When I took this, I was interested in the step pattern on the wall, along with the lines that the cord created. The tonal range between the sky and the shadows were only about 3-4 stops apart, so the sky didn't blow out. I'm wondering about the overall tones, as well as the image as a whole. Thanks for any comments'
Todd
You might be right. I can't figure out why this doen't quite work for me either. I'm going to have to mess with this image cropping wise, or perhaps move on. Thanks Charles.
Todd
If the step pattern on the side of the barn interested you, you should have gotten in closer and made that the main subject of your composition. Then you would have had a study in texture and form, and a near-abstraction to boot. Sometimes we all get caught up in photographing what we THINK we're supposed to photograph, and not photographing what we see.
I agree with the comment about getting closer. I often find (after the fact of course) that I should have moved in a bit to isolate the more powerful parts of the image. Sometimes you need a sense of place, and including the background will provide that, but other times it can be distracting because it isn't adding anything to the main concept. I see a lot of potential shots here. Do you have any others?
I think you both are right. I thought about keeping the whole barn in the image because it's part of a series of barns and houses from this area. I should just shoot what interests me, which isn't necessarily documentary type work! Next time I'm going to take some steps closer before I put the tripod down. Thanks for the comments guys!
Todd
The tones in the building are about right. They are the most important, so the sky and deep shadow detail can be sacrificed to emphasize the testure and forms of the siding. Moving a bit further to provide a bit of space around the building or much closer to emphasize the texture would help. Also, there seems to be slightly converging verticals, easy to correct with the Toyo, in the darkroom, or in a digital editor. The apparent lean of the building may be the way the building actually leans.
I had to do a bit of dodging to get the tones of the side of the barn to this point. I think I might burn the sky a bit more the next time I go in the darkroom. I actually aligned the right side of the building vertically, but the left side has a bit of a lean to it. Such is the charm of these old barns and houses! I agree with you, Jim, along with Randy and the flying camera, that my framing could of been stronger, either closer or further away... Next time...
Thanks for helping me figure this image out,
Todd