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Is This Annoying..?

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James Cover

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...so I'm looknig at this beautiful old mansion fronted by this beautiful flowering tree...I set up my tripod, snap the shot, and think I've captured the moment...not...

maybe, annoying is the wrong word...distracting may be better, or...you tell me...? What is wrong with this photo..?

I don't want to say at the outset what annoys me about it, b/c I don't want to influence any responses...

Suffice to say that I constantly find myself struggling with staying objective when framing a shot...what I mean is, I think our brains tend to add things that aren't there, and subtract things that are...sometimes one or the other, sometimes both...

I realize, it's not a fair question, as there can be a dozen things wrong here, but do you find something distracting in this photo..? I'd like to hear some unbiased opinions...



For some reason, it bothers me less in black & white (another mind game, I suspect):



--
-james

My new, lame, web site below...only a few photos from my trip to the zoo, more to come, plus flowers, landscapes, macros, etc.

http://www.ekigroup.com
 
although I don't find the actual image to be technically bad...I think your choice of composition is causing a problem. Specifically that large tree in front. To me, the house is the main focus, but it is obscured by the tree.

Now, the tree is nice, and colourful, and could definitely add to the photo...but you would be required to move the tripod from the centre (I would have placed the tripod on the left (picture's left) so that the tree is on the right. This would introduce angle distortion into the pic, but would have showed me more of the house...and the tree (although still prominent in the pic) would not be obstructing the main subject.

...if only the tree was smaller.....hmmmm, time to whip out the chainsaw, all in the name of photography of course! ;0

--
I likes shootin' things with them new-fangled picture-takin' devices! :D
VISIT OFTEN: http://emeka.smugmug.com (comments welcomed)

 
Hi John:

ha ha...no, that's not it...although that IS annoying, I can clone that out...! But thanks for playing our game...we have some lovely parting gifts for you...haha...

Sorry, I know it's not a fair question, but I didn't want to influence the outcome...it really is annoying though...at least, to me...and it happens all of the time...

-james
JRDavis said:
Nothing really jumps out as annoying, except maybe the small bush
in the left-centre foreground...is that it?

John
--
Visit my gallery below

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/gallery.asp?memberID=100286
Click to expand...
--
-james

My new, lame, web site below...only a few photos from my trip to the zoo, more to come, plus flowers, landscapes, macros, etc.

http://www.ekigroup.com
 
Emeka U said:
although I don't find the actual image to be technically bad...I
think your choice of composition is causing a problem.
Specifically that large tree in front. To me, the house is the
main focus, but it is obscured by the tree.
Click to expand...
I agree - the composition is annoying. Two things competing for being the main subject (the big tree and the house), with no clear winner. The B&W shot reduces the contrast between them - but there is still too much clutter in the shot.

--
Regards,

Rafael
http://www.pbase.com/aviles
 
Emeka U said:
although I don't find the actual image to be technically bad...I
think your choice of composition is causing a problem.
Specifically that large tree in front. To me, the house is the
main focus, but it is obscured by the tree.

Now, the tree is nice, and colourful, and could definitely add to
the photo...but you would be required to move the tripod from the
centre (I would have placed the tripod on the left (picture's left)
so that the tree is on the right. This would introduce angle
distortion into the pic, but would have showed me more of the
house...and the tree (although still prominent in the pic) would
not be obstructing the main subject.

...if only the tree was smaller.....hmmmm, time to whip out the
chainsaw, all in the name of photography of course! ;0

--
I likes shootin' things with them new-fangled picture-takin'
devices! :D
VISIT OFTEN: http://emeka.smugmug.com (comments welcomed)

Click to expand...
Ding, ding, ding...WE HAVE A WINNER ALREADY..!

Yes, that dang tree is very annoying...well, it is actually quite beautiful, but as you said it obscures the house...

Now, what is really annoying is that I find myself doing this all of the time...because I have seen the "entire" house, my mind subtracts the tree, or you can think of it as adding in the rest of the house...so I'm framing the shot based on information in my brain, and not based on purely what my eye can see in the frame...

I've seen the house, it's beautiful, I've seen the tree, it's exquisite, but the one detracts from the other...

You are exactly right, Emeka...but I find it hard to have that degree of objectivety when I am actually taking the photo...sure I saw it immediately when 3D became 2D, but my mind thinks in 3D...very annoying...

-james

--
-james

My new, lame, web site below...only a few photos from my trip to the zoo, more to come, plus flowers, landscapes, macros, etc.

http://www.ekigroup.com
 
James Cover said:
Emeka U said:
although I don't find the actual image to be technically bad...I
think your choice of composition is causing a problem.
Specifically that large tree in front. To me, the house is the
main focus, but it is obscured by the tree.

Now, the tree is nice, and colourful, and could definitely add to
the photo...but you would be required to move the tripod from the
centre (I would have placed the tripod on the left (picture's left)
so that the tree is on the right. This would introduce angle
distortion into the pic, but would have showed me more of the
house...and the tree (although still prominent in the pic) would
not be obstructing the main subject.

...if only the tree was smaller.....hmmmm, time to whip out the
chainsaw, all in the name of photography of course! ;0

--
I likes shootin' things with them new-fangled picture-takin'
devices! :D
VISIT OFTEN: http://emeka.smugmug.com (comments welcomed)

Click to expand...
Ding, ding, ding...WE HAVE A WINNER ALREADY..!
Click to expand...
sorry to ruin your fun so soon James...wasn't really my intention.
James Cover said:
Yes, that dang tree is very annoying...well, it is actually quite
beautiful, but as you said it obscures the house...

Now, what is really annoying is that I find myself doing this all
of the time...because I have seen the "entire" house, my mind
subtracts the tree, or you can think of it as adding in the rest of
the house...so I'm framing the shot based on information in my
brain, and not based on purely what my eye can see in the frame...

I've seen the house, it's beautiful, I've seen the tree, it's
exquisite, but the one detracts from the other...

You are exactly right, Emeka...but I find it hard to have that
degree of objectivety when I am actually taking the photo...sure I
saw it immediately when 3D became 2D, but my mind thinks in
3D...very annoying...
Click to expand...
I know exactly what you're saying. I've leared to be a little more 2D objective when taking the photos...so that I can stop doing this...its still happenes every now and than. Its sometimes frustrating when you think you've got a killer image on your card, and you take another look at it and say...eh?! What happened there.
James Cover said:
-james

--
-james

My new, lame, web site below...only a few photos from my trip to
the zoo, more to come, plus flowers, landscapes, macros, etc.

http://www.ekigroup.com
Click to expand...
--
I likes shootin' things with them new-fangled picture-takin' devices! :D
VISIT OFTEN: http://emeka.smugmug.com (comments welcomed)

 
Exactly, one it becomes a photograph, I can see my mistake, but I had never really thought about it until today, looking at this photo...

I learned something about myself and photography today...very interesting subject...thanks for contributing...

-james

My new, lame, web site below...only a few photos from my trip to the zoo, more to come, plus flowers, landscapes, macros, etc.

http://www.ekigroup.com
 
I get home with some shots, and I'm like "what the hell was I thinking?" thats awful. Usually perspective or something else like that. I feel your pain.
--
'As a matter of fact, I do know what card you're thinking of.'
 
Happens to me all the time. "How did I not notice..." that big white van in front of the Capitol Building? those power lines in front of the house? that I chopped her feet off? It's my learning curve, I guess. Misery loves company. Thanks for the post.
--
All the best,
Kit
Please see my pictures at
http://www.parazz.com/albums/kithg
 
Magic, Kit:

Thanks, for contributing...

There are some distinctions...I mean, my post is primarly about shooting 3D in 2D, not chopping off feet, or framing in a general sense, but what the mind adds or subtracts because it thinks in 3D, whereas, photographs are only 2D.

When I framed that shot, my mind saw what was behind the tree...it wasn't obscured, but on a 2D photograph it was...

So, yeah, trees, telephone poles, street signs, and more...our minds tend to omit them...but chopping off a foot or head, haha...now, that's another thread...

John, sorry, I know it was an unfair question...if I hadn't shot it myself, I would have never guessed it either...but it was easy for me to recognize, once I saw the scene as a 2D photograph...very disappointed.

This really does take training (the mind), to think in a new, unnatural way...

--
-james

My new, lame, web site below...only a few photos from my trip to the zoo, more to come, plus flowers, landscapes, macros, etc.

http://www.ekigroup.com
 
James Cover said:
mmasiewicz said:
Is it that big distracting tree blocking that lovely home?

--
http://www.pbase.com/mmasiewicz
Click to expand...
No, no, no...! It's actually the poor photographer who can't think
in 2 dimensional frames...
Click to expand...
Oh, right ;)
James Cover said:
--
-james

My new, lame, web site below...only a few photos from my trip to
the zoo, more to come, plus flowers, landscapes, macros, etc.

http://www.ekigroup.com
Click to expand...
--
http://www.pbase.com/mmasiewicz
 
So which should it be? To get the camera to see what the mind sees or.. to get the mind to see what the camera sees? Or both?
neon88

--
'Some things I say are trvial, and some are quadrivial.'
 
It was once said that a painter becomes a good one when he knows what to include in a scene. A good photographer not having that option has to decide what to leave out.
--
Louisville, Ky.

'To be yourself, and no one else, in a world that tries to make you like everyone else, is to fight the greatest battle any man can fight and to never quit fighting.'
e.e. cummings
 
I try to avoid a trap I used to fall into a lot, which is cramming too much into a scene because I automatically assume that makes it more interesting. You know, that seascape and that ship and that sunset and . . .

Less is more, in other words. I think this shot is an illustration of that too.

It's no great new truth, Im sure, it's probably a fundamental of good photography. But there are always learners like us coming along to discover it for the first time. So thanks for posting this instructive example.

--
Chris
 
James Cover said:
...so I'm looknig at this beautiful old mansion fronted by this
beautiful flowering tree...I set up my tripod, snap the shot, and
think I've captured the moment...not...

maybe, annoying is the wrong word...distracting may be better,
or...you tell me...? What is wrong with this photo..?

I don't want to say at the outset what annoys me about it, b/c I
don't want to influence any responses...

Suffice to say that I constantly find myself struggling with
staying objective when framing a shot...what I mean is, I think our
brains tend to add things that aren't there, and subtract things
that are...sometimes one or the other, sometimes both...

I realize, it's not a fair question, as there can be a dozen things
wrong here, but do you find something distracting in this photo..?
I'd like to hear some unbiased opinions...
Click to expand...
The photo's great already, but if you really want something to be wrong here, then:
-the white tree's in the middle (rule of thirds)
-the white tree's blocking the building, so there's no point of interest

-the green/dark tree to the left is distracting since everything else in the picture is white

But if I were to look at this without a request for criticism, I think the rule of thirds isn't necessary in this pic and it looks good already. Even with the tree to the left, the picture is still good.....no, it's great!
James Cover said:


For some reason, it bothers me less in black & white (another mind
game, I suspect):



--
-james

My new, lame, web site below...only a few photos from my trip to
the zoo, more to come, plus flowers, landscapes, macros, etc.

http://www.ekigroup.com
Click to expand...
--
You can now boot both Windows XP and Mac OS X on a single machine without a
hack!
http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

And check this out! The coolest keyboard I've ever seen!
http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus/
 
I have not read any of the other posts, so I am not influenced by their responses ;-).

To ME the problem is the composition. The tree and the house are competeing for your eyeballs. Maybe get next to or under the cherry tree, and frame the house with a branch of the tree, or just have the tree to one side, so the house dominates the image.

Nice place!
James Cover said:
...so I'm looknig at this beautiful old mansion fronted by this
beautiful flowering tree...I set up my tripod, snap the shot, and
think I've captured the moment...not...

maybe, annoying is the wrong word...distracting may be better,
or...you tell me...? What is wrong with this photo..?

I don't want to say at the outset what annoys me about it, b/c I
don't want to influence any responses...

Suffice to say that I constantly find myself struggling with
staying objective when framing a shot...what I mean is, I think our
brains tend to add things that aren't there, and subtract things
that are...sometimes one or the other, sometimes both...

I realize, it's not a fair question, as there can be a dozen things
wrong here, but do you find something distracting in this photo..?
I'd like to hear some unbiased opinions...



For some reason, it bothers me less in black & white (another mind
game, I suspect):



--
-james

My new, lame, web site below...only a few photos from my trip to
the zoo, more to come, plus flowers, landscapes, macros, etc.

http://www.ekigroup.com
Click to expand...
--
ShutterBugin
http://www.exposureproductions.smugmug.com

 
Shutterbugin said:
To ME the problem is the composition. The tree and the house are
competeing for your eyeballs. Maybe get next to or under the cherry
tree, and frame the house with a branch of the tree, or just have
the tree to one side, so the house dominates the image.

Nice place!
James Cover said:
...so I'm looknig at this beautiful old mansion fronted by this
beautiful flowering tree...I set up my tripod, snap the shot, and
think I've captured the moment...not...

maybe, annoying is the wrong word...distracting may be better,
or...you tell me...? What is wrong with this photo..?

I don't want to say at the outset what annoys me about it, b/c I
don't want to influence any responses...

Suffice to say that I constantly find myself struggling with
staying objective when framing a shot...what I mean is, I think our
brains tend to add things that aren't there, and subtract things
that are...sometimes one or the other, sometimes both...

I realize, it's not a fair question, as there can be a dozen things
wrong here, but do you find something distracting in this photo..?
I'd like to hear some unbiased opinions...



For some reason, it bothers me less in black & white (another mind
game, I suspect):



--
-james

My new, lame, web site below...only a few photos from my trip to
the zoo, more to come, plus flowers, landscapes, macros, etc.

http://www.ekigroup.com
Click to expand...
--
ShutterBugin
http://www.exposureproductions.smugmug.com

Click to expand...
RIGHT..!!! Now, you can read the other posts. That was the point exactly. I ruined the shot b/c I wasn't thinking 2D in a 3D world. My mistake...

For brevity sake, thanks, to all the other posters I have to responded to...

--
-james

My new, lame, web site below...only a few photos from my trip to the zoo, more to come, plus flowers, landscapes, macros, etc.

http://www.ekigroup.com
 
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