Apple picking ladder: I'm not as crazy about this today as I was yesterday - lol. Is the pole a problem? All feedback (and edits) welcomed!

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I'm not as crazy about this today as I was yesterday - lol. Is the pole a problem? All feedback (and edits) welcomed!

(Download)

R.G. Loc: Scotland

If you'd included just a bit more of the pole you might have got a nice triangle between it and the ladder. The pole isn't a problem but I did find myself noticing the wire straight away.

tramsey Loc: Texas

To me the pole is no problem; but what I have a problem with is why didn't you put the pole in one corner and the ladder in the other??

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

R.G. wrote:

If you'd included just a bit more of the pole you might have got a nice triangle between it and the ladder. The pole isn't a problem but I did find myself noticing the wire straight away.

tramsey wrote:

To me the pole is no problem; but what I have a problem with is why didn't you put the pole in one corner and the ladder in the other??

Thank you both. Great insights and advice; much appreciated!

Re the triangle or placing the elements into the corners, fortunately, I worked the scene - lol. The first below is uncropped, the second has a slight perspective adjustment.

R.G., very glad you mentioned the wire! This orchard is one of hundreds here that now use a trellis system. I never gave the wires a second thought as they are what separate the branches for easier picking. If I were to finish off either of the below, I'd clone out the white plastic (it covers the ground down the rows) and perhaps clone out the most intrusive of the wires.

Thank you both again!

(Download)

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Linda From Maine wrote:

Thank you both. Great insights and advice; much ap... (show quote)

I like the second version the best, because of the anchoring in the corners. I'm not real keen on the processing in the first, though I've done it myself at times.

I did up a version that is somewhere in between I think, but I actually like a more natural processing to get the apple colors vivid. Of course you'd have to fight off the extra blacks caused by the contrasty light, always a challenge.

(Download)

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

minniev wrote:

I like the second version the best, because of the anchoring in the corners. I'm not real keen on the processing in the first, though I've done it myself at times.

I did up a version that is somewhere in between I think, but I actually like a more natural processing to get the apple colors vivid. Of course you'd have to fight off the extra blacks caused by the contrasty light, always a challenge.

Thanks, Minnie! I enjoyed your version and very much appreciate your time.

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

I like this, Linda. The hand of Modern Man. Without the ladder, the shot could have been taken any time in the last five thousand years, lol. With the metal ladder, we're grounded to late 20th or early 21st century.

Thinking about it, of course, the camera lenses five thousand years ago weren't all that good, so judging by how crisp this is, it also helps narrow our time frame a bit, even without the helpful clue of the ladder.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Treepusher wrote:

I like this, Linda. The hand of Modern Man. Without the ladder, the shot could have been taken any time in the last five thousand years, lol. With the metal ladder, we're grounded to late 20th or early 21st century.

Thinking about it, of course, the camera lenses five thousand years ago weren't all that good, so judging by how crisp this is, it also helps narrow our time frame a bit, even without the helpful clue of the ladder.

Thanks so much, Randy.

Mark7829 Loc: Calfornia

I like the first one and unchanged. It has a unique, stretched perceptive. This is image is all about shapes and texture. The two on a single image is photographic balance and the same as small and big on the same photo if you can understand that concept. Since this image is all about shapes and texture (coming from the leaves), it is best represented in black and white.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Mark7829 wrote:

I like the first one and unchanged. It has a unique, stretched perceptive. This is image is all about shapes and texture. The two on a single image is photographic balance and the same as small and big on the same photo if you can understand that concept. Since this image is all about shapes and texture (coming from the leaves), it is best represented in black and white.

Thanks very much for your feedback, Mark!

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

Linda From Maine wrote:

I'm not as crazy about this today as I was yesterday - lol. Is the pole a problem? All feedback (and edits) welcomed!

Because that pole/ladder is so reflective, it steals the show. This is a great example of a shot I would not have been able to resist. I would have, absolutely, clicked twenty shots of this monster. Then, like you, I would probably have gotten back to the computer and been a bit disappointed. The point here is that we don't always know what the photo is going to look like. Maybe if you could cut down on the reflective nature of the ladder a bit, it would not be so intrusive. Good example of not being selective in the field and then becoming a critic when you get the shot home. Keep looking for the unusual. One day soon, just like you have many times in the past, you will post a shot that will blow us all away.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

ebrunner wrote:

Because that pole/ladder is so reflective, it stea... (show quote)

Thank you for your detailed comments, Erich. I very much appreciate your time and interest.