Rhyolite Bottle House

[Urbanflyer]

bottle house, rhyolite by urbanflyer, on Flickr

Death Valley Side Trip--comments are most welcome when they help me learn and improve

[xpatUSA]

"That same year an enterprising miner, Tom T. Kelly, built a Bottle House out of 50,000 beer and liquor bottles."

https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/histo...ghost-town.htm

[Manfred M]

Judith - the window with the curtain is so bright that is drags the viewer's eye to the lower left hand corner of the image. The bottles, which in my view are probably the part of the image you want the viewer to notice can't compete with the bright area.

[Astro]

Judith, normally, I would agree with Manfred's comment, but in this instance (for me at least), I find I am being drawn into the image by the window frame, which 'seems to' signpost my attention back into the image generally.
Also, curiously, I find the contrast between the triangular elements in the window, versus the imperfect rectangular symetry of the bottles in the wall very engaging.

[Urbanflyer]

James and Manfred, thanks for your comments. I find I agree with both of you--the window is too bright and the contrast of the geometric shapes is an important element in the image.

I am working on understanding the details of using curves and will use that to tamp down the curtain a bit!

[Manfred M]

James and Manfred, thanks for your comments. I find I agree with both of you--the window is too bright and the contrast of the geometric shapes is an important element in the image.

I am working on understanding the details of using curves and will use that to tamp down the curtain a bit!

Judith - in Photoshop, curves are most often used in conjunction with layer masks. We don't apply the curve globally, but rather only to a selected area. The masks can be created with a variety of selection tools or simply painted on with the brush tool. When painting, the brush tool is usually a soft brush with a low flow.

[xpatUSA]

James and Manfred, thanks for your comments. I find I agree with both of you--the window is too bright and the contrast of the geometric shapes is an important element in the image.

I am working on understanding the details of using curves and will use that to tamp down the curtain a bit!

In the GIMP one can select a rectangle i.e. the window and edit that selection without resorting to layers, masks, et al.

I just did it to your image in about 5 seconds.

Can your editor do that, Judith? I would have thought so ...

[Urbanflyer]

Have I gone too far? This seemed in keeping with the walls.

I use Photoshop and Lightroom--mostly PS . I can do the adjustment using the method Ted suggests. However for a while I will be trying to use curves more just for the learning. I do use masks because I like the ability to do soft transitions.

bottle house take 2 by urbanflyer, on Flickr

[xpatUSA]

Have I gone too far? This seemed in keeping with the walls.

Not too far, IMHO. The curtain and the wall are now about equal in brightness. I might have even gone a bit further, Judith, but it's really your call ...

[Manfred M]

Not too far, IMHO. The curtain and the wall are now about equal in brightness. I might have even gone a bit further, Judith, but it's really your call ...

This version works a lot better for me too. The only other thing you might want to consider is adding a very light vignette to the image. If you open the images in Lightbox mode and use the arrows to move between the different versions, you can see how each of the images changes.

The vignette ends up brightening the centre of the image ever so slightly and helps lock the viewer into that part of the image.

[Urbanflyer]

thank you all for your comments--

[escape]

I like the original version. Who would have thought in this glass bottle house you would find in the roughly framed window bright white delicate laced curtains. That's what I find appealing. Purely personal.

[rpcrowe]

I have heard that this type of wall is very energy efficient...