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cosilver

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I took these pictures the day after our Hwy 1 drive in California. They are a couple of B&W's I converted from pictures I took inside "La Purisima Mission", near Lompoc.

I find this interesting... In the first picture, there is a lot of dead space at the top of the window, and when I tried cropping it different ways - even adjusting the bottom crop, it didn't hold the same appeal to me. I think this is one of those times where the rule of thumb doesn't apply... what do you think?

The second picture, I just like. No special reason, I just do, so it's in here, lol.

The full series of the mission can be seen in my website below... and most of the pictures are in color ;-).

Thank you for stopping by and visiting for a short while.

Shot with D40x, PP'd in Capture NX2. Exif is embedded.





--
Albert-O
-----------
Please visit me at
http://www.berto.zenfolio.com

 
I would crop the top window out and keep the door in the right part of the frame. That leaves a diagonal band of light entering the frame.

I would also try doing a f/16 with a weak flash like your popup camera flash with flash lock on the exterior. That gives a tiny bit of exposure on the interior leaving subtle clues of what is inside the room - if there is anything.

--
Sky is Falling... Thats the Truth....
 
While I am often compositionally impaired, I am quite fomd of the first (and the second as well!). I agree that a smaller crop wouldn't work, I also think (and am prob'ly wrong) that the "rule" of thirds is obeyed in that you actually have three elements, the big door in one third, the smaller window in a second and darkness in the third. The blackness in this composition seems like an element, rather than the lack of it.

Anyway I like it a great deal, and the lovely textured, almost sensous curves in the grain complemented with the antique hardware in the second one looks really nice as well.

Thanks for posting, I really enjoyed them.

Joe

--
'f8 and be there'



Nikon D40, 18-200VR, 18-55, 50 1.8
 
cosilver said:
I find this interesting... In the first picture, there is a lot of
dead space at the top of the window, and when I tried cropping it
different ways - even adjusting the bottom crop, it didn't hold the
same appeal to me. I think this is one of those times where the rule
of thumb doesn't apply... what do you think?
Click to expand...
I think your instinct is good here. The volume of that negative shadow space is exactly what makes this shot work well.
cosilver said:
The second picture, I just like. No special reason, I just do, so
it's in here, lol.
Click to expand...
I like these kind of detail studies a lot. This is an interesting one.

--
Roscoe

 
skyisfalling said:
I would crop the top window out and keep the door in the right part
of the frame. That leaves a diagonal band of light entering the frame.

I would also try doing a f/16 with a weak flash like your popup
camera flash with flash lock on the exterior. That gives a tiny bit
of exposure on the interior leaving subtle clues of what is inside
the room - if there is anything.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion... I just tried that now with different compositions but still found it lacking I don't know... something. Can't put my finger on it.

I also had shot this picture with a little more light where it shows the candle chandelier above the door and more detail around it, and it looked nice, but this is still better for me, and I couldn't think of why.

Thanks again!

--
Albert-O
-----------
Please visit me at
http://www.berto.zenfolio.com
 
junksecret said:
While I am often compositionally impaired, I am quite fomd of the
first (and the second as well!). I agree that a smaller crop
wouldn't work, I also think (and am prob'ly wrong) that the "rule" of
thirds is obeyed in that you actually have three elements, the big
door in one third, the smaller window in a second and darkness in the
third. The blackness in this composition seems like an element,
rather than the lack of it.

Anyway I like it a great deal, and the lovely textured, almost
sensous curves in the grain complemented with the antique hardware in
the second one looks really nice as well.

Thanks for posting, I really enjoyed them.

Joe
Click to expand...
Hey Joe,

That's an interesting point of view, one I hadn't thought of... where the black acts as a separate element.

Thanks for opening a new "door" or "window" to look through ;-) and see things in a new way.

Thanks !

--
Albert-O
-----------
Please visit me at
http://www.berto.zenfolio.com
 
troscoe said:
cosilver said:
I find this interesting... In the first picture, there is a lot of
dead space at the top of the window, and when I tried cropping it
different ways - even adjusting the bottom crop, it didn't hold the
same appeal to me. I think this is one of those times where the rule
of thumb doesn't apply... what do you think?
Click to expand...
I think your instinct is good here. The volume of that negative
shadow space is exactly what makes this shot work well.
troscoe said:
The second picture, I just like. No special reason, I just do, so
it's in here, lol.
Click to expand...
I like these kind of detail studies a lot. This is an interesting one.

--
Roscoe

Click to expand...
Hi Roscoe, thanks for your input. I was hoping I wasn't going nuts or just getting a newly acquired bad (or worse ;-) taste :-).

I tried all kinds of different crops and compositions, and kept coming back to this one, but it didn't make sense to me.

Thanks again!

--
Albert-O
-----------
Please visit me at
http://www.berto.zenfolio.com
 
The second one is an interesting study, but I'm for more interested in the first for its mood and atmoshpere.

The first thing which struck me is that it is off centre - but only fractionally. Then much as I tried to fight the imbalance between the heavy top and the lighter base I found that their simply wasn't enough bulk at the top to make a definitive statement.

I've recropped it to centre, then taken the traditional line of having more bulk to the base than on top. Then I've reduced the size to that it fits comfortably on my screen so as to be able to appreciate the composition fully, and given it the most outrageously large white border to emphasize the blackness and contrast in the image. Oh, that, and to annoy people who think that borders are for flower beds and not photography.

I finally did a second, cheat version. For this I added more black in order to see how it would look with much more mass at the top, which I quite like.





--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leechypics/

Make your own mind up - there are no rules in this game.
 
Very nice pictures and great B/W conversion.

I think that the composition of No. 1 is just perfect. It's true that there's a lot of 'empty space' around the door and the window, but in this case the deep black space adds perfectly to the 'peephole' look of the picture. You know, sometimes breaking the rules can be very effective...
 
Crop No. 1 works fine, but I still prefer the original. Your crop is far more, well, 'conventional' and therefore a little boring.

Crop No. 2 doesn't work at all IMO.
 
I'm a big fan of B&W images. Both are great but I'm drawn more to the first image. I suppose the crop might be adjusted based on the intended print size, otherwise I think it works just fine as it is.

I'm wondering how you like NX2 vs. NX? This hobby doesn't nickel and dime you, it's more like $100 and $200. It seems like everytime I turn around it's another expenditure. Of course, I could just master one and be done with it, but where's the fun in that?

Anyway, nice to see some photo posts. The D90 threads are starting to wear on me, although it's fun to see how the new camera is faring now that it is fresh on the street. Take care,

Mike
--
Give the gift of life - donate blood
 
jkjond said:
The second one is an interesting study, but I'm for more interested
in the first for its mood and atmoshpere.

The first thing which struck me is that it is off centre - but only
fractionally. Then much as I tried to fight the imbalance between the
heavy top and the lighter base I found that their simply wasn't
enough bulk at the top to make a definitive statement.

I've recropped it to centre, then taken the traditional line of
having more bulk to the base than on top. Then I've reduced the size
to that it fits comfortably on my screen so as to be able to
appreciate the composition fully, and given it the most outrageously
large white border to emphasize the blackness and contrast in the
image. Oh, that, and to annoy people who think that borders are for
flower beds and not photography.

I finally did a second, cheat version. For this I added more black in
order to see how it would look with much more mass at the top, which
I quite like.
Click to expand...
Hi John, thanks for taking the time to reply and post these revisions. Your first version is something I had already tried, and didn't like it much, it felt... flat and uninteresting.

Your second revision is better, however I think it changes the mood I see in my original. I think what I like about the original is that it holds a little bit of (just enough?) mystery, and your second version changes that mystery to something creepy - which is in itself quite nice; it's not the mood I was going for, but it creates a different picture IMO, and is also a good image. It reminds me of horror movies where the camera "stretches" backward and expands the background but keeps the subject equidistant.

Thanks again for your insightful and thoughtful comments!
Member said:




--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leechypics/

Make your own mind up - there are no rules in this game.
Click to expand...
--
Albert-O
-----------
Please visit me at
http://www.berto.zenfolio.com
 
coldturkey1966 said:
Very nice pictures and great B/W conversion.

I think that the composition of No. 1 is just perfect. It's true that
there's a lot of 'empty space' around the door and the window, but in
this case the deep black space adds perfectly to the 'peephole' look
of the picture. You know, sometimes breaking the rules can be very
effective...
Click to expand...
Thanks for your comments. I do like it, I think it works and am happy with it, I just couldn't figure out why :-). I usually freely crop to compose (if needed) and stop when it feels right, and usually I can see why it feels right, but with this picture I couldn't understand why.

I just checked my edits in NX2 and Lightroom; this is actually the original composition, so no cropping was done to this photo.

--
Albert-O
-----------
Please visit me at
http://www.berto.zenfolio.com
 
yodog said:
I'm a big fan of B&W images. Both are great but I'm drawn more to
the first image. I suppose the crop might be adjusted based on the
intended print size, otherwise I think it works just fine as it is.
Click to expand...
Thanks Mike, I agree the first works as is - my question about it was why?? Not that I "need" to know, but was just curious. Usually I can understand why a certain composition works, but this one got me.
Member said:
I'm wondering how you like NX2 vs. NX? This hobby doesn't nickel and
dime you, it's more like $100 and $200. It seems like everytime I
turn around it's another expenditure. Of course, I could just master
one and be done with it, but where's the fun in that?
Click to expand...
Yes, you're right about this hobby not "nickel and diming" you ;-). I actually like NX2 much better than NX. NX felt more archaic, NX2 is more of a pleasure to work with and is faster on both my laptop and home PC. The new features/changes are pretty cool, especially the new selection control point, and the fact that it doesn't automatically add NR anymore to the photos (an annoying bug in the NX version).
Member said:
Anyway, nice to see some photo posts. The D90 threads are starting
to wear on me, although it's fun to see how the new camera is faring
now that it is fresh on the street. Take care,

Mike
Click to expand...
Thanks again Mike!

Cheers,

--
Albert-O
-----------
Please visit me at
http://www.berto.zenfolio.com
 
Well, I kinda see a picture in a picture. The doorway acts as a frame for the two people out in the field. To me, I believe it's the two people in the field make this shot better. It's a little small but looks like maybe a older and younger child or perhaps a parent and a child. The upper window pulls your eye upward for a moment, then returns down to the larger opening. The lighting brings out the texture in the floor. To me, it has a very "old world" feeling to the photo...kinda timeless. I suspect it even looks good in color. Whatever it is, it's one I hang on the wall.

Mike
--
Give the gift of life - donate blood
 
yodog said:
Well, I kinda see a picture in a picture. The doorway acts as a
frame for the two people out in the field. To me, I believe it's the
two people in the field make this shot better. It's a little small
but looks like maybe a older and younger child or perhaps a parent
and a child. The upper window pulls your eye upward for a moment,
then returns down to the larger opening. The lighting brings out the
texture in the floor. To me, it has a very "old world" feeling to
the photo...kinda timeless. I suspect it even looks good in color.
Whatever it is, it's one I hang on the wall.
Click to expand...
Thanks Mike, the two people are a couple. The man is on the right, wearing a hat. If you like, I can post the full size picture here, where the couple is clear, but it is a "big" picture :-)

I do like it in color also, but gives a more refined, elegant feel and changes the mood. Here it is:



--
Albert-O
-----------
Please visit me at
http://www.berto.zenfolio.com

 
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