The Yellow Door

The caption says it all. Your comments and critiques are invited

and most welcome. If you rate harshly or very critically, please

submit a helpful and constructive comment; Please share your

superior knowledge to help improve my photography. Thanks! Enjoy!

John

The color is great. I like the saturation of the yellow and the way the white looks next to it. The hint of the bench on the right is just enough to offset the vertical lines of the rest of the image.

For me, the curve painted on the ground is unfortunate as it doesn't seem to fit with the straight lines of the rest of the image. Others may well prefer it there, but I think it would be better if the ground weren't painted on.

The perspective is throwing me off a little. Is the door really wider at the top than it is at the bottom? It just feels a little unnatural for some reason I can't quite put my finger on.

Nice shot. The color is very striking.

I like your analysis.

This photo, which stands primarily as a 'color' photo because of its striking yellow color and its contrast with the whites in the frame, is primarily a photo about the lines that comprise the photo: the straight but slightly unparallel lines of the door, creating something that is not a complete parallelogram, the lines and cross-hatch of the bench, and the straight and curving line of the protective line that shows where the door might open (protective line).

Having the lines of the door 'in perspective' and not truly parallel was a conscious choice.

Note how the blacks also complement each other --- the asphalt (decking if you well -- this is on a pier), and the door handle and latch).

This is a more complex photo than it appears, but still it's simple.

And it's got twice as many ratings already as photos I've posted recently that are 10 times as good.

Amazing.

Thanks for wading in; I like what you wrote.

John (Crosley)

You're right about the blacks. Thanks for pointing that out and adding that perspective. With that in mind, I can see how all of the colors are "paired" yet seperate. Looking at it that way, the path of the opening door painted on the ground works a little more for me. I still wish it weren't curved though. And I suppose if I wanted to be stubborn I could argue that the door and the wall are distinct sections of yellow even without the yellow on the ground.

Still a very striking image even if you don't consider it one of your "best".

This has been productive dialogue, the kind I never think of when I post a photo -- I'm of the Justice Potter Stewart school (as when he wrote about pornography: I can't -exactly- define it, but I know it when I see it.

I take photos inchoately, and then the analysis comes later.

I'm trying to learn how to describe how to 'take' a photo, by analyzing it first and make a 'recipe' for situations, but the most I've been able to do is heighten my awareness -- still a laudable result.

Best to you.

John (Crosley)

I had to look up "inchoately".

But I completely agree. The analysis comes after the fact.

Descriptive critique is something I am making an effort to learn to do better. I usually like or dislike something instinctively the moment I see it. But taking the next step to analyze and consider why (and it turns out there is always a reason) has been very valuable.

As for recipes, I don't even think they are a good thing (aside from technical rules of thumb for camera settings in certain situations). I think awareness is a much better goal. You need the freedom to notice the kinds of things that might make for a good image and snap away. I would hate to miss a great shot because it didn't quite fit the recipe I was trying to force on it.

... and even after several visits, I am still finding a lot to like about this yellow door.

You have a portfolio full of supersaturated colors -- photos of 'found' situations, isolated into photos of sheer beauty -- and seem to find such photos nearly everywhere at an enormous clip.

I thought I'd stop a moment from my usual shooting and post something like you shoot, to add to the various genres that I normally post.

I'm glad to see from 'details' that you stopped by and liked this photo very much.

For me, variety is the spice of life; and I long to be a pure Renaissance man with a camera and not to be placed in any one 'niche'.

John (Crosley)