Another winding road going in to the distance

[Donald]

A bit like star trails, everyone (particularly in this case, the B & W 'togs) wants to do the 'into-the-light-road-winding-into-the-distance' shot.

Well, I've held off for a long time, on the basis that I couldn't find the right road, with the right light in the right location. But whilst up in Glen Lyon for a short break in the last few days, the photography Gods looked kindly (well, I think so) upon me.

What do you think?


40D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 51mm. ISO200. 1/250s@f11

[purplehaze]

Looks lovely on my iPhone, Donald. The kind of tonal variation and detail that makes me eager to explore it on my big screen.

[Donald]

Thank you, Janis. Hope it lives up to expectations when you do see it on your big screen!

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[bnnrcn]

Yes Gods were certainly nice to you Donald,very nice mage

[deetheturk]

Great image Donald,still looks a wee bit on the chilly side though! Well captured bud.

David

[Mike Buckley]

I'd say the gods felt lucky to have you come along. Gorgeous tonalities in the lower two-thirds.

Consider using a square crop to eliminate most of the sky. For me, the image in its current version is a bit too much of two strong halves rather than one whole.

[Geoff F]

I would fear that going square could be too much sky loss. Maybe a slight crop from left side and top instead?

Definitely a good scene well captured.

[purplehaze]

Still lovely, Donald. I like the big sky. The lower layer of the clouds has nice texture, and the rest, for me, lets the landscape breathe.

[IzzieK]

Very nice, Donald...love it in B/W too...

[Rita]

Looks beautiful to me. The road almost looks like a ribbon.

[Kris V]

FWIW - I hooked my laptop into my HDTV - and it's glorious!

[NorthernFocus]

Nicely captured, Donald. I'd say you did find a nice location and made the most of it. I tend to agree with the prior comment that reducing the amount of sky may lend itself more to the road to infinity theme.

[rawill]

I can see what Mike Geof and Dan mean, and while I would not have made any comment without their critique, I would be interested to see a version with less sky so the road took the eye a bit more.

However, like it is often, it is in the eye of the beholder, and I wasn't there to take the shot.

[Donald]

Thank you for all the comments folks. And thank you, Kris, for ......

FWIW - I hooked my laptop into my HDTV - and it's glorious!

I shot it with the 4:5 ratio in my mind. However, in PP I did play with a 1:1 crop. I think that has strengths as well, as people above have indicated it would. In the end, the sky was an important part of the image that I wanted to keep in there. It's all about personal vision, isn't it!

[NorthernFocus]

Thank you for all the comments folks. And thank you, Kris, for ......

I shot it with the 4:5 ratio in my mind. However, in PP I did play with a 1:1 crop. I think that has strengths as well, as people above have indicated it would. In the end, the sky was an important part of the image that I wanted to keep in there. It's all about personal vision, isn't it!

What's interesting, Donald, is that revisiting this thread after a few hours and looking at the image again without the thread title and your explanation in mind, I quite like the image as is. And with my fresh view, I agree that the sky definitely adds to the overall feel of the scene. Interesting how reading the verbiage in the OP influenced my initial perception.

Here I sit barely having had my first cup of coffee this morning and already learned something about myself today. This truly is a learning forum. And perhaps the images themselves provide the most valuable instruction.

[Mike Buckley]

It's all about personal vision, isn't it!

A resounding "yes!" And when it's not about personal vision, it certainly should be.

[Donald]

And perhaps the images themselves provide the most valuable instruction.

So true. Teaching ourselves how to critically appraise images (not so we can say that we can, but to be able to learn) is, I think, one of the most important things we can do. I know I sit and pore over the images that you guys post and try and work out why something appeals to me/what it is you did to make it such a good image, etc. Then I try not to copy you, but to apply that learning into my own work. So much of my learning has been based on just studying the work of others.

[bnnrcn]

Donald,at first I thought It would be better to crop the sky and I would have written it in my post above at the beginnig of the thread.But I noticed that with vertical photos it was better to get the photo smaller by clicking on it,then it was possible to understand the composition better.So,after getting smaller and seeing the whole photo on my screen I decided that I was nice as it was.I suggest that members should do the same thing with vertical photos

[zen]

Donald,

As always, your imagery is superb. Thank you for sharing it with us.

I might crop the bottom a bit - just at the little kink in the road. Here's why: There is an "eyebrow" extending over a part of the road right there that shields part of the road from view. That makes the road look like it ends and begins again, or is otherwise broken in an unexplained way. That little eyebrow and the broken road get my attention every time I look at the image, and detracts from the image as a whole. By cropping there, you would get rid of that distraction but still have the winding road as your key foreground element.

Just my .02.

Thanks again for sharing. I always enjoy your images.

Zen