Ile de Ré (Charente-Maritime)

Here is the crop I think Mathieu was proposing. It's a very different image, and still very powerful (from where I'm sitting). It loses the straight-from-the-Blad square-format integrity, of course, but I'm not much of a purist on such matters. Apart from that, it's hard for me to choose one over the other--both work for me, each in its own way.

Altought it is an interesting suggestion, the original image is far more pleasant. The crop loses all the sense of a large open space, wich is an important presence in Gerard�s photo. With this second version, we only get the beautiful geometry. It works, but on a different level.

Perhaps we have lost sight of Gerards talent. His porfolio clearly presents him as a serious

insightful Artist who ,as a photographer , undoubtly went through the "should I crop this"

process. His version is what we should be talking about. It reflects his perceptions. I would be

interested in others versions of the same bridge if they went to the location, interacted with

the suject matter and the interpreted it, as Gerard has.

Bonsoir à ´ous et merci beaucoup...

D鳯l頤e ne pouvoir r鰯ndre en anglais. ;-)

 

G鲡rd

How come every time someone puts a crop up, someone else comes along and says we shouldn't crop or discuss the crop? Of course we should! We are not only discussing the photographer's perceptions but each of our own perception of his work and our own individual reactions to it. "I would have cropped this differently" is a perfectly valid response and a perfectly valid subject for discussion.

 

That said, the crop that was submitted, in my inexpert opinion, demonstrates waht I said earlier ... this picture is complete and a crop can only lessen it. The new crop is fine, but it doesn't have the impact that the original does.

Bill, you are right, crops are a fact of life here. I don't think, however, I remember ever seeing

one that really improved the photo and most of the time they seem to change the whole

sense (idea and/or feeling) of what was presented originally. Fortunately, they don't seem to

be as random as in the past.

 

About the crop, however, if one looks at the images abstractly, the crop takes the photo from

a "D" to an "A". Surprising a man would suggest such a thing!

Mona, I do enjoy the way you think,but........What?

Mona - Contrary to popular belief, some men do in fact appreciate quality over quantity. ;-)

 

I think the crop has its merits, but isn't the whole crop/don't crop discussion the photo.net equivalent of walking into the Louvre and saying "Leonardo should have made this a head shot, not head and shoulders"? I'm not saying that second-guessing an artist is wrong (we all do it, to varying degrees), but sometimes one has to just sit back and drink in that which the artist has presented and enjoy the hell out of it. In this case, and in my opinion, this is one of those times. I'm very happy to look at the photograph as originally presented and enjoy it. I can't explain why, my brain isn't saying things about space, flow, tension or composition right now. This work transcends that entirely and speaks to me as a single entity. To my mind that's the measure of something that approaches a masterpiece, I don't need to analyse it to try and work out why it speaks in such loud and clear tones, it just does.

 

Thank you Gérard for taking this picture, and thank you to the Elves for putting the spotlight on it.

Thanks David, that's exactly the crop I was thinking of. I agree that the crop is less powerful as a scenery. By cropping all the right side you loose the sense of space, which many here like. The crop seems to lack room to breathe, especially after having seen the original.

 

However, I will maintain that it works better on an abstract level and would still frame the crop and keep the original in my 'nice images' collection folder, because what is portrayed here doesn't appeal to me emotionally. This is why, I think, I had to find a way to modify it so it would become more abstract and loose that sense of space.

Excellent as a school lesson.

Otherwise, slightly above average.

J'ai etais là en vacances. J'ai reconnu ce pont. Tres belle photo

Excellent composition