Cowboy sculpture revisited

[Snarkbyte]

It's monsoon season here, and I didn't get to do much shooting this weekend, so I took the opportunity to process so old photos. I've posted shots of this subject before, but I like the light on this one. I have a few reservations about the composition, but I thought it worth posting for some feedback. C&C appreciated, as always.

[Donald]

I have a few reservations about the composition, but I thought it worth posting for some feedback.

My only one is that the barrel of the gun gets a little bit lost in the background. But other than that, it's a beauty. I love the light on the sculpture and I think this was shows it in a wonderful and contextually correct setting.

Maybe a little dodging on the barrel just to lift up the lighter areas and make it 'pop out' from the background?

[Marie Hass]

Al, I loved your image and wanted to play with it a bit myself. I hope you do not think me too forward. It is a bit rough, but I added some space to the left hand side.



I cropped to an 9X5 aspect ratio. Thank you for allowing me to play. I hope you like the results.

Marie

[Snarkbyte]

My only one is that the barrel of the gun gets a little bit lost in the background. But other than that, it's a beauty. I love the light on the sculpture and I think this was shows it in a wonderful and contextually correct setting.

Maybe a little dodging on the barrel just to lift up the lighter areas and make it 'pop out' from the background?

Thanks, Donald, as usual your comments are right on the money. Shooting from a lower position would have helped make the gun more visible, but there was a house and some other stuff in the background that I tried to hide behind the sculpture as much as possible. Unfortunately, that left a dark gun against a dark background in the hand of an otherwise brightly lit figure, so it does get a bit lost. I'll try to pull it out a bit more without creating a completely un-natural feel. Now that I think of it, perhaps darkening the gun and brightening the background around it might work better...? Hmmmm.

[Snarkbyte]

Al, I loved your image and wanted to play with it a bit myself. I hope you do not think me too forward. It is a bit rough, but I added some space to the left hand side. I cropped to an 9X5 aspect ratio. Thank you for allowing me to play. I hope you like the results.

Thanks, Marie, and I don't mind at all (I rather like it when people go to the trouble). I agree with you that there isn't enough space on the left in the original photo, but , the space just to the left of the frame was a paved road, and I was hiding a house and some other stuff behind the cowboy. I hadn't considered a different aspect ratio to add to the space, so I'll have to keep that trick in mind. Thanks again for commenting.

[Shadowman]

I like it, it could be a Samurai or any other warrior depending on how you view the image and the structure.

[Seriche]

I like it too. I've been coming back to look at it time and time again. The colours are gorgeous and I love the textures too. I can almost feel the reflected warmth of that low sun

Seri

[Snarkbyte]

I like it, it could be a Samurai or any other warrior depending on how you view the image and the structure.

Thanks, John. Here's an update incorporating Donald's suggestion. I did some dodging and burning to make the gun more visible. This does lose some detail in the gun, but it's not really important detail, so it's worth the tradeoff, imo. I'm still working on extending the frame to the left, as Marie did.

[Snarkbyte]

I like it too. I've been coming back to look at it time and time again. The colours are gorgeous and I love the textures too. I can almost feel the reflected warmth of that low sun

Thanks, Seri. Here's another sculpture by the same artist (Bruce Butler). I didn't have the light on this shot as I did for the cowboy. Unfortunately, I missed the bottom of the breastplate in the composition, but I still like the warm colors against the cool background.

[Seriche]

Thanks, Seri. Here's another sculpture by the same artist (Bruce Butler). I didn't have the light on this shot as I did for the cowboy. Unfortunately, I missed the bottom of the breastplate in the composition, but I still like the warm colors against the cool background.

The missing part of the breastplate doesn't bother me at all - I think it's a really good composition, very dynamic with all those diagonals, which fits the dramatic nature of the subject perfectly, and it just goes to show that a creature doesn't always have to have more space ahead of it than behind it for an image to work I agree that the warm against cool looks very good too.

I've just found Bruce Butler's home site and am having fun looking at his other stuff. He's got a really original style, that one. Thanks for sharing your photos. It's a double pleasure to be able to enjoy your images and discover his work at the same time

Seri