Natures beautification of an abandoned home (C&C welcome)

[KimC]

I came across this abandoned old home today... looking so worn. Yet nature took it upon herself to give it some TLC... I'm not sure what you will all think of this image... but for some reason, I really like it (hopefully I am not totally wrong about it - we shall see ;-)

ISO 200; 19mm; F9; 1/100

[TonyW]

You're no wrong. I love it, both the scene and the photo.

[Kodiak]

I came across this abandoned old home today...

I love that! You surprise me with your subjects… very cool! Somehow,
I detect you did not consult your RAW converter's histogram…

Here is the result of what my histogram said about your well framed shot:

[BrianA61]

Nice composition, Kim. I seem to be drawn to old, rundown farm buildings. I really think they are begging to be photographed. I have a ton of them near my house here. I'm just waiting a little bit for the fall colors to kick in to give them that added contrast. Great shot!

[Rita]

Kim, a really nice image. I kept expecting to see the remains of an old rocking chair within the ferns

Kodiak's edit adds the extra bit of punch to it.

[IzzieK]

If I am wrong, please correct me but I think Kodiak added more yellow to his edit of this beautiful composition...adding more light and textures to the worn out outside wall...very nice...

[Mike Buckley]

Kim,

This old home has so much promise as does this particular photo.

I don't remember what stage you're at on your post-processing learning curve, but compare your rendition with Kodiak's. Notice that your image appears as if we're looking through a very, very thin layer of gauze. That's due to a lack of mid-tone contrast or what many people will say is a lack of punch. Notice also that the bright tones in Kodiak's version are a bit brighter. Now compare the histograms of the two images. Let us know if you don't understand the information provided by the two histograms or if you don't know how to alter your rendition so it has a histogram that resembles Kodiak's histogram.

Maybe it's just me, but the pole seems out of place to me. If you had included at least a small part of the roof, the roof would have given the pole purpose, a reason for being there, and that would have made the pole more satisfying to me.

[Stagecoach]

Hi Kim,

Your subtle working of your images is again evident with this one and as always there will be different views as to how it can be PPd.

As Mike has said the pole goes nowhere and it may have been advantageous to include some roof to anchor it, but depending on the structure this may have not been practical.

I like the framing and the way the vegetation can clearly be seen to be taking hold and wonder how this scene would look in early morning/evening light?

Grahame

[Kaye Leggett]

I like this photo - its not often (I find) that a photograph of what are really 'weeds' comes out well, but you've really managed it in this composition

[TonyW]

I have thought about this for a while. While the edit that Kodiak has done is interesting and it is important to have the skill to do that, to me the feeling of the original image is more in keeping with the spirit of the message - a dilapidated old house with faded paint. The person who saw the actual thing should have the final say in what the image should look like.

[Kodiak]

…to me the feeling of the original image is more in keeping with the spirit of the message - a dilapidated old house with faded paint.

You are absolutely right Tony but things are not so simple.

Through the whole workflow, lots of decisions will have to be taken
and one knows that the effects of bad decisions are not adding to a
sum but rather multiplying to the product of this multiplication.

Wrong decisions slipping through your fingers will have uncontrollable
consequences down the post-production process leading quite often
to discouraging results and/or frustrating experiences.

To build a dream house, start with good materials… otherwise the
dream will be a nightmare.

In the case of Kim's photograph, it is the same thing:
To fully express the potential expression of poetry that the take and
the artistic intent may convey, starting with a solid set of photographic
decisions opens all possible options (instead of alienating them) should
the process be developed further using an imagery approach for example.

Now, I need another coffee. Excuse me!

[Shadowman]

Nice capture, a bit more work and you've got something.

[Mike Buckley]

the feeling of the original image is more in keeping with the spirit of the message - a dilapidated old house with faded paint.

I tend to agree. However, there are alternate treatments of the scene by using a different exposure at the time of capture and then by altering the capture through just a small amount of post-processing that would have improved the image in my mind without losing the spirit of the message that you and I like.

I would be willing to bet that Kim didn't evaluate her histogram after taking this shot. Am I right, Kim?

[KimC]

[QUOTE=Kodiak;451116]I love that! You surprise me with your subjects… very cool! Somehow,
I detect you did not consult your RAW converter's histogram…

Good morning. I am glad I surprise you - I like to surprise people. I did consult my histogram, but am still leaning about it. I know how it shows me about exposures and blow-outs, but I need to learn more about that middle area. Here's my image adjusted as you suggested (I guessed what you did based on the feedback from you and others).

How did I do?

I also added in a smudge more of the roof for Mike as he made a good point.

[KimC]

Nice composition, Kim. I seem to be drawn to old, rundown farm buildings. I really think they are begging to be photographed. I have a ton of them near my house here. I'm just waiting a little bit for the fall colors to kick in to give them that added contrast. Great shot!

Phew, glad you all like it. We had to bring my friend's horse to a new barn yesterday. On the way home, I spotted this house -- just loved it. I have learned, I need to include some pruners in my camera bag, as there are a couple of adjustments I would have liked to make :-)

[KimC]

Kim, a really nice image. I kept expecting to see the remains of an old rocking chair within the ferns

Kodiak's edit adds the extra bit of punch to it.

Thank you Rita.

[KimC]

If I am wrong, please correct me but I think Kodiak added more yellow to his edit of this beautiful composition...adding more light and textures to the worn out outside wall...very nice...

I attempted to do his adjustment Izzie. We'll have to see if I guessed right? :-)

[KimC]

Kim,

This old home has so much promise as does this particular photo.

I don't remember what stage you're at on your post-processing learning curve, but compare your rendition with Kodiak's. Notice that your image appears as if we're looking through a very, very thin layer of gauze. That's due to a lack of mid-tone contrast or what many people will say is a lack of punch. Notice also that the bright tones in Kodiak's version are a bit brighter. Now compare the histograms of the two images. Let us know if you don't understand the information provided by the two histograms or if you don't know how to alter your rendition so it has a histogram that resembles Kodiak's histogram.

Maybe it's just me, but the pole seems out of place to me. If you had included at least a small part of the roof, the roof would have given the pole purpose, a reason for being there, and that would have made the pole more satisfying to me.

Your comments are most helpful Mike. I started doing photography this spring. I started PP at the same time. I had Essentials 12 at first and last month I moved over to Lightroom and PhotoShop. I am still learning LR. I am having a harder time with PS as the view is much different when shooting RAW. So, I decided to focus on LR for now. I attempted to adjust the image as Daniel did... see my image & comment to Daniel about the histogram as well.

You have a good point on the pole -- thanks for mentioning that. I did add in a hint more of the roof on the latest version.

[Kodiak]

[QUOTE=KimC;451214]

How did I do?

…so far, much better!

[KimC]

Hi Kim,

Your subtle working of your images is again evident with this one and as always there will be different views as to how it can be PPd.

As Mike has said the pole goes nowhere and it may have been advantageous to include some roof to anchor it, but depending on the structure this may have not been practical.

I like the framing and the way the vegetation can clearly be seen to be taking hold and wonder how this scene would look in early morning/evening light?

Grahame

Thank you for your feedback Grahame. See my revised image. Added a hint more of the roof. The structure above the door was a mess. Nothing was straight and it was very distracting... so that's why I elected to crop it out. If this house was closer, it would be fun to photograph in different light. There was some other cool stuff in this area, but have to wait for the brush to die... will go back closer to winter.