Combarro, Galicia

Eliminating the entire sky here would strengthen this a lot. It adds nothing, and detracts from the foreground which IS interesting.

Thank you John ! Yes, initially I was pleased the sky wasn't paper-white, but even in light gray it doesn't contribute much. The only thing I don't like about cropping the sky, is losing the jasmine covered lamp that caught my eye in the first place. I'll try printing it cropped slightly above the lamp and darken the sky. If it doesn't look too cheesy, I'll post it.What I do like is that even as scan on a screen I can see the difference of Pyro vs. HC-110 in the print.

John, I admire your eye greatly, but I don't agree. I was going to comment that I like the way the distance looks in this, the hills partly obscured by haze out beyond the water.. it adds depth and situates the photograph in a "place". For me the sky is needed to complete the picture and make that space out there feel open. That said, I think I see what you mean and if the subject is the cozy "nook" and all the detail then the sky is "distraction" from what is important... maybe it depends on what the photograph is meant to convey... And by the way the APUG gallery can be an eye opener. Liking the photo the way it is, I wouldn't have considered your POV if you hadn't commented!

Would you consider cropping the photo vertically by removing about 2" from the LHS. I have tried this on my screen by placing a card over that portion of the photo and the first thing I noticed was how visible the lamp became.

Thanks Vincent. I'll print some 8x10's this weekend and try both approaches: crop the left side to see if, as the lamp gains relevance, the empty sky makes a better complement. The other option is cropping the top just above the lamp and darkening the sky.Removing the sky completely loses the scale of the image. I like the fact that the eye can go from the railing to the hills across the bay.