Foreground or background which would you have focused on?

Wandering around Roker Beach today trying out the various controls on my KS-2 I found someone had piled a load of driftwood up in to a teepee/pyre type shape and it made an interesting frame for the lighthouse.

When framing I couldn't decide whether it would looke best with the wood or the lighthouse in focus.

Now I've reviewed them I'm pretty sure I know which is best but wondered what your perspective would be.

Second one

Background

Can there be a third option for a combined image of them both ?




Hope you don't mind

I agree with Gareth, but in a slightly different way. Taking a single image with a small aperture, say F13 or smaller would have got everything in focus. You might have needed a tripod though, depending on shutter speed.

Cheers
David

No i don't mind at all.

I tired this with a small aperture as a third option at the time but winds were quite high and there was a bit too much Camera shake.

I did a quick merge as you did but felt that it made the image too busy, plus it was quite hard work to do a good job as obviously the pier intersects the wood all the way down.

I have always thought portrait blur the background and landscape blur the foreground. The feelings above seem to confirm that - beauty of digital of course is that you can try both as sometimes breaking your rules works out better.

I think it is too busy with everything in focus. There is nothing to draw the eye, whereas with the lighthouse in focus you are drawn through the frame of driftwood to it.
I wonder about a crop with less beach and sky, therefore also less driftwood?

I agree about the all in focus - I haven't gotten around to process it yet so I will try your crop ideas when I do

#2 for me, even over #1 and Gareth's #3

#1

The wood stack is too dominant to be the out of focus element

This is what I love about Photography no real rules, everyone can disagree and all be right!

beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I 'developed' both from RAW as an exercise as I am learning some new software.

I tried the crops suggested by gwyn but to be honest I simply didn't like it, I felt it lost the feel of it being 'driftwood' piled up.

Here they are for anyone who is interested, I didn't do a lot just some fine tuning and very minor horizon straightening, and a very light vignette to help draw the eye right down the middle to the lighthouse. After developing I personally much prefer lighthouse in focus.

Reduced res versions below

Regarding your original question, 1 or 2. It depends on what story you're wishing to say. In a series of lighthouse shots, having the lighthouse in focus makes sense. If it was a series of photos on survival techniques, the pile of driftwood given the prominence might be more apt. As a purely pictorial image, Gareth's third option might be preferable.

Judges are always hot on out=of=focus foregrounds.

Do you mean hot on condemning then or hot on encouraging them??