Well, once again I think I'll hop in and make a few comments. I'll start by saying that I have some very strong biases (and I believe in owning one's biases) when it comes to composition. My strongest is a striving for simplicity and economy. I try to keep in mind a quote by Antione de Saint-Exupery, "Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away".

I believe this idea needs to be applied to "environmental" compositions as well. If the environment is a key element to "understanding" an image, then its inclusion must be very carefully controlled. I think it can be very easy to fall into a trap of thinking that because we wish to convey a sense of place and time we can just add a lot of the surrounding environment, to the extent that we weaken the composition, and then convince ourselves that it's OK because we wanted an "environmental" composition. And more importantly, whatever we do decide to include, must be included in a way which maintains the overall balance of the image.

I think bebo's two shots taken in the blacksmith shop (both of which I like, BTW) can help illustrate where my thinking is going here. In the first, the environment of the blacksmith shop IS the subject, and the blacksmith is simply a contributing element, carrying no more "weight" than the rest of the objects in the image. In the cropped version the smithy IS the subject, and the small part of the shop we can see is the subordinate element used to establishes place and/or time.

My point is (finally, you say), that when thinking about environmental compositions it is key to consciously think about which type of shot you are going for, and include as much, and only as much, of the surrounding environment needed to accomplish that goal.

OK, just for fun, how does this crop fit into the idea? Illustration? Contradiction? Something altogether different?

This is a homecoming activity. The senior girls play the junior girls in a game of touch football. Senior boys coach the senior girls and Junior boys coach the junior girls. I think the coaches are all football players themselves. It's hysterical. Even though it's a fun activity, the kids are quite serious about it. I had never shot a sporting event and I thought this would be a good one for my first try. Here is a shot of the most athletic senior girls on the team. I had a heck of a time keeping up with this girl. She was amazing!

Bebo, I know, maybe just a bad joke since you had a pretty good shot of their b*tts! Sometimes I get a little carried away. I'll try to behave myself, butt you have no idea how hard that can be! :lol:
SS

Edit: Bebo, when I responded your pic had not come through yet. Yes, #2 is a very nice shot. That is what I mean by cropping. It brings out and enlarges all the detail and the shot becomes more graphic and has impact because of it. That's what I meant by viewing everything on 50%. The important elements are still there. Now we can actually see his face and the wrinkles in his clothes! Very nice job. I also like the colors you used. ;-)
SS

I could definitely take the Russian fish skinner out of the photo of Deception Point Bridge and still have a photo. Not so sure about the young lady in the dance studio, it would be boring. Where I always get slammed in critique is for including TOO MUCH environment, and not honing in on just the single subject.

Here's one of Trap Day in Maine and one of the Kuekenhof gardens in Amsterdam. In the second one I used focus to try to isolate the subject while keeping the background. The first one is "everything in" corner to corner but trying to hem them up with their traps.