Statue of Liberty

[OneArmedScissor125]

There is a miniature statue of liberty in front of the local ice cream shop. Had trouble with the background. Took some shots and this seems to be one of the better ones. The angle seems a bit boring though, and can't tell if the trees in the background are distracting. Would it help to shoot slightly more upwards with a more interesting sky? The next time I photograph it should I try to keep as many trees out of the frame as possible? Is the composition of this subject good? Any advice welcomed.

Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 41 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV

[GEli]

I like this shot - it has a lot of potential. It's a bit underexposed at the moment and I feel benefits from bumping the contrast up just a bit. After that it's just a matter of cropping it to give the subject maximum impact. As you said, the head is a bit lost in the trees in the background. The lantern, however, really contrasts nicely against the sky, and I think it makes a better subject than the entire statue as it stands.

Here's an edit I did up with the cropping I like the most. If you do get a chance to reshoot it, you may want to consider either getting a shot without the trees or picking an area of trees that direct the attention towards your subject.

[Hrshycro]

lol when i 1st looked at it...i was all wait this is a fake...the real one dosent have trees behind it! lol

[Murtasma]

how close can you get to the statue? I think a really cool perspective would be under the statue point up so you just get the statue and the blue sky.

[xxpinballxx]

I think its a great subject but I would clone the trees out of the shot....
Murtasma s right about the angle...a low upward angle close to the subject would be a nice effect....

[OneArmedScissor125]

Is this a more engaging angle? This is another shot from a few that I shot of the statue on the same day. Did a little cloning on branches and spots in the sky and added glow through blurring. Can anybody tell me how to add a gradient using GIMP? Tried to add one to this photo but couldn't figure it out.