la lune La Lune I

A very compelling photo. Quite a lot of texture explored here. The centered composition works, especially as it seems to intentional, where the tree is centered against the structure and the moon is centered above it all. The slight diagonal of the path in the foreground gives the photo a nice sense of movement. Very nice gradation in the sky which is its own textural component, against the grasses below. There's a stillness to this, but the energy of it makes it anything but complacent. It keeps me riveted.

I agree with Fred. It's an interesting series and this is the best of the pictures in my estimation. It has a the feeling of a seasonal ritual, maybe a ceremonial celebration of the winter solstice. The middle

positioning of the barn, moon and tree reinforces the impression of something central to the community, annually experienced and carefully attended.

The inclusion of the moon is crucial in this photo.  It's possible to crop it out and still have a good shot, but it wouldn't have the interest or impact it does here.  The moon offers not only a visual focal point in the dark sky, but like Jack is suggesting, it also creates a sense of cosmic order and rhythm - a music of the spheres.  The rural setting reminds us that agrarian societies are more in tune with cosmic cycles than urban ones.  Landscape photos don't often include the moon (a couple of Ansel Adams photos come to mind as exceptions), and here you have not only included it, but you have made it central to the photo.  Both the building and the tree direct the eye upward to it.  To me, it is reminiscent of scenes in 2001- A Space Odyssey, where the moon appears over the black monolith.  I can hear Thus Spake Zarathustra as my eye follows the tree to the moon.

An interesting  work. What "cat's the central composition is the semi round  entrance that leads the eye to the center of the details, and the semi lune ends the " circle "!

It is a very smart work of art, Wolfgang. The B/W  and middle tones  are very beautiful, and are fitting to the whole.

many thanks for your comments and thoughts - very interesting to read!

Although I can't deny that Ansel Adams photo's had big impact to me (maybe they even revealed to me the power photos can have), I didn't have his photos in mind in particular - rather in general the role the moon plays in art in general. Though, I deliberately tried to avoid any heavy symbolism and tried to use it as a remote counterpart to the earthly landscapes.

The centered composition (on the horizontal axis) aims at a calm atmosphere thus emphasizing the tension on the vertical axis.