B&W: Going in the wrong direction

[Mike Buckley]

I'll post some photos later from the shot list of this event. Though this particular photo was not on the list for good reason, it is one of my favorites from the shoot. When I saw the large arrow on the street, I couldn't resist taking a few minutes away from my shot list to make use of such a dramatic graphic.

I like the shoes displayed in the lower right corner but wonder if you prefer that they be removed.

[Brownbear]

I like the stray shoes for the sense of movement and a wee bit of mystery...

[Karm Redland]

Hi Mike. Fun picture to look at. I think you have to remove the shoes and then look at your image with and without the shoes. Even then I'm not sure you or anyone else will be able to reach a firm decision. I think the shoes do add interest to the picture.

karm

[Mike Buckley]

Christina and Karm,

It's nice to know that at least the two of you think the shoes in the bottom corner add something. I was concerned that everyone would think that they are a distraction.

[Digital]

I think the shoes are a distraction. Other than that an interesting photo.

Bruce

[ShaneS]

Mike;

I am on the fence about the shoes but lean a teeny bit towards them being a distraction - when I view in the lightbox and put my finger over the shoes the image is a bit tidier and my eye does focus more intently on the arrow and the direction it is pointing.

If you crop them out it changes the image but cloning is definitely an option if you decide to go that way. But since you left them, I wonder if you would share your thought process in terms of leaving them in the image for presentation here?

[Mike Buckley]

Helpful comments, Shane!

If I do decide to get rid of the one pair of shoes, I'll definitely do it by cloning.

The secondary reason I decided to present the image as is is that those shoes increase the sense of the arrow being ignored because that runner, unlike the other runners, had to have run across the middle of it. The primary reason is that there seems to be too much dead space in that area of the photo if those shoes are removed. I might come to a different opinion about that last point a week or year from now, but that's my thinking right now.