Posted by Larry Fischer on January 22, 2010 at 5:55 PM
Taken near Pikes Peak last summer.
I played with black and white on this photo. I cropped much of the photo to enhance the whitish area of spokes and various shades of darks. Depth of field was sought with small aperature. In the larger version the wood grain shows well.
Again, BW seems to depend a lot on composition, something at which I need practice.
D700, Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 at f/22, aperature priority, 1/350 sec.
Capture NX2.
I'm far from an expert but here are my thoughts. I would first ask what it was that drew your attention to this scene. The reason that I ask is that I feel as if there are so many elements in the scene that compete for my attention and I am not sure where to look.
I know that you indicated that you intentionally stopped down to gain depth of field; however, I wonder if this image would benefit more from shallow depth of field and careful placement of the point of focus to emphasize the most important element in the scene--the thing that caught your eye in the first place. For example, if the wagon wheel itself is what drew your attention to the scene, you could have used a much wider aperture to blur the background and make the wheel stand out more. You might consider using different apertures to see which aperture gives you enough balance between background blur and having sufficient detail to give context to the wagon wheel.
I would also consider a lower shooting angle so that you were not looking down on the wagon wheel because there is so much detail in the grass that it creates visual clutter and draws my attention away from the scene. A lower shooting angle combined with more shallow depth of field would alleviate this issue. I like the concept and this is still a nice shot as is but since you wanted a critique these are my two cents. I hope you find this helpful and constructive.
Posted by Larry Fischer on January 23, 2010 at 8:40 AM
Brian, you comments are great.
When I took the shot I was not anticipating B&W. I was intrigued with the wheels, undercarraige and all the features of the working underframe when I took the snapshot--that's why I shot for deep DOF.
From now on, if I find something with patterns or texture, I'm going to take different exposures as you have rightly mentioned.
That, I guess is lesson one.
And, I've not really been aware of shooting angle except superficially.
That, I guess is lesson two. And that can be incorporated in the multiple shot routine.
Brad Mangas has mentioned that one should always take horizontal AND vertical shots.
Perhaps that's lesson three.
Keep them coming. Thanks.
the fisch
Posted by Scott Bean on January 23, 2010 at 9:25 AM
Larry,
Overall I like this scene and I think it is a good choice for BW (though I'm still a beginner at BW myself so...). The only nit-picky thing I don't like is the wheel cut off at the top.
Looking forward to seeing more BW shots from you.
Posted by Larry Fischer on January 23, 2010 at 10:57 AM
Scott, good point. I cropped the top on purpose and you wouldn't.
I think I'll pst the original B&W and let people download it and crop, the re-submit.
That would be a good exercise in composition, perhaps, to see the range, if any of opinion.
the fisc
Posted by Larry Fischer on January 23, 2010 at 11:09 AM
You have my permission to upload this uncropped shot; yes, I know, I didn't even get the front side of the weel--I wanted the undercarriage for some reason, do your own crop for composition and change the contraste in all or various portions and let's see what the range of opinion is.
Give reasons for what you do.
the fisch
Posted by Bill Brennan on January 23, 2010 at 4:43 PM
fisch, thanks for this posting. I like your second better than the first. Its not as busy. Did you notice the little person that is formed by the shadows between 3rd and 4th spokes.
Also, Brian's critique is priceless; sounds like my photography professor and mentor who always asked "what are you trying to accomplish with this image?"
Bill Brennan
Posted by Larry Fischer on January 25, 2010 at 1:14 PM
Bill B.,
No, I don't see a "little person"...
I guess my crop was not crowd pleasing and that helps me learn.
I think I can blur the grass but from a shooting low perspective previously mentioned was a great idea.
the fisch
Posted by John Moore on January 25, 2010 at 8:31 PM
I like this image Larry. It is graphically interesting and appealing, and has a nice range of tones. The contrast seems to make the textures in the wood stand out. I like the crop too.
Discussion
9 repliesI played with black and white on this photo. I cropped much of the photo to enhance the whitish area of spokes and various shades of darks. Depth of field was sought with small aperature. In the larger version the wood grain shows well.
Again, BW seems to depend a lot on composition, something at which I need practice.
D700, Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 at f/22, aperature priority, 1/350 sec.
Capture NX2.
C and C sought.
the fisch
I know that you indicated that you intentionally stopped down to gain depth of field; however, I wonder if this image would benefit more from shallow depth of field and careful placement of the point of focus to emphasize the most important element in the scene--the thing that caught your eye in the first place. For example, if the wagon wheel itself is what drew your attention to the scene, you could have used a much wider aperture to blur the background and make the wheel stand out more. You might consider using different apertures to see which aperture gives you enough balance between background blur and having sufficient detail to give context to the wagon wheel.
I would also consider a lower shooting angle so that you were not looking down on the wagon wheel because there is so much detail in the grass that it creates visual clutter and draws my attention away from the scene. A lower shooting angle combined with more shallow depth of field would alleviate this issue. I like the concept and this is still a nice shot as is but since you wanted a critique these are my two cents. I hope you find this helpful and constructive.
When I took the shot I was not anticipating B&W. I was intrigued with the wheels, undercarraige and all the features of the working underframe when I took the snapshot--that's why I shot for deep DOF.
From now on, if I find something with patterns or texture, I'm going to take different exposures as you have rightly mentioned.
That, I guess is lesson one.
And, I've not really been aware of shooting angle except superficially.
That, I guess is lesson two. And that can be incorporated in the multiple shot routine.
Brad Mangas has mentioned that one should always take horizontal AND vertical shots.
Perhaps that's lesson three.
Keep them coming. Thanks.
the fisch
Overall I like this scene and I think it is a good choice for BW (though I'm still a beginner at BW myself so...). The only nit-picky thing I don't like is the wheel cut off at the top.
Looking forward to seeing more BW shots from you.
I think I'll pst the original B&W and let people download it and crop, the re-submit.
That would be a good exercise in composition, perhaps, to see the range, if any of opinion.
the fisc
Give reasons for what you do.
the fisch
Also, Brian's critique is priceless; sounds like my photography professor and mentor who always asked "what are you trying to accomplish with this image?"
Bill Brennan
No, I don't see a "little person"...
I guess my crop was not crowd pleasing and that helps me learn.
I think I can blur the grass but from a shooting low perspective previously mentioned was a great idea.
the fisch