A Family of Houses

Very simple but very powerful image. Love the original crop. Congrats.

I would echo Pierre C's point about the slightly tilted horizon. It's a subtle objection, perhaps, but this image is all about subtlety--a visual contrast between man's puny and vulnerable designs on the skin of the earth, and the vastness and timelessness of all that surrounds us--and the horizontal tilt creates a distraction.

With a slight rotational crop, making the bottom and top edges exactly parallel to the visible horizon, that distraction would disappear. Then, I would suggest a second slight crop--off the left side--to put the center of the pathway exactly equidistant from the left and right borders.

Jana Vanourkova's comment that "cutting the houses at the edge gives the feeling that there are more houses there (rule of the visual design)" is very perceptive, I think. Cutting them in this manner has changed the subject-element from "seven specific houses" (if they were bracketed on left and right by empty space) to "houses in general" (a line of houses extending indefinitely leftward, and indefinitely rightward). It's kind of like the difference in quoted speech between "xxxx" and "...xxxx..."

The title "A Family of Houses" doesn't seem (to me) to correspond very closely to the visual message. I'm not sure what would be better, although "The Sheltering Sky" or "Tornado Alley" come first to mind.

Altogether, a very thought-provoking and very beautiful image. Congratulations.

 

I think both the cropped version and the original have a unique quality to them. I like the original uncropped version the most. To me, it shows the contrast between the freedom that the wide open prairie represents and the austerity of the cookie-cutter, clone-like homes of suburban America. There is also the contrast between the colors in both photos; the vibrant blue sky vs. the gold-tan tones of the homes and the foreground.
Thanks for sharing both versions of this photo! It makes you think about what you are looking at! :)
-Lisa

After making my post, I realized that I'd based my comments partly on Sherwin's "original crop"...the closest image above, which shows seven houses, plus parts of two more.

To me, this "original crop" is the most effective version--or would be, once the tilted horizon is fixed--while the square-format version (as picked for POW) is slightly less so. But I don't think that "square crop" vs. "rectangular crop" is really the key factor.

What enables this otherwise calm image to take on a sense of motion, gravitas and power, is (to me) the visible blackness of space above a fairly narrow band of blue sky. The movement of white clouds from the horizon--from behind, then over the houses, toward the viewer and upward, as winds visibly change their shape, toward blackness (which exists beyond houses, earth, blue sky, and us)...it's this movement that enlarges the context of the image and gives it quiet drama.

If the sky in this image were all-blue--the friendly, familiar blue that is just above and behind the clouds--this whole picture would be far less interesting, and would have a completely different feeling.

It's my sense, therefore, that while Sherwin's image could be cropped effectively in various ways (approximately square, or approximately 2x3, or in any other ratio of width to height), Sherwin would do well to retain the maximum amount of blackness at the top of the image, as well as the maximum amount of foreground...except for rotational cropping to make the horizon parallel. It would be a mistake to cut into the top or bottom of this picture to "make it fit" any particular format.

Sherwin, a question related to the above: How did you get the upper sky so dark? (I'm assuming you used photoshop to do it....seems way beyond what a polarizing filter would do.)

I like the shot and the brilliant sky too...The tones and composition are good and I like the path,here...The only idea is the house at the left side,I think better to show it complete or crop it.

Thnx for sharing this strong shot...Regards(Bobby).

 

I like the shot and the brilliant sky too...The tones and composition are good and I like the path,here...The only idea is the house at the left side,I think better to show it complete or crop it.

Thnx for sharing this strong shot...Regards(Bobby).

 

I think this is a wonderful photograph. The different crops have slightly different meanings for me. The extra blue sky is a more positive photograph, while the rectangular original emphasizes the cookie-cutter layout of American suburbs, and the dead grass and dormant trees only contribute to this somewhat harsh commentary or depressed feeling. I have a different life history and orientation than Sherwin, and had I been in this spot, I probably would have pointed the camera down even more to emphasize the vast emptiness of the dead grass while minimizing the blue sky. I guess I'm just a more downbeat, depressed, fatalistic kind of guy. No wonder I'm single. Subtle shifts in perspective can alter the mood of an image, and when they are done so consciously, that's a hallmark of good photography, IMO.

Some additional points regarding intent:
- There is a natural tilt in the landscape at this location, which is accentuated by the natural lighting at the time of the shot. I probably could have stretched the pixels up a bit on the right (to keep the path perpendicular), but I opted to leave it as is. Maybe it was the wrong move.
- I very much wanted big sky in this shot to contrast (and in some ways) complement the emptiness of the abandoned houses and dead grass and empty path. Although the photo is titled A Family of Houses, the main characters for me were the sky and the path. I probably should have called it "Path to Emptiness", but I usually don't spend much time on titles - going with what first comes to mind.
- I wanted to have partial houses on both sides of the photo to show that this is just a small frame of a much larger situation. In actuality, there are many more of these houses at this location.
- The darker sky above is the result of a couple of things: The sky was indeed very dark and rich up above; I used a Sigma 10-20mm lense with a graduated filter - there is also some natural vignetting with with lense and the wided angle; I did slight contrast bump and slight vibrance bump in photoshop of my RAW image.
- I myself prefer the lanscape crop. I feel it closely matches my intent. But the square crop, I believe, is a bit more dramatic. The majority of my photos is on the subtle side, but sometimes I like the shot that screams.
Thanks again to all for the fantastic feedback. It is very much appreciated!

Sherwin, "Empty Path" would be a fine title.

Beautifull picture. Excelent job. Congrats!

Beautiful shot ! I like it ! Congratulations !
Regards, Mircea

With photos I ask myself: would I like this on my wall?

For me it doesn't work. Nothing in the foreground, lack of details and the sky is unnatural blue / black. Like it's a part night time photo. Even if the color was right, I still find it can't "carry" the picture, because it lacks interesting colors and clouds. It might have worked if it was shot at sunset with clouds and colors. To me it represents the very houses that it shows: just another picture. Sorry, but there are much better pictures here.

I just love it. This presentation is exactly right - somehow the vast, deep blue sky gives a sense of perspective to the dwellings. Might be tempted to do a number of versions of it - how about a couple of children walking homeward in the foreground? Proabably cheesy but you never know, it could sell a million (if so, please feel free to buy me a Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lense by way of a thank you! :)

Excellent, more please!

 

For me, this composition would have worked better as a horizontal, would lead to less sky. That would decidely improve the balance of colors in this picture, which is overwhelmed by the large expanse of blue overhead. The horizon tilt bothers me a little. I also like the original composition best.

That full frontal composition, with the walkway parting what looks like one of the world's largest lawns in half is very graphic, but also rigid and static. Congratulations on being chosen.

Agree with Bertram. I am guilty of oversaturating the sky at times, but this is a bit too much. I would not hang this on my wall...

I like the original crop, I like seeing more houses, as if they were as endless as the plains. The clouds, the single walkway bisecting the empty foreground all repeat and confirm the feeling of loneliness. The stark sameness of the houses, they're just not homes without a human element. As if the basics are nothing without a neighborhood to bring it all to life and give it meaning.

First congratulations.
What primarily attracts me to this image is its perspective, with the sidewalk, which is unadorned on either side, leading vertically to the horizontal row of houses. The large area of sky, in my opinion, lends itself to, and dramatizes, the perspective.

Prom Dress

I like what I see (be it too much saturation or not). I wasn't there, I look at what the photographer wants me to see. And, that's what I like. To me a truly great image! The perfect image is the one we will never make, I guess but that keeps us busy trying.

(OK, I would prefer this one in b/w, as that's what i do:-)

interesting simetry....