frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

I looked through my photos and found it. My memory failed me again. i took a different angle than you did. The is SO MUCH to photograph there!!!

I sent you mine in a private msg. Didn't want to clutter your thread..

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

I did see your PM Frank. Thank you for sending such a great picture. You are correct. There is a lot to photograph in a very small area. We went there only for Stellar Jays and ended up with other birds, plants and of course the old buildings too. A great day.

Dennis

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Lots of detail and nothing too distracting. The bench is highlighted just enough to make it the centrepiece. Good balance between lights and darks.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Thank you R.G. for some positive and enlightening comments. They are much appreciated.

Dennis

10MPlayer Loc: California

Well there's nothing muddy about your gray tones here. I don't see that the wine barrel and hose bib add much to the photo. You might try bringing up the whites just a tiny bit. I notice the white teflon tape on the hose bib is gray not pure white. Bringing that up to pure white just might lighten the overall tones without making it soft. Maybe not. If I were to do it I'd use as light of a touch as possible. I think cropping away some of the wine barrel might make it more balanced. These are all small points. It's a very nice image as is. Just something to play around with and see if it ads anything good.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Thank you for your comments. I did crop out the faucet and part of the barrel. I like it.

What do you think?

Dennis

(Download)

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

I like the original. That white tape on the faucet is white, not gray.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Thanks Frank.

Dennis

Gauss Loc: Earth

Hello Dennis,

Both images, as is, I prefer the cropped version. Some may not like that the bench is centered, but I think it's fine. It's a static, calm image, and the centering the subject in a symmetrically cropped frame works well. I believe that's an idea mentioned with use of square frames too.

I don't dislike the original composition but do agree that, as is, the right side portion you cropped doesn't add as much as it might. However, if you are able to make some local adjustments to the foliage of the plant in the wine barrel such that it was brighter and had more tones, it could became a secondary subject along with the barrel. The difficulty would be doing this in a realistic looking way. I sometimes over saturate the color image before converting to b&w which can enable the color sensitivity sliders or color filters in the b&w software to have a stronger effect. Another method could be to edit a color version, convert it to b&w, and then blend it to the color image using a mode like soft light which might highlight the brighter greens in the plant. And then convert that color image into your final b&w. The idea in both methods is to get more separation in the greens, and often yellows, so the b&w software can express that variation.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Thanks for your comments. I like both the cropped version and the original version. I have no tools to make any adjustments so they are they way they are for the time being anyway.

Dennis

Gauss Loc: Earth

Well you've made a fine image with a difficult constraint, so I'm sure we'll be seeing more such images from you.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

I sure hope so. Thank you.

Dennis

Brokenland

The last cropped image is slightly better, what's missing is more shadows from the surroundings. Time of day would have worked better for this image as either morning light or early evening light would have cast more defined shadows. Remember photography isn't just about taking a picture of a particular subject, it's about using the light or no light to it's advantages.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

As I recall this one was taken in morning light. It was also taken in an area of trees, shrubs, buildings and so on, all casting their shadows somewhere. With a smile on my face I have to comment photography is also getting the photo at the time you are there and not sometime when you wish you were there. This was the best I could do under the circumstances.

You are not wrong in what you are saying at all. But I wasn't there at a time when the shadows would have cooperated better for the shot. I like it as is. Maybe next time I am in the area the shadows will work better for me.

Thanks for your comments,

Dennis

Brokenland

I agree as I'm left to do the same thing. often this means having to get to a location at a specific time in order to hopefully get at least one shot. 9 out of 10, I'd walk away without the shot. Most of my shots are lucky shots and nothing more I'm sure if I stay longer in these location I would have noticed more. But it any shot worth the effort of getting after you look at it later. I'm very tempted to just delete the images, but the wife would say otherwise.