A ruin in the woods

[DanK]

I've never done stuff like this, so I particularly welcome C&C.

A little history: Teddy Roosevelt was in a very remote area in the central Adirondacks, in upstate New York, when President McKinley was assassinated. The town, Tahawus, had been a tiny mining town, and then the mining operation went belly up, the few structures became part of a private hunting club, which was where Roosevelt was staying. Roosevelt was fetched by horse-drawn carriage, taken a long way to a small town named North Creek (still populated), which was the nearest rail line. The building in which Roosevelt was staying has been partially restored, but the rest of the buildings are gradually being taken back by the forest. I spent an hour or two there last week and tried to get interesting shots of the ruins. This is the first one I processed to the point where I am willing to have people critique it.

Go at it...

[bnnrcn]

You have an eye for photography Dan Very nice image. If it was mine I would reduce the saturation in greens at the top right corner.

[ccphoto]

I would agree to the over-sat in the upper right but for me, there's too much going on to focus on any one point. You would think the window would be the obvious stopping point but because of the angled boards, foreground bush and variation in tone, my eye just wanders. Try some vignetting or graduated filters to help isolate the window as the focal point.

[Geoff F]

I think you are probably asking a bit much to get such a range of brightness levels in just one shot. Which results in the highlights being a fraction on the bright side. Not far out though.

The window makes a good main subject. Would it have been possible to show just a tiny bit more, particularly at the top and bottom. Or just the top if there are problems. Not a serious issue but the window frame appears just a little 'cramped' for space at the moment.

[Shadowman]

Nicely composed.

[IzzieK]

I kinda like the overall ruins itself because it lend some interesting feature and textures to the wood that is very interesting. I like your composition. This scene may not be everyone's cup'o tea but it is mine. I just there is more of the building itself to see. I agree with Binnur about the green at the top RHS. 'Needs toning down a bit.

[mugge]

I also agree that the green top RHS need to be toned down a tad. Yes vignetting would also help. Would a B&W version work- maybe not. Just a thought.
Cheers Ole

[DanK]

Thanks, all. Much to think about. I agree about the green in the corner; it's a bad idea to have a detail that attracts the eye on the edge. I tried a B&W, but it didn't work well; the green plays an important role in pulling the eye to the window, I think. Concerning the main issue: it's a visually busy scene. I did add a vignette and did quite a bit of burning to darken the surroundings, but I will play with it more.

[tbob]

I run into the bright window/dark interior fairly frequently The bright window grabs the viewer and diverts them away from the main subject, which is the weathered wood and structure. You need to Burn the window quite aggressively. This will darken the exterior view, which is a great element, and restore the main subject of the wall and window. This will also solve the problem with the view through the hole in the wall at upper right as it will be lit the same as the window view.


I would suggest also burning the bright elements to the left of the window for the same reason. The junk on the floor can stay bright if you want as it fits with the light from the window. My instinct would be to burn it a bit, but that is a personal reference. The bright plant at lower right needs the same treatment.

The business is not an issue for me. Part of the story. I think you will find that once the bright bits stop dragging the viewer around the image the business issue is lessened substantially.

[DanK]

Trevor,

Thanks. Very helpful. In fact, I did pretty much the opposite the first time around, but I think you have a good point. I'll try a revision within the next few days.

Dan