Standing Alone

Even though I've photographed and posted this abandoned farmhouse

previously, the low and thick clouds on this day made the light particularly

uniform, and I simply liked the overall mellowness of the landscape,

especially in B&W. The sense of isolation, silent history, and uncertain

future added to its appeal to me. Your comments and suggestions are

appreciated. Thanks.

Best regards Stephen!

PDE

What a beautiful image! This has alot more going for it than low hanging clouds. It's a perfect blend of hard and sof textures and tones combined with stellar composition. I like the subtle darkening in the foreground and bottom corners. Whether or not that was natural is anybody's guess but it certainly has that appearance. I think it helps bring the image together. Outstanding! If this had been submitted  for rating I could offer nothing less than a 7.

Thanks for the comments!  Bill, that's what attracted me as well -- the combination of hard and soft textures.  I didn't to any selective darkening or vignetting; if the corners are slightly darker (and I think they are), that just because of happenstance within the grass.  I wish I could say I saw that beforehand and incorporated it into my composition, but I wouldn't be able to pass the red-face test at all if I made such a claim.

Steve, this is great. I love the toning applied to this image, the crop works, the space on the left gives the structure context, the clouds low on the hills are an example of you being in the right time right place. Excellent work.

really a beautiful image. No doubt,you can hear blowing the wind of solitude through the grass. I like how the fields and sky's soft texture exalt the old farm - so sharply detailed instead. I like also the tones of your B&W conversion.

congrats

vezio

Beautiful landscape. I might have been tempted to move the house to the right, but it looks fine as it exists.

It's quite simple, but it's very good.

For the 0.3 sec this is a very finely exposed image ,the grass seems with a lot faster speed.

Apart from that it is well composed with nice tones.

Stephen,

  Wow....beautiful image with amazing processing & powerful darken sky.  Thanks for sharing the stunning scene.  Take care, Patsy

A very good image and wonderful processing, not the usual shades of monotones. I was just wondering if the sky would have been more than the grassland? The small hilly mounds look so beautiful.

Stephen, This image is perfectly suited for b x w or sepia.  The softness around the building frames the building nicely.  Nice work!

I too, am a sucker for an old barn or building and this is a real beauty. Nicely composed, Stephen, and it's sharp as a tack and well presented. Happy New Year, Stephen!

I love the grey tones in this photo! Well done and Happy New Year!

Stephen,

I like also , as you mentioned, the sense of history.  This old structure has been standing as a silent witness to a lot of changes through at least most of the last century or maybe even the late 19th.  It's interesting what a photograph such as this can bring to mind.  Regards, John

Oh...the location with the rolling landscape looks like an area out in Washington state called the Palouse...probably not the same but similar.

Steve, this is excellent. Your processing is spot on as usual giving a superb image.

Execellent composition and well done processing.  Always the best.

I think your description of "mellow" was spot on! Every component seems to flow into one another with a gentle natural ease that is so pleasing to experience when viewing. The old abandoned property has just enough contrast and sharpness to allow it to stand out, but not glaringly as one might expect, more subtle and quietly sedate.

Sincere Compliments

Alf

The subject is beautiful, the tall dry grass is beautiful, the sky is matching to the mood of the image, and the image is slightly flat. The composition is to tight  for the house. To highlight the drama here, you have to add more, mach more sky to the composition. You have to use the dodge and burn toll here, to bring out the life of the image. Specially on the grassy area, even it is a dark overcast sky. All of this, because, I like your work very much.

 

The much easier comment would be; It is a perfect beautiful image. Yes, it is, but  you can improve it to make it even better.

Bela, thanks for your suggestions -- I greatly appreciate the time you've taken.  I can see the "flatness" you've described.  I'm not sure how I might want to address that.  The clouds were very low and fairly uniform, and i don't think I'd want to add more in that direction.  I could add more to the surroundings, but I don't want to lessen the emphasis on the building.  It may be the uniformity of the grasses that is contributing the most to the feeling of flatness.  As I mentioned before, I have very little experience in applying dodging and burning, but perhaps this would be a good photograph to use for practice.  It's likely I still have the original that would show more clouds -- this is a 2:1 cropped aspect ratio.  That would be the place for me to start.

Hi Stephen- Your fine image captures the essence of the scene, the soft tones of the grasses & small hills in the background are a perfect setting for the old home slowly wasting away in this quiet peaceful setting. You wonder how many generations were born in this big home,how many stayed to help work the land & others who chose to seek greener pastures& finally the great unanswerable question, why was the home abandoned.Whenever I revisit a number of old homes I start to feel a relationship developing, after all, we too are slowly wasting awayl Al in all,a very nice image,a visual pleasure just to sit & admire the scene. Best Regards-Ross P.S. Believe I have an answer for the leaning trees.If you open my file,"New Oct/12", the first four images cover the issues & the third one has all the comments.

And character.  One wonders why this house is in the barren landscape and when it was abandoned.  And how nature will take it down to make for grasslands.  It tells a story in other words.  I like the wide framing. I believe if looked at against a black or grey ground it would seem less flat and have enough shading.  I can see lots of people fiddling with the grass and punching up this or that.  But the result might not give it the same sense of place.  The hint of color is just about right.  Standing alone for a barn or whatever is nice landscape subject.  In short, I like it.  Warmth and sentiment is what is says, Stephen.  Alone,  although there may be a few wild fowl and field mice nesting in there somewhere. 

I'm going thru on your portfolio, enjoying the prairie images, specially those abandoned houses. Yes, when you get over 70, you start to get more and more nostalgic. I grown up in a farm because the war, before we get back to the city Budapest. The experience what I carrying with me is wonderful, thanks God.

Previously I commented on the flatness of the image and having time, I played with a little. Something like this or something between.

As you can see on the V2 I attaching, you have lots of detail of the underside of the clouds.

Greetings.

Bela