The Last Supper? (Please view large)

I actually find beauty in things that are in a state of decay or

disrepair. Does this have appeal to anyone else?

Great title and a great image, Christal.  I probably would have passed this by without another thought, but you have turned it into a work of art.  Very well done.  Your composition is spot on.

From your statement, no wonder we get along so well ;-)

I, too, love old stuff in disrepair and have always said I'd love to travel the backroads of the US and take a book full of images of just old barns and houses.  Alas, we never get around to it.  I like this shot and would like to see it with a tad tighter cropping, but I've made a few adjustments for you to consider.  Even though a winter scene I feel the late afternoon sun is really warmer than this so I've warmed the tones somewhat.  f/8 has left much of the background relatively sharp which pulls my eye away from the subject so I've added some faux-DOF with gaussian blur.  Not to say what I've done is better, just something to think about.

Regardless, a good eye to see and record this old table that has undoubtedly seen a lot of fun family outings...  Mike

Bill.....thanks!  Glad you like it!  I really like these kinds of shots, but they don't hold particular appeal to most people.  Hey, I actually have another shot I'd like you to see......in fact, it's dedicated to you and all of your deer shots.  Hope you like it.   http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=16646522

Mike.....I'm so excited that you took the time to critique this because I'm learning something from it!  I'm going to be really honest with you.....I still have no earthly idea how to do layers or most special effects on the computer.  It's my goal....God only knows when I'll get around to it.  But I was able to more or less accomplish the Gaussian blur on the background.  (I used the marquee tool, then applied the blur).  But how do you keep the branches around the picnic table sharp when you apply blur to the row of trees in back?  Some of the branches extend up in to the tree line.  I do think your ideas improve the image, so thanks for your efforts.  Also, when you cropped, did you keep the ratio the same?  I can't seem to get quite the same crop as you did.  I like that you've put the large tree trunk on the right edge, which serves to anchor the shot a little better.

Uh, LOL... I didn't crop it, only talked about it.  I don't do layers and all that stuff either and in this case just used the Lasso Tool to create a circular area around the table and foreground, right click to get a dialog box and select (this is all with PhotoShop Elements) "Feather" and 50 pixels (with a full size image you may have to use 150 pixels to keep the edge soft); right click again and select "Select Inverse".  Now you can go to your toolbox and apply the Gaussian Blur to taste. When you have what you want, right click again and select "Deselect".

This technique can be used to create an irregular shaped vignette as well.  When you get to the step above about blurring, just use the Light Levels tools instead and darken the perimeter to taste, or do both blurring and levels.  You'd never guess I'm married to a retired Home Ec teacher would you, note my "to taste" directions ;-)...  Mike

That's weird about the crop.....on my monitor yours definitely looks cropped because I don't see any daylight at all to the right of the big tree, and it also looks like there is some off the bottom.  It's also hard to compare because your version comes across huge on my monitor.....can't figure out why.  Oh well.....never mind about that. 

The other stuff......gosh, Mike, you make it sound so easy.  I'm using Elements 10, and it doesn't exactly have the steps you mentioned, and I'm just not good enough with this stuff to figure it out.  I also have CS4, which if I'm going to take that photo class I told you about a while back, I'll need to upgrade to CS6.  I haven't even figured out CS4 yet.  I certainly don't feel like I need the latest editing programs, but this class requires that program.  So we'll see......I'm still trying to figure all of that out.

Thanks for your detailed tutorial.  I'll try again when I have time.....and maybe get Norm to help.  He doesn't know the first thing about photo editing, but he's more intuitive on the computer than I am. 

Christal,

Yes, me too!

And, I agree with Bill about the fitting image title. I especially like the composition with the two picnic tables still in usable condition in the background.

I like what Mike did in blurring the tree line, but I also like the original as it is.

A very nice dilapidated table!

Regards always,

Jim j.

I really like the way this image evokes the feeling of fall around the back roads. Great title too.

All my best,  Bill

Looks like your Parks Department has the same budget restrictions as ours.  Everyone seems to be over spent these days.  All is not lost however, this little gem could have a new career as campfire fuel.  Just a matter of time.  Bring on the hot dogs and marshmallows!  Oh, yah, Happy New Year!  LM.

Wonderful image an I also like what Michael did. There is not much for me to add but I will pass on something which I received in the distant past. If you are going to print and frame this, many people place a 'matte' which tends to cut off a bit of the edge. In this case it would probably bite into a piece of the tree trunk on the right. I would have given just a tad more space on the right side.

I think it is  a beautiful compoaition.Mike boost is a nice one as it add a difference to the FG vs, the BG. In any event I like the added "green" on the bence ,and the  scene that  looks a  real winter one with a lot of  riminders of the summer...

 Wanted to add my wishes for the new year to you and yous.A lot of creation in music and photography.

I'm just seeing some of these comments.....sorry for the tardy reply.  Thanks for your visits and comments, and I hope you all are enjoying a good start to the New Year as well. 

Very nice mood and nice compostion! Well done Christal! B/R Sadegh

I'm not quite sure how I happened  to miss this one! But I'm so pleased I spotted it now.  The decomposing bench is a reassuring sight that confirms to me that nature will always find a use for its natural materials and the recycle process continues long man has used it and disposed of it. 

I'll bet it could tell a few stories too! 

Great find and well photographed with the "newbies" in the background.

Best Regards 

Alf 

Who, me like decay and disrepair??? This is great and I certainly would not have passed it by.

As you may know, I'm a big fan of decay and decomposition, whether it's societal or organic. An interesting irrelevancy that came to mind while viewing this is a comment by I know not whom that if insects died off, homo sapiens would be extinct in 50 years. If homo sapiens died off, the earth would be much healthier in 50 years. I don't know why, but that's sobering to me.

Cheers

Natural decay is the course of things......it's the man-made destruction of our planet that rouses my ire.  Thank you all for your visits and comments.