Old and Rusty

[bikingbadger]

Hi there. I am trying to improve my photography all round. Being more comfortable with landscapes than people I tend to lean towards nature. My question with the below image is whether the colours are OK and whether or not I could have done something else to imrove this image either post processing or and teh time of taking the image.



EXIF
Camera Nikon D90
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 22 mm
Focal Length 22.4 mm
ISO Speed 200
White Balance Sunny
Lens 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6
Flash Mode Did Not Fire

[Krusty79]

Nearly half of your image is made up of that plain blue sky, so I think you have devoted too much space for the sky. The rusty parts are hard to see, so I would recommend moving in closer so we can see the rusty areas easier. I would concentrate on emphasizing the rust on the building, not the metal framework, so I would move to the left to place more emphasis on it and less on the framework and tree.

Are you a fellow mountain biker?

[EOBeav]

Agreed with Krusty. Also, if you get closer and take this shot a little closer to sunset or sunrise, your lighting will vastly improve.

[bikingbadger]

Thanks for the tips. I was trying to fit this is with the rule of thirds by placing the horizon on the bottom third. I think I also fell into the trap of trying to get everything into the shot instead of focusing on the bit that caught my attention. Simplify, simplify, simplify.

As for shooting closer to sunrise I was actually on my way to work and decided to stop because this old building has been calling me for a while. The reason I also couldn't get closer was because of the moat separating me from the building. I will try getting in a bit closer.

[Gaurav Prabhu]

Actually it isn't that bad of a picture but its far away from the title. I would advise to shoot at golden hours(before sunset) to get more effective lighting in the skies as others pointed out. But if you shoot in middle of the day then your best bet is to compose the sky on for 1/3rd of the above frame. In this way you'll need to cover more ground below. Another thing would be take the shot from a low angle from the flowers. It would make it far more appealing especially when taken just near evening twilight.