single photos A storm lopes in over Kalgoorlie

Should I crop the left side or not?

 

The print was made from a 5x4 tranny, so I have a decent amount of

film to play with (this is almost full film width shown here). As it

stands, the print is 31x12", so cropping and still retaining a large

print area is easy. And if I want bigger, I'll just get it drum

scanned.

 

So what do you think? Is the composition helped or hindered by the

sheet lightning emanating from the main body of the storm?

 

Graeme

I'd say crop as it would put more emphasis on the real centre of the lighting. And the town is also more plain on the left than the right. Very nice shot.

An impressive and vivid shot.

 

I like it as it is. The unusual crop and the cloud-to-cloud lightning "reaching" to the left suggest the storm is moving and active. If I crop the left side out with my hand, it seems static.

I personally would vote to leave it in. I agree with Michael that it would look static with any removal of the branching shown on the left. As it is you don't get the feeling that you are missing much of the actual size of the bolt. If you cropped it the viewer would have to imagine where it stopped and left feeling like part of the picture is missing.... Just my opinion.

Another great shot! Leave the image as-is, it has excellent balance, and conveys a sense of majesty and scope.

 

Now that I have moved to Las Cruces New Mexico I HOPE that I will get some great lightning shots when the storms get going again in a few months. Until then I'll have to content myself with vicariously joining you in Oz.

Wonderful shoot! One I dream about...

fwoh! lost for words...the lightning is just perfect. love it~

Wow.. Would love to see the original. Must be special. How long you leave the shutter open for?

I too vote for leaving as is. Great shot.

Graeme,

Crop - No Sheet Lightening is great. There is a lot of detail here in both sky and ground levels. I appreciate how well put together such an exposure this is. I'm happy to view it just as you have presented it.

Thanks for your opinions people. I've printed as it's shown here and sold three in three days. Seems like the public are voting with their wallets - who am I to do a re-count?

Cheers,

Graeme