Critique Thread No 3

I've taken the hint Kris.

This is a variation of one of the Goldfields series I posted recently.

Fire away!

[IMG]http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy9/i_berg/Victorian%20Goldfields/_IGP0959-2R.jpg[/IMG]

Perhaps we should include a paragraph of self appraisal on these threads.

And a link to the original file in case anyone feels like tweaking it? Loved your competition entry by the way!

I-Berg, I must admit I really like this shot.

The composition is simple, but appealing, and there is just enough interest (trees, fence, etc.) without it becoming cluttered.

The B&W conversion really complements the misty background and gives the shot a feeling of isolation.

Well done.

Nice atmosphere! I think the desaturated look suits the mood. Interesting light, it almost looks like CGI. The crop feels a little tight on the far left.

The danger is that this is just turning the image into someone else's vision of it. The original is i-Berg's interpretation and perfectly valid as it is. For me, I see the scene slightly differently. The crop doesn't need to be changed, but I see a darker image as an old 3.5" x 5" slightly sepia print, with an old-style white border:
[IMG]http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/johnriley1uk/Pic-by-i-Berg.jpg[/IMG]
Sharpness has also been reduced, grain added as well.

Apologies - I should have included the link to the original jpg (4mb):

link

Thanks Jon, for the reminder.

I understand what you are saying John, but I thought the idea was to post the edited image to see the photographers interpretation of the image, and a link to the original so that anyone could suggest or try improvements.

I quite like your version, John, it does look quite nice with the sepia and grain, but I don't think there's much wrong with the original. It's a lovely atmpospheric picture and suits the processing it's already been given very well. I don't actually think it needs any tweaking, especially after seeing the original file.

The only thing I might do is darken the distracting wooden fence-post to the left of the right-hand window.

These are all effective versions of an original which was already pretty sound. I do enjoy seeing what people make of these pictures, though.

Personally I can't think of anything to add this time!

I agree that nothing needs to be changed, apart from a very slightly less wide crop. I like the image a lot, the mist lends an sense of abandonment. If it were mine my tweak would be an antique feel:

[IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q185/adrianpmills/_IGP0959-1-1.jpg[/IMG]

So far I think the original is by far the best. It has a delicacy of tone that has a lot of appeal, just like i-berg's superb entry in the weekly competition. I go along with the American expression: 'If it aint broke don't mend it.' Now I've written this someone is going to upload a killer version.
David

When I first looked at the original I thought "could be improved with a bit more saturation" however, the longer I have looked at it the more my view has changed. I missed the subtle light tones hitting the side wall of the building on my first but high speed glance. It was not until I actually stopped & really looked that this image grew on me. So to round up, I concur with David's comment above, nice shot.

Graham

I-berg, why did you submitted this photo for critique?

i-berg, this is a nice image which has an excellent evocative quality.The desaturated effect also works very well IMO. However, I have to break the consensus as I don't find it totally successful (and perhaps you feel the same way, which is your reason for posting it for critique here?).

While it has many qualities, something niggles me about the balance of the shot. I agree with Tim about the left hand crop being tight (Dr. Orloff's is an improvement here). As a result of the house being so far left in the frame, the image seems very weighted down to the bottom left corner to my eye. The balance of the shot is helped by the trees to the right, but these aren't very dense (due to the mist) and to my eye aren't a sufficient counterweight. The open sky around the edge of the frame top right perhaps doesn't help here either. Though of course this is an entirely subjective response to the image and most people are quite happy with the shot as is, which I can understand.

What would have made the shot work better IMO? Perhaps the inclusion of a tree or some trees to the left of the house? Possibly some distant foilage appearing at the edge of the frame in the top right corner? Though I realise neither was probably an option for you.

Hi!

I think this is pretty much perfect. Only problem, and this is probably only my opinion, is the 'unfortunate' direction of light. What I mean by this is that the two of the most important things in this photo, to me the door and windows, are in the shade. I read that shadows can be removed with some editing, but I'm not sure if it would work well. I'm not good in photo editing so I will leave that to somebody else if there is anyone here who wants to try that. Just my 2 cents.

Regards,
Tobio