End of the Line

[gt15jmu]

some railroad tracks that run into the woods, overgrown, and a boxcar sits at the end. I went with a shallow DOF so the image fades into the distance.
Question is do you think that is the right choice, or should I use a larger AV to bring the car into focus as well. Or Focus on the car and blur the foreground a little?

Thanks for any input.



Canon EOS Rebel T3
70-300mm lens
Exp 1/1600 at f5
ISO Auto - 1000
Focal Length - 220mm

[Corey Thompson]

I think a larger depth of field would work better for what I like. As it is now, it looks like the weed sticking up is the subject of the photo. It's your artistic vision though, I say do what you think looks best.

[flytyer57]

I think I would have focused on the edge of the brush. A tip that I've read and heard often; "Focus 1/3 of the way into the picture."

[AndyHollar]

It looks like a neat scene, one that would be fun to photograph. I might have approached it with a wider lens and a small aperture to catch it all in focus so the photo has a beginning, middle and an end. Like a story, the rusted rails are the beginning (foreground), overgrown tracks are the middle of the story, and the car is out there at the end.

[Krusty79]

Nice job of showing urban decay. I think it might help to have more DOF so we can tell for sure that you have an old railroad car at the end of the tracks.

[gt15jmu]

Thanks all for the input. Now I have to go back there and try the suggestions. I will post a link with the "after" once I can get back there.

Thanks

[EOBeav]

This has a lot of potential. I thought that structure at the end was a house or something, and not a railroad car. Since it's so much lighter in the foreground than it is in the background, I wonder what it would look like if you took this again under cloudy conditions, to get more even light throughout your scene? Also, a narrower aperture (f/11-f/16) might work better, and I would add more contrast to your image as well.

[gt15jmu]

ok, I went back on a cloudy day and tried again using your advice. Is this a better image, does it tell the story better? Do you like the sign in, or should it be out.

Thanks!



Canon EOS Rebel T3
70-300mm lens
Exp 1/20 at f11
ISO Auto - 100
Focal Length - 105mm
handheld
no flash

PP - Upped the contrast and Saturation, cropped and adjusted WB.

[praline3001]

I like the second shot a lot better. Is there anyway you can clone brush the sign out? I don't care for the sign as it doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the photo.

Another thing that might improve the photo is playing with curves a tad bit. Increasing the midtones might make the details pop out a bit more.

I really like the photo but there is always room for improvement

[Krusty79]

I like the 2nd one better. I'm still trying to decide whether you should keep the sign or not...