Dufferin County Farm

Again, have to be seen large!the B/W is perfect for the weather landscape....;-))

I like the DOF  that takes me to the far end of the farm house.The darker fence on the FG  left corner balances the nice composition. A visit to the shoe box?....;-))

Welcome to Central Ontario, winter of 2011.  Nope, no shoebox treasure this time.  I actually had to get off the sofa for this one.  Captured two weeks ago on an outing about 50 miles from my home.  The graphic lines of the fences simply begged to be photographed.  My 'Details' supply the stats.  As you say, B&W is ideal for this type of subject and I plan to try to get some more B&W landscapes on another planned outing in mid Feb.  This time I hope to use the finer grained T-Max 100,  a film I've never used before.  Stay tuned.  Best, LM.

Hi len

Thank you len for leaving the sofa and went 50 miles to capture this one.

This photo highlight two amazing points, the first is the great effect of the lines in composition and the second is the beautiful effect of the high key exposure in such snowy atmosphere.

From each image I learn what's new. Best regards

Thanks for your observations here.   The lines of the fence are what first attracted my attention.  I must also admit to raising the levels here a tad as the original snow, while showing a tad more detail or texture (though precious little under the overcast sky at mid day),  was also rendered too gray for my tastes.  It was a delicate balance to be sure but the final image satisfies me.  And if not me, then who?  :-)  This looks like a location I could go back to at least once each season & get a different looking image each time.  On PN we all expand each other's horizons.  Win-win.  Best, LM.

The fence lines against the stark white snow form attractive composition. The farm house is exceptionally sharp with details and texture of its wood. Consider cropping the sky a little as the main players in the picture are the fence lines, snow and the live farm house. It will also bring the house at thirds. Thanks for sharing. Regards, ifti.

Good to have your views.  You are correct in your cropping suggestion, the buildings would be placed in a better spot compositionally.  My thinking in leaving more sky was to project the impression of desolation and isolation of this farm.  There is a lot of thinly occupied land in the surroundings here.  I will contemplate your advice & give others a chance to submit their thoughts on it.  Many thanks for your visit & input.  Best, LM.

School of composition and classical high key. Len, did you processed that film by yourself?

Thanks for your kind praise.  I had the Tri-x film processed via Henry's (they send to Silvano Labs in Toronto).  Processing my own film is something I may consider doing in the future.  I've done it before.  Best, LM.

This is gorgeous Len!  I took my film camera out today and I plan to take it out again tomorrow.  It will take some time to send it out for processing because it's black and white film.

Thanks for popping in.   This one was my favourite of the 36 exposures I took that day.  That's what I did with my Tri-x film, sent it in for processing and then scanned the negs.  Seemed to work OK and I'll do it again in a couple of weeks but, hopefully, with T-Max 100 this time.  Stay tuned!  Best, LM.

Len, superb shot of winter landscape. Very good composition ,exposure and tones.The black horse infuses life into this desolate landscape.

Thanks for re-stating the very elements which first attracted my attention.  I would like to have had a horse somewhere in the top left third of the frame but they wouldn't cooperate.  Someone broke open a bail of hay near the barn and that ended 'horses in the field' possibility.    Sometimes you have to take what's offered.  :-(  Best, LM.

Your constructive comments or critiques will be gratefully received.

Best, LM.

Just a beautiful winter scene.  You incorporated all of the elements necessary to give depth, movement and interest into a composition that might otherwise seem "flat".  Great eye and a wonderful photo.

Thanks for the up beat analysis.  Your own portfolio has much to offer.  Nice to meet another Minolta X user.  Be over to see you soon.  This one was calling out to me to be photographed so I obliged.  Best, LM.

A nice rural motif, very well composed. The slight upwards slope of the fence in the foreground leads well towards the right, farm house and horses add interest and act as anchor and the distant fence let me exlore the scene further. The small house LHS fits well and makes for a good balanced image. I have nothing to nit here

Thanks for your always valued critique.  Some scenes are inspiring from the get-go.  I knew I had a potentially satisfying image in front of me before I got out of the car.  All there was to do after exposure was hope the lab didn't screw up the processing too badly.  I like it then & I like it still.  Best, LM.

hi Len.. always impresses me when someone takes an ordinary subject and turns it into something unique and original.. sam

To be honest, this could be a scene from rural Indiana this winter.  We've been dumped on with ice and snow.  This was worth 'getting off the couch' for.  :-)  It's a wonderful scene, beautifully composed with the diagonal fence line running through it.  And the mood it conveys is certainly one of bleakness on this wintry day.  The only question I would ask is about your cropping.  I think Ifti's idea above is valid, as I'm not sure how seeing more sky contributes anything further to the atmosphere.  Although I certainly like it both ways.  The left margin seems to need a little something IMO.  I tried cropping it a bit to eliminate the larger tree, but that didn't work at all.  I came away thinking that I'd like to see a bit more of that tree.  Do you have a version like that?  I could also be wrong about that, but I'm always exploring ideas on composition and challenging my own vision.  So I just present the ideas as food for thought, rather than any actual criticism.  I really love the shot!

Thanks for your input.  I agree with a most of what you say and Iftikhar's suggestion also.  Everyone's 'Artistic License' can be exercised in a way that suits them.  I like the shot even with half the sky area cropped out though, as I said, I left it in to emphasize the openness I felt when I came across this scene in a sparsely populated farm area.  But that's MY 'license' kicking in.  As for the trees, I've considered cloning them out as a crop would impact on the fence line and I think that should be left as is.  You guys have put forward a number of options for me to consider if I decide to print this one larger than the 6x9 image (on 11x8.5 paper)  I have already produced, and I thank you for that.  I should have also taken a shot with my 35mm lens to compliment this one taken with my 50mm.  Would have left me more options.  Best, LM.

Another very well thought out and intelligent composition. The tonality and relative lack of detail turns this landscape into a kind of folk art scene and lends it a certain artistic naivite than I find appealing in its simplicity. (Which I suspect was not all that simple to achieve.)

Yes, very nicely composed, Len -- I can see how your photographic mind wanted to capture this, and a nice result at that as well!  I actually don't see the sky crop here (& I know that I'm the odd one out :-)   If any, a tiny crop from the bottom might be a suggestion, as I feel that showing more of the sky adds to the feeling of isolation in your photo, imo....  Anyway, these are just my thoughts. Best regards, Marjolein

Simple is good!  I like simple!  This one made me brake the car, step out & fire off a few frames.  What could be simpler?   Not much in the way of post exposure cropping though I did play with 'Levels' and 'Curves' a tad.  Without that hanky panky the snow, albeit with a tad more detail, came across too gray for me even though the exposure was accurate.  It was that kind of day (overcast).  Thanks for popping by.  Best, LM.

Odd one out?  Make that even, as I prefer the original sky area as well and will allow for 'artistic license' if anyone else would crop the bottom a tad.  I've tried cropping the bottom a bit and the result doesn't move me one way or the other.  I don't think it improves nor detracts from the original so I'll leave it as is for now.  If anyone thinks it's an improvement, go nuts!  But, I have an open mind and may revisit that thought if I decide to print it again.   Best, LM.

snow make life silents... perfect photo, very delicate but also strong