Windswept and Interesting?

[Ginger Pixie]

I took these shots of the Cheesewring, a granite tor on Bodmin Moor a few days ago. The light varied between shots which made it quite difficult as it was very bright when it wasn't behind a cloud!

Lighting issues aside, I was wondering which view/composition of the Cheesewring works best? It is somewhere I will go back and shoot time and time again, so I am looking for opinions please.

Thanks

[RecurrentNerve]

I think the second works best as it balances the interesting tor with the sweep of landscape, which adds a wild feel to the shot.

The first shot is nice but lacks scale and the third shot is nice but the tor is lost; my eye naturally falls on the pattern and shading of the cliffs.

If I might be so bold as to suggest a couple of shots... the tor would make a great silhouette, and a super-low angle isolating it against the sky would also be cool.

[Ginger Pixie]

Originally Posted by RecurrentNerve

I think the second works best as it balances the interesting tor with the sweep of landscape, which adds a wild feel to the shot.

The first shot is nice but lacks scale and the third shot is nice but the tor is lost; my eye naturally falls on the pattern and shading of the cliffs.

If I might be so bold as to suggest a couple of shots... the tor would make a great silhouette, and a super-low angle isolating it against the sky would also be cool.

Thank you very much for your thoughts.

I have got a couple of super low angle shots still waiting for me to play with. I will post them up to see what you think in a few days.

It's really helpful to hear what people think... Anyone else?

[Nicole]

I love the sky in the first one. It's the one my eye is immediately drawn to. For me, I'm not sure if the sense of scale really matters as much to me. So the sky plus the dominant position of the rocks is what makes it for me, moreso than with the other ones.

[z0mbina80]

I agree on the second. The position of the rocks in that one seems just perfect. All beautiful shots though.. love the sky

[mseigafuse]

Love the sky/clouds and maybe I am the odd man out, but I like the first one. I find the tall grass in the foreground of the second a bit distracting. Now if you could find an angle that excludes those the second one could end up better... Hope the sky cooperates and repeats those clouds for you if you do reshoot.

[AdrenoJunkie]

The first one gets my vote. It has a more dramatic/moody feel to it. The third one is a close second tho.

[bbtom10]

The moment I saw the first shot it was like a vortex, sucking me into the picture surrounding the tor - dynamic and dramatic - the direction of the lines in the rocks and the clouds all seem to pull my eyes into the picture more and more, the second I find a bit more traditional and the third I agree with the previous comments that it gets a little lost, albeit the rest of the scene is beautiful.

The first for me captures that 'moment' in the lighting condition which you would find difficult to recreate, and is therefore the most unique.

Tom

[Krusty79]

This is interesting - on a gut level, the first image has the biggest WOW factor for me and it's the one I find my eye going to over the others. I usually don't like the tilted horizons, but it looks like you had to shoot it that way or it would look like the tor is about to fall over. Technically, the second one is probably the best, but it does not have the same emotional impact as the first (for me, at least). In the 3rd one, the foreground is very interesting, so I find my eye going there instead of to the tor.

They're all very good, though.

[Kratos]

I'm going with the first one on this one. The fact that the scale is off doesn't matter too much in this case (in my opinion) because the picture exudes a mood - a dramatic feel. Perhaps one of those cases where your gut feeling is supposed to precede the rules of composition. I think the third one is too zoomed out a view - giving it an impersonal feel to the whole photograph thereby preventing you from actually going so far as to examine the details - it's more effort for the eyes. Not something that'll catch your eye on a first glance.