fine art Fallen Barn

Hi Nanette, pleasure to make your acquaintance. This looks like a worthy subject to me, but the light, or lack of it, doesn't work well for me. The brightness is really behind the structure, and that distracts me, and is a little too bright altogether. If you can go back at a time of day when the light is gentler, and possibly on the barn more, you might get some very compelling shots. the burned out grass and barn work well together, and the ramshackle tilts here and there appear very picturesque. Reminds me a little of some things posted by Susan Stone, who does some nice "western" work that you might be interested in looking at.

Hi N, The basic geometry of this composition really caught my eye. I pretty much agree with Ben's comments, though. This is a fantastic subject, but I think what I want to see is sidelighting shining on the side of the barn facing us. That would create a whole bunch of interesting shadows and bring out the texture of the wood. This image might also work better in color -- I'm guessing that grass on the right has a beautiful golden-brown color that would complement the wood of the barn.

Thanks for your detailed comments. I agree that the lighting is pretty drab. It was a very overcast winter day but I went out regardless because everything was lined with snow. Although I took a numbers of shots of this barn, I struggled a lot with the light. I brought a couple of them into PS and messed around with them and actually found a midnight action to achieve this effect. I decided to present it this way because it felt a lot warmer and softer than the original (which I've now posted in this thread).

 

Thanks again for your insights and I hope to return to this barn on a better lit day. :)

wow, impressive effect! i find it helpful sometimes to control and manipulate the lightness and brightness within a picture by using layer masks in photoshop. if you have it, i wrote up what i do in a photo once, there's a link to it from my community member page if you are interested.

FWIW, I like the original better. What I don't really appreciate in the edit is its softness. I'm used to shoot old structures or abandoned places and I think they look best when crisp and contrasty. This is just my personal opinion, so take it with a bit of salt as usual.

Some interestings pictures in your portfolio as well, I'll make sure to check it back.

Regards, Fred.

Hello nanette,

 

I think I like the original better as well, maybe a little bit punchier with more contrast. But I reaaly like this is B+W.

Cheers.

Nanette, I too prefer the original to the adjusted version. In black and white it's nice too!

 

You had great moody lighting conditions to begin with.

Nanette, I prefer the original to the one you posted, but I think the B&W version, with a bit a work on the contrast, could be even better.