Abandoned

[achopkins1]

I saw this on a trip through a little town in East Texas. My gut told me to focus on the license plate. Did I make the right call as opposed to the fork lift in the back? Color or BW. I'm new at this and have new Nikon DSLR. I love it, but am looking to learn.

Thanks
Andy

[dionv]

Nice shot, Andy.

It feels to me like the license plate is the "main idea" here, and was the right item to focus on, but that is only my opinion.

Given the abandoned theme, I think the B&W shot works well.

I'm just getting back into photography, and have no where near the practiced eye that many of the others have, but that's my CAD$0.02, for what it's worth.

Thanks for sharing.

[augiecrazy8]

Definitely think the license plate is the correct thing to focus on. I actually like the color image better. I think with some more touch ups the forklift could pop in the background. Lacks just a little contrast to me. I might also crop out the right side of the image beyond the telephone pole. Definitely like the shot though.

[dlambert]

I agree that the license plate is a great subject. As far as the forklift goes, a "washed out" look feels like it fits with the "abandoned" idea.

[windrider86]

Welcome!!

Posting in the critique section requires a bit more work than posting in some of the other areas. I'm giving you a link to the read the guidelines so you'll know what should be included within your posts. Please let me know if you need any help. Thank you!

[vjhoward]

Generally a nice shot. You have a good eye for seeing the opportunity in the composition. I agree that the bent, rusted license plate is the key focus. Everything else is supporting. The colors of the forklift are strong colors to give mood.

I grabbed the small JPG and did a quick, 2 minute drill in Lightroom. Basically, I cropped it down to make the license plate a strong focal point. Then I applied a preset called Color Creative - Yesteryear 2 to use the yellows and give an overall "tone" to the shot. I don't often use presets in my final shots, but may spin through them to get an idea of how I can change a shot. Note, my objective is to get the best shot in camera so I don't have as much post processing to do.

The crop came out really small because of the size of the original attachment. But I hope this is helpful to generate some ideas for you.

[achopkins1]

I appreciate the feedback. Thanks! @Victor - that's cool. I'll give that whirl and see what other pallets do for the image.

thanks again, y'all.

Andy