The Hills of Cottontown, TN .. So my wife and I went out the other day to Cottontown, TN to visit some friends for dinner. I didn't plan on taking any photos as it was a really cloudy...

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

So my wife and I went out the other day to Cottontown, TN to visit some friends for dinner. I didn't plan on taking any photos as it was a really cloudy day and rain was expected. So, of course, I didn't take any camera gear along.

The route to Cottontown is littered with some cool old barns and farms. So, per my wife's request, I broke out my trusty Android and took a couple of shots of barns my wife liked. I was not thrilled with the shots, however after nearly 24 years of blissful marriage, I find it best to never argue with the wife. If she likes it, I like it!

After returning from our outing, I found some of my old photos from some of the farms around us and seeing the potential of this particular shot, I composited them together along with some digital painting to create the creek.

Here are the before and after results ...

BEFORE ...

(Download)

AFTER ...

(Download)

Frank2013 Loc: San Antonio, TX. & Milwaukee, WI.

donolea wrote:

So my wife and I went out the other day to Cottont... (show quote)

Very nicely done Don. Just one thing....your barn seems to be leaning.laugh

James56 Loc: Nashville, Tennessee

I like it Don, you did a very respectful job. Great Job...!

Snap Shot Loc: California

Masterful work Don! Love it!

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

Frank2013 wrote:

Very nicely done Don. Just one thing....your barn seems to be leaning.laugh

Thanks Frank, glad you like! Finding a truly plum old barn around these parts is pretty rare that would be something worth posting! ;-)

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

Snap Shot wrote:

Masterful work Don! Love it!

Thanks Bill ... I know you saw the other version, but I made a few minor color changes and added the turkey vultures which are really common to these parts, especially around old barns.

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

James56 wrote:

I like it Don, you did a very respectful job. Great Job...!

Thanks for the compliments, James. We almost bought a house in Cottontown when we first moved here from San Diego. It was really cool with about five acres, lots of trees and a creek out front. It was just too small for us.

GeneRogers Loc: Colorado

Wow, remarkable! Inspiring to see what is possible. :thumbup:

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

I do not mind your taking liberties with the original by adding the stream, animals, sky and added right and left margin. A lot of photographers do it and I am not interesting in debating the ethics of such manipulations. I just think the stream and animals do not make sense artistically.

Mark7829 Loc: Calfornia

abc1234 wrote:

I do not mind your taking liberties with the original by adding the stream, animals, sky and added right and left margin. A lot of photographers do it and I am not interesting in debating the ethics of such manipulations. I just think the stream and animals do not make sense artistically.

I agree. There is certainly a lot going on here. There is a conflict as to what is the focal point. The rose is prominent but is blurry and out of focus. You did a great job in adding sky and clouds. My only comment is the blue is too light for the overall tonal values of the image. It should be a darker hue to blend with the other parts of the image.

For the OP, you did a wonderful job in adding new elements. Why not remove the dead stems from the rose bush in the foreground?

Well done.

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

abc1234 wrote:

I do not mind your taking liberties with the original by adding the stream, animals, sky and added right and left margin. A lot of photographers do it and I am not interesting in debating the ethics of such manipulations. I just think the stream and animals do not make sense artistically.

Apparently, you've never spent anytime around farms in the middle Tennessee area. To each their own.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

donolea wrote:

Apparently, you've never spent anytime around farms in the middle Tennessee area. To each their own.

I am only picking up on what you said you did. You added elements which is your choice. As you said, I do not like those elements and that is my choice. Has nothing to do with whether or not I have ever spent anytime around farms in the middle Tennessee area.

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

abc1234 wrote:

I am only picking up on what you said you did. You added elements which is your choice. As you said, I do not like those elements and that is my choice. Has nothing to do with whether or not I have ever spent anytime around farms in the middle Tennessee area.

I'm not arguing. In fact, if you'd like, feel free to download my original and see what you come up with. I'd love to see what others do with it.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

donolea wrote:

I'm not arguing. In fact, if you'd like, feel free to download my original and see what you come up with. I'd love to see what others do with it.

I am sorry. I did not mean to suggest we were arguing. I like what you did except for the stream and animals. They look artificial to me. I happen to think the original scene had possibilities and your edit brought them out nicely. As for my approach, please check out what I did with your original post. That conveys my overall vision and if I were to edit this one, you could expect it to look similar. Old farms are interesting places, much more so than today's high tech ones. That have a lot of surprises. Have you every shot one throughout the year? Or done a panorama with one?

Keep posting and never leave home without your camera.

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

abc1234 wrote:

I am sorry. I did not mean to suggest we were arg... (show quote)

Actually, I'm not much of a barn person, my wife is the one who really loves them. My specialty is sports and music/entertainment. Since I work professionally as a photographer, compositor and graphic designer, I usually leave my camera at home when I am out with my wife for personal stuff. Too much like work. Now if she asks me to bring it along, that's a different story! ;-)