Contemplative At Sunset_2

I had earlier posted this image in landscape format leaving empty space

ahead of the elderly lady; a state with many people at this age. I am not

sure if this space had the desired effect. One member Olaf de Vries made

an observation on half windows. I am posting this image in portrait format

keeping the windows uncropped.

Thank you for comparing the two images and your thoughts. The earlier

image is included below.

The earlier post of this image in landscape format.

I think each crop tells a slightly different story and probably prefer this one a bit, although the horizontal crop feels a little more photographically natural for this type of scene. The vertical crop does save the windows from being chopped, which is a plus, but also doesn't really feel quite right, in that the story is more about the woman and dog and not much of interest is going on above her. Beautiful late afternoon light. More than the crop or the status of the windows, I'd say a problem here is not enough detail in the dog. I can barely make out that his head is turned back toward his body and it kind of looks more like a mass. If you could post process or could have shot originally in such a way as to separate his head more from his body, I'd have much more of a sense of this little fellow.

I prefer the vertical format. The woman is a vertical element and with the windows intact there is a rhythm of the vertical elements. There is enough of the wall stretching from her to let the viewer imagine her contemplating some future. It would be nice if the dog were more legible, but since the viewer is so drawn to the setting sun on her face it is not necessary and might be a distraction. Thanks for posing the question. It got me thinking. emb