General Composition Question

[LeeR]

I like your treatment, ReccurentNerve, I thought about going full mono but when I saw the red in the sidewalk matched an archituctural detail on the building it was too tempting to ignore. Yours, however, comes out even grittier. I can't help but wonder if laying in a texture would heighten the grunge effect?

[RecurrentNerve]

Wonder no more sir, for I have grungified the photo as you suggested:



Personally I'm not a big fan of grungy images unless they're used in something specific (i.e. a grunge website) but it works well on this one in any case, I think. A plaster texture overlaid with a few brushes here and there.

[Michael_2010]

That is starting to look pretty cool. I'm now expecting to hear horses bray as Frau Blucher opens the door. lol

[RecurrentNerve]

That means nothing to me I'm afraid! Glad you like them.

[ravncat]

What direction were you facing? What time of day was it? What was the weather forecast for the week. When in the lunar cycle did you take it, what day of the year? Take a look at an ephemeris - and see if there's a time of the year when the moon or sun could add to the photograph. I would'nt count out sunrise or sunset just yet.

The light changes alot through the day - and year. As you have a very good reply immediately after your post - I would recommend thinking about the color pallete. What colors do you want to be in this shot? Do you think the black and white images presented work better than your color image? Can you say why you think so? I would try to answer these questions - and in that answer you may discover something.

Composition is a tricky field.

Generally - I would follow the ideas of "less is more" - "Anything which doesn't add to the photograph subtracts from it" - "Simplify". Looking at your image, the question is, what are you photographing - what is your subject - And why - are you photographing it? Do you want to show us the location? Do you want to evoke some kind of emotion? It's not a bad journalistic shot. It shows what is there - but I don't get much feeling from it. What drew your eyes to this?

We see and experience quite differently from the camera - that is probably obvious - I can't tell you how many times i've seen something and taken a picture - and been dissappointed, most often because I didn't really figure out what was drawing my eye to the scene at the time. In your presented image, I see several interesting things - that a composition could be based upon

Opposing Color - Red walkway / Cyan sky.
Light Contrast (the tree)
Lines and shape (tree / walkway)
Texture of the building
The tones of the image.
The emotion in the clouds.

Overall there's alot there - nothing really stands out - you'll notice that some elements have been made to stand out in the other versions presented by people in this thread - Note how black and white get rid of the competing color elements - and let you focus more on the light and dark play across the image. In that sense it is a step towards simplification - and possibly why the black and white images appear stronger than your original.

I think, the best thing for now , is to really look at the photograph you took, or go back to the place you were - and see if you can decide what drew your attention to that scene - what about it did you most want to show - and why - did you want to share a feeling you felt? or just share what it looked like? Try and get the emotion you felt to be expressed in a future image.

[Michael_2010]

Originally Posted by RecurrentNerve

That means nothing to me I'm afraid! Glad you like them.

Young Frankienstein - Gene Wilder arrives at the castle along with Terri Garr and Marty Feldman. Every time Frau Bluchr's (Cloris Leachman) name is spoken all the horses bray.

One of those "if you have to explain it" moments, right? lol

[Michael_2010]

Thank you ravncat, that was a very interesting and informative comment. I think you hit on many points that I am in the process of trying to bridge. That element that connects what one may see and feel at a location versus what the camera can properly translate. That is why I want to know what goes through the minds of experienced photographers, when they come across a scene.