws you into the image. There's not much I would want to change in ether image.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

minniev wrote:

I am asking for help in working up a frame-able ph... (show quote)

I'd take the monochrome (why do we call it that?) any day. I'd maybe tone down the ladder slightly. Other than that, you have a picture that Adams would have been proud of. One suggestion just for fun and variety; with nothing but a cropping tool, see how many pictures you can find within that picture. I bet you'll find at least a dozen!

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Nightski wrote:

Bob, I like it without the smokestack, but I like Minnie's dark sky. I'm a sucker for the dramatic, I guess :)

Agree

Bob Yankle Loc: Burlington, NC

Heirloom Tomato wrote:

Bob, you did a nice job removing the stacks and shadows, but the image looks washed out with the lighter sky. There are too many mid-tones now. This image needs its formerly dark sky to retain its dynamic range. Looks like you cropped the right side slightly too, and I think it should go back to the original dimensions.

This reminds me of the Pueblo Indians who lived in caves high up on the cliffs in the Southwest, accessible only by ladder, and they would pull up the ladder at night so as not to be surprised by unwanted visitors. Methinks they probably had strong legs and backs!

- Darkened the sky
- De-emphasized the ladder (although with the dark sky, the top of the ladder now pops)

Variation 2 on Sky City