Crumbling

[lovelife65]

Life in parts of rural WA.

[LePetomane]

Sharon, very nice. I like the ominous look that the clouds give it.

[lovelife65]

Thank you Paul David.
Amazing the scenes you will find in rural Washington. Would love to do a photographic story on it all. Probably been done a few times already though.

Sharon, very nice. I like the ominous look that the clouds give it.

[Shadowman]

Nice shot.

[Wavelength]

Nice one

[DanK]

It's an interesting scene, but IMHO, this could use some editing. The image is slightly rotated clockwise. The tonality of the barn is such that it doesn't stand out that much from its surroundings. I also think a tighter crop would be helpful, to give more weight to the barn.

To show what I am thinking of, here is a very quick edit. I straightened the image using the horizontal lumber on the barn as a guide. I selected the barn and its roof and used a curves tool on the selection both to brighten it and to add contrast. Then I cropped from both sides and the top. See if you think these are sensible directions.

[tbob]

Thank you Paul David.
Amazing the scenes you will find in rural Washington. Would love to do a photographic story on it all. Probably been done a few times already though.

Never too late. Or too frequent to do that sort of thing. I have seen quite a few of your images, very good (as is this one) and I sure there is a an audience for it. In fact; I was reading a review of some fellow photographer(I am shockingly bad at remembering names) from the midwestern states who does the same genre; he sells images for $14, 000. Each. I am afraid I do not have the moxie to even try that. But the market obviously exists.

[JBW]

When I clicked the pic for a closer look a second more tightly cropped shot also popped up. I prefer the tighter crop. I really like the aged wood on the barn.

[lovelife65]

$14K? wow, insane. If I invested time in learning post - processing, better composition and had a means to market, maybe I could see some for a couple hundred bucks

But alas, I am not Donald, David, Manfred, etc.

Never too late. Or too frequent to do that sort of thing. I have seen quite a few of your images, very good (as is this one) and I sure there is a an audience for it. In fact; I was reading a review of some fellow photographer(I am shockingly bad at remembering names) from the midwestern states who does the same genre; he sells images for $14, 000. Each. I am afraid I do not have the moxie to even try that. But the market obviously exists.

[tbob]

I don't want to slag anyone or express sour grapes, however in my estimation his stuff is not that outstanding. What he is extremely good at is self promotion. And all power to him for being a success. Self promotion and the ability to schmooze are very valuable skills I will never possess, just not my personality. I have a hard time justifying $350 for my prints and find marketing myself very uncomfortable.

[lovelife65]

This edit is terrific, than you for taking time to both comment and making the image better overall.

It's an interesting scene, but IMHO, this could use some editing. The image is slightly rotated clockwise. The tonality of the barn is such that it doesn't stand out that much from its surroundings. I also think a tighter crop would be helpful, to give more weight to the barn.

To show what I am thinking of, here is a very quick edit. I straightened the image using the horizontal lumber on the barn as a guide. I selected the barn and its roof and used a curves tool on the selection both to brighten it and to add contrast. Then I cropped from both sides and the top. See if you think these are sensible directions.

[lovelife65]

What you say is spot on. Much of success now is self promotion and trying to get thru all the noise. Bombarded with so many images now it’s hard to filter. You are well worth that and more, don’t be afraid to say so 🤗

I don't want to slag anyone or express sour grapes, however in my estimation his stuff is not that outstanding. What he is extremely good at is self promotion. And all power to him for being a success. Self promotion and the ability to schmooze are very valuable skills I will never possess, just not my personality. I have a hard time justifying $350 for my prints and find marketing myself very uncomfortable.

[zen]

I like this shot for two reasons. First, I like old barns, and secondly, I like old barns in monotone.

But I frequently experience a dilemma in shots like this. That is, are the structures really level and plumb, or are they leaning one way or another. In this case, DanK straightened it; that is, made it vertically plumb. But is the structure that straight? Many old structure are leaning simply from their age, and it may be that that is their charm. So before straightening, I'd defer to the photographer to decide if the image needs straightening. I have the same dilemma with my own barn shots; was the thing leaning or was it straight? Sometimes, I'm forced to go back a second time to be sure!

Thanks for sharing your image, Sharon.

Zen

[lovelife65]

Thanks for commenting Zen. Many of these barns are indeed leaning heavily.
In this case, yes. I guess leveling for the horizon is best bet.

I like the 2ndary structures often seen with these old scenes, they have me wondering... does someone live in there? Sadly, the answer is often yes. Maybe better than on the city streets or under a bridge.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Sharon,

I prefer it rotated and cropped, but for me, it still lacks subject prominence because I find the tones too dark to see the detail in the subject.

I accept my viewing conditions may not be ideal (e.g. a bit too bright), and that may be influencing me when I say that if mine, I'd look to raise the shadows to reveal more of the textures and substance of the structure itself. Definitely something to play with in Curves (rather than simplistic Levels) though, so that sufficient contrast can be imparted to them too. It would also need to be masked to affect only the building and trees, not the sky.

The original composition seems to be more about the sky - I wonder; was that what prompted you to take the shot?
Whatever you did to enhance the cloud contrast - was that applied to just the sky, or across the entire image?

Intrigued,
Dave

PS
UPDATE: Forgot to say that I think I'd take a bit more off the top edge too.

[NorthernFocus]

Nicely seen and captured, Sharon. The cropped/edited version is an improvement IMO.