Ropery I

[FootLoose]

We have had high seas on a high swell over the last week, which has meant most the trawlers have remained tied up in the harbour. That gave me the opportunity to photograph some rope / knots in the late afternoon autumn light.

I wasn't sure whether to convert the first one to mono, and hope I have managed to preserve some of the afternoon glow on the rope.

I decided to leave the second in colour because it is really only two colours anyway. C&C invited.

1. Falls




2. Left Hanging

[Mike Buckley]

The first one is really special, Greg. You definitely preserved the glowing light. The subtle toning is just delicious. My only complaint is that you brought out the texture in the rope and wood so much that it scratched my monitor. Seriously, very well done!

[FootLoose]

Thanks, Mike. I hadn't realised how challenging it could be to process this type of image. I have a few more I hope to complete over the next week.

[IzzieK]

You certainly did a good job with the textures in #1. I thought the only wood there is where the rope was hanging and the ones on the right are rocks. The second one is not as appealing to me but you have achieved your goal here in the sharpness area. Love the textures of both shots but the background on the second I feel, should be blurred. I don't know...I am just hitting something I am not familiar with really...

[FootLoose]

Hi Izzie,
the material to the right of the rope is a big black rubber tyre. They cushion the boats when they bump into the harbour wall.

Interesting comment about #2. The background, which is the hull of boat, was much darker in the original but I couldn't eliminate the streaks (water stains) so I decided instead to lighten the area and let the detail show. I reasoned that the vertical direction of the stains added to the 'heaviness' of the dangling ropes.

I'm interested to hear what others have to say about this.

[Shadowman]

Nice ideas.

[ST1]

The first one gets my vote Greg, I may be tempted to crop a slight amount off the bottom to remove the dark area at the bottom RHS. So that the timber with it's great texture is at the bottom of the frame.

[TonyW]

The more I look at these, the more I appreciate them. A simple subject but full of content. The lighting is just right like a good portrait and the composition is good. When you look more closely you see such well defined detail, showing a hawser laid rope and good splicing and the texture of the saw and planer marks on the wood.

I thought that the streaks in #2 add to the interest.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Greg, very nice shots, I like both of them. I would leave the BG in #2 as it is, because it not a flower shot. Ropes are usually used for tying big things in harbours, hangars ,warehouses etc. So they are not usually used in nice and tidy areas. That's why IMO BG with stains adds meaning to the image. Nice composition

[Brownbear]

I think the first image is especially beautiful, and I can't believe that I'm saying that about a rope! So beautiful that I don't even wish to see it in colour. The composition, detail and texture, and especially the light and is especially wonderful.

The 2nd image doesn't appeal to me because of the subject (less attractive especially the 2nd rope) and the background but I adore the 1st image!

[FootLoose]

Thank you, John, Izzie, Peter, Tony, Binnur and Christina, your comments have given me some things to think about.

Steve, my original idea was a much higher crop but as I spent more time processing it, I came to see the ropes as a waterfall and so I left like this to preserve that long curve. A small crop to remove the dark shadow would be ok though.

Christina and Izzie: funnily enough, the 2nd was the first shot I took and I really like it from the first moment I saw it on my computer screen. It inspired me to return the next day and seek other rope opportunities.

I'm glad Tony and Binnur appreciate it too. Each to our own taste.

[IzzieK]

Greg...after you told me about the backdrop, the thing that seems confusing to me at first came to light. I could have said that there is a story there behind why you took that shot but I was too tired and wanted to go back to bed at the time. It was 3am when I saw your post, mind you...anyway, when I looked at it in the morning without signing in, I had seen what you were trying to convey. Then the story in m mind was then completed. It would have been nice if you had shown a bit of where those two were hanging from, a hint or something through your shot, but then if I asked you that, your whole idea of why you took that shot will have changed. So my reasoning is somewhere midway...which ever one you chose is the best. It is your shot and you knew and felt at the time why you took it. I can't take that away from you for MY own satisfaction. No...no...no...!

Friends again???

[FootLoose]

Friends again???

LOL, Izzie. I hope you are joking; I am never put out by anyone not liking a photo or comment I post. I hope I haven't given anyone that impression. I consider everyone here to be my friends.