Old barn: too dark?

[tbob]

The sun would not cooperate on Sunday and light the face of this barn and the field. I liked the clouds so much I took a couple of shots anyway. When the cloud on the east horizon was gone the clouds in the entire sky were also gone. There was one persistent cloud on the east horizon that stayed for an entire hour.

Lightened the barn a bit but I am wondering how people feel about the result.






When the cloud finally cleared

[Mike Buckley]

The barn in the first one looks fine to me. Consider cropping that one at the bottom to place greater emphasis on the sky. Doing so also places less emphasis on the barn (which is good considering that the sky is the subject). That decreased emphasis comes at a surprise to me; I expected the opposite result.

In the second one, I'm having trouble determining the subject; is it the barn or the sky being reflected in the foreground water? For me the solution would be to get down lower probably using a shorter focal length to increase emphasis on the reflected sky and to decrease emphasis on the barn.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done, I don't think the barn is too dark in the first capture. That stray bit of tumbleweed/crop near the horizon line could be edited out though.

[tbob]

The barn in the first one looks fine to me. Consider cropping that one at the bottom to place greater emphasis on the sky. Doing so also places less emphasis on the barn (which is good considering that the sky is the subject). That decreased emphasis comes at a surprise to me; I expected the opposite result.

In the second one, I'm having trouble determining the subject; is it the barn or the sky being reflected in the foreground water? For me the solution would be to get down lower probably using a shorter focal length to increase emphasis on the reflected sky and to decrease emphasis on the barn.

Both good points. For the first, I did shoot with emphasis on the sky , maybe not enough though. At the time I was trying to get the curve of the stubble included. I will revisit this.

For the second. The puddle does interrupt the flow of the stubble, did not notice it until brought to my attention. The sky was so bland, and the barn/field was too blase as well. I wanted at least some other object but the puddle and barn have the same visual mass and so are competing for the viewers attention; this is confusing.

[tbob]

Nicely done, I don't think the barn is too dark in the first capture. That stray bit of tumbleweed/crop near the horizon line could be edited out though.

It must go. I saw it initially then forgot to clone it out.

[Geoff F]

Barn too dark? No, sky too light!

I just wonder if a slight crop from the bottom and left side would help to bring barn and sky 'closer together' ?

And with the second image, you obviously want to show all of that puddle; so is the sky now looking very fractionally cramped at the top?

[selig1656]

+ on Geoff's statement

[tbob]

Barn too dark? No, sky too light!

I just wonder if a slight crop from the bottom and left side would help to bring barn and sky 'closer together' ?

And with the second image, you obviously want to show all of that puddle; so is the sky now looking very fractionally cramped at the top?

Geoff. The whole image was too light initially. The problem was the sun was being diffused by the cloud and everything was dull and very much the same light intensity. In processing I tried to get some separation.

This the out of camera (minus the nasty sprig of crop on the centre left).






I will revisit some crops with your suggestions in mind

[IzzieK]

Another +1 to Geoff's statement...I like the second one too but the top is too cramp.

[John 2]

[QUOTE=Mike Buckley;499567]The barn in the first one looks fine to me. Consider cropping that one at the bottom to place greater emphasis on the sky. Doing so also places less emphasis on the barn (which is good considering that the sky is the subject). QUOTE]

My feelings as well. That sky is worth a staring role. Nice shot Trevor.

[ucci]

Okay. Here we go Trevor. Totally uniformed comment.. from me, of course! Your pic, and so its your concept. But for me the barn in the second shot is a cracker subject. And its detail is really eye catching. This is the feature that grabbed me. But... and there is always some one butting in with a 'but' I would have opted for a pretty heavy crop of foreground in #2 to remove much of it, especially the foreground puddle which draws the eye and would have included more of the sky in the space above the barn which seems a bit curtailed in post #2. Just my opinion of course.

[Rebel]

I'm torn Trevor. I really like the sky in the first one, but love the detail in the barn on the second.