The Long Road Ahead

[Wavelength]

Excellent image

[Round Tuit]

Donald,

Please forgive me for asking a stupid question but if one never ask, one will never learns. When I look at your photo, the composition looks very unbalanced and right side heavy graphically if that makes sense. The road, the row of telephone poles, the slope of the land and the shape of the mountains in the distance all draw my attention to the right. I know that you are very careful in the way that you compose your photos and that your choice to make it so was deliberate. Balance in a composition is a concept that I have difficulty understanding. Would you consider explaining the reasoning that lead you to make this choice.

André

[billtils]

But when those two cars come out, as they will in the final version

Donald, I like it just the way it is. To me, they add to the story telling by letting us see there are ups and downs in the distance. And if the only reason for taking them out is because they distract, then what about the indistinct black specks at the LHS about 2/3 of the way up? But the key words here are "to me", it's your photo and all I ever need is a quick visit to "dmackimages" to enjoy and appreciate the fruits of your expertise

[Mike Buckley]

To me, they [the two cars at the top] add to the story telling by letting us see there are ups and downs in the distance.

Those ups and downs are still very strongly conveyed without the small cars because the fence temporarily dips down out of sight before becoming visible again.

[billtils]

Those ups and downs are still very strongly conveyed without the small cars because the fence temporarily dips down out of sight before becoming visible again.

Very true Mike! But I still like them ...

[ccphoto]

Taking a cue from Mugge and Andre and I think to a large degree I agree with them, staying with the square format but edging down the sky might cure both concern ??? Maybe

[Round Tuit]

Taking a cue from Mugge and Andre and I think to a large degree I agree with them, staying with the square format but edging down the sky might cure both concern ??? Maybe

Hi Chris,

I think that you might have misunderstood my comments. I was not suggesting any change to Donald's photo. I am just trying to learn something from his knowledge. For what it's worth, I prefer his version to yours but I would be hard pressed to explain why. I know that if I had stood where he did, I would not have taken this shot. I probably would have turned the camera to the right. In the process, I would have lost the strong line of the road running parallel to the edge of the frame.
Donald's photo appears unbalanced to me. Maybe it isn't and there is more to the concept of balance than what I understand it to be. On the other hand, Donald might have deliberately made it unbalanced which would also be a valid compositional choice. I am hoping that he will be kind enough to shed some light on the matter.

André

[ccphoto]

Hi Chris,

I think that you might have misunderstood my comments. I was not suggesting any change to Donald's photo. I am just trying to learn something from his knowledge. For what it's worth, I prefer his version to yours but I would be hard pressed to explain why. I know that if I had stood where he did, I would not have taken this shot. I probably would have turned the camera to the right. In the process, I would have lost the strong line of the road running parallel to the edge of the frame.
Donald's photo appears unbalanced to me. Maybe it isn't and there is more to the concept of balance than what I understand it to be. On the other hand, Donald might have deliberately made it unbalanced which would also be a valid compositional choice. I am hoping that he will be kind enough to shed some light on the matter.

André

I've had some difficulty with this image a bit as well, and my odd sense of balance seems to want less sky but to do so meant losing some side area as he does prefer the sq crop.

The neat thing about photographers, and I learned this from attending many workshops, is that you can put 20 in an area no larger than someone's backyard and get 20 completely different shots. Cheers!

[terrib]

I, too, never thought about what we've grown up with - the long roads - not being in the realm of others' experience.

I really like this composition. I agree that it seems off balance, but I think that's what makes me really stop and study it. Is that what people refer to as "creating tension"? Also, all that empty space on the left seems to add to the isolation of this place. As far as the cars, I'm not sure I'd have a preference whether the distant cars were left in or not. Except that a lone car would contribute to that feeling of isolation. As always, very well done IMO!

[Donald]

When I look at your photo, the composition looks very unbalanced and right side heavy graphically if that makes sense. The road, the row of telephone poles, the slope of the land and the shape of the mountains in the distance all draw my attention to the right. I know that you are very careful in the way that you compose your photos and that your choice to make it so was deliberate. Balance in a composition is a concept that I have difficulty understanding. Would you consider explaining the reasoning that lead you to make this choice.

I could not answer this better than Terri has done in the post immediately above this.

I agree that it seems off balance, but I think that's what makes me really stop and study it.

Thank you everyone else for thoughts, comments and ideas.

And just so as you can judge on the question of cars in or out.........