Which one is more suitable?

[jasony8]

Here are two photos which I took for this newbie photo competition, with the topic aimed to show "the human impacts on the environment in HK.". The first photo, I tried to make it look more interesting by using a tilt shift effect and the second is the original with a different crop and other fine re-touches (sharpening, brightness, contrast adjustments).



Exif Data:
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/10.0
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: +2/3 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire



Exif Data:
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/10.0
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: +2/3 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

Which one do you guys reckon would be more suitable for this competition?
If you think that either of the images can be improve, any suggestions on how?
Do you guys think that the blue house in the image is too dominating and distracting?

Thank you!
Looking forward to you feedback!

[autofocus]

...my preference, the non blurred one. In light of your subject matter, I think it's OK to see the whole impact clearly....it defines your point Plus, PP manipulated blurs don't always work for me...I'd prefer lens blur, or SOOC F/stop blur

Vince

[jasony8]

Originally Posted by auto-focus

...my preference, the non blurred one. In light of your subject matter, I think it's OK to see the whole impact clearly....it defines your point Plus, PP manipulated blurs don't always work for me...I'd prefer lens blur, or SOOC F/stop blur

Vince

Hm... Wouldn't you think that the whole scene doesn't really have a interesting subject in it? ..... or even boring? (It might be because I've been past this construction site too many times :P)
What is SOOC?

Thanks for your feedback!

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by jasony8

Hm... Wouldn't you think that the whole scene doesn't really have a interesting subject in it? ..... or even boring? (It might be because I've been past this construction site too many times :P)
What is SOOC?

Thanks for your feedback!

SOOC = Straight Out Of Camera - no edits done (Second time today...also noted in another post)

If you must, I think a better job of blurring would have worked better...I'm not sure of the "Lens Baby" style of blurring works here...just too much stuff going on, and the transitions don't work for me. If you're trying to convey a message in your work (which you are) seeing the "whole" of the mess clearly states your point better. The "intersting" subject is actually the sum of the whole, and I want to see it all, and clearly. But, hey...it's your image and your decision

[jasony8]

Originally Posted by auto-focus

SOOC = Straight Out Of Camera - no edits done (Second time today...also noted in another post)

If you must, I think a better job of blurring would have worked better...I'm not sure of the "Lens Baby" style of blurring works here...just too much stuff going on, and the transitions don't work for me. If you're trying to convey a message in your work (which you are) seeing the "whole" of the mess clearly states your point better. The "intersting" subject is actually the sum of the whole, and I want to see it all, and clearly. But, hey...it's your image and your decision

Sorry but I am quite a newbie in photography What is lens baby? :S
Thanks for your detailed feedback It's great to have a professionals suggestions. I still got some decisions to make . . .

Thanks so much!

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by jasony8

Sorry but I am quite a newbie in photography What is lens baby? :S
Thanks for your detailed feedback It's great to have a professionals suggestions. I still got some decisions to make . . .

Thanks so much!

Jason, Lens Baby is a specialty lens product that will allow you to do selective blurring SOOC. Here is their link
Lensbaby SLR Camera Lenses

[jasony8]

Originally Posted by auto-focus

Jason, Lens Baby is a specialty lens product that will allow you to do selective blurring SOOC. Here is their link
Lensbaby SLR Camera Lenses

Wow this is surely a series of interesting products I will look into it.

Thanks so much for your help!