Barn Shot

[klhenrichs]

I am as new as they come, and have a willingness to listen.

Kurt

[jiminyClickit]

klhenrichs, Welcome

(Is that the same hound that had the feud with F. Leghorn, the giant rooster?)

To a former Midwesterner, this is such a familiar sight. The extra sky (beyond 2/3) does tell that story of wide open flat places I remember. There are three elements leading out of the composition, though: sky dark to light, size of subjects (tree, barn, field), and waterway. Surprisingly, that doesn't take away my enjoyment of the scene. It's not overly dramatic, and that's OK.

[subrataofkris]

Hello Kurt,
Welcome to this section. Here are my suggestions - your shot had all the ingradients of a good landscape - the nicely lit barn at the bottom left quarter, a river and barren land having ample scope for composing, moderately ok aperture setting and blue sky. But, since the sky is flat, I would have liked to reduce it to 1/3rd of the frame by removing the area above the white clouds. This would have left me with a lot more area to place my subjects. I could have also walked around to see if I could place the barn at a position, where the river leads the eyes.

The fact that you took a shot and wanted to know how others feel indicates that you would like to improve the composition.

Cheers

[aadam_21]

Welcome Kurt. Like subrataofkris, I think the amount of sky in this shot is distracting. To me, you can still get the feeling of wide open space with less sky because of the completely flat horizon. I do like the barn, however, and I really like the way the river leads the viewers eye along a gentle, almost lazy bend.

[clockdoc]

Hi and welcome to the group. I agree with the advice and comments already provided. I see that you shot the photo in the late afternoon which provided the low sun angle. You will often find that early morning and late afternoon are the best times to shoot based on the quality, color and direction of the light at that time of day.
Compostionally, I'm with those who prefer a bit less sky. On a smaller point, even though nicely composed, consider how your eye read into a picture and you may find that the stream allows you to enter from the bottom of the frame but quickly draws you away from the subject and out the right hand side. Just for fun, try flipping the photo from left to right. Although not true to the original scene, I think you will see how this composition helps to keep your eye within the frame a bit longer as the barn now acts as a "barrier" of sorts on the right side. Nice work! I look forward to seeing more of your photos.

[kevinold]

klhenrichs,

I like the colors and that you didn't keep the horizon in the center of the frame.

Overall, (in my newbie opinion) great shot!

Kevin

[klhenrichs]

Thanks All,

I will play with this a bit and see what becomes of it.

Kurt

[WooD]

I think its a great shot, but I also think it wood be better if you cropped the sky a little above the trees.