old house with birch

please view larger, comments appreciated, thank you!

I love the bright blue against all of the white. Nice composition. Lovely Image!

Wonderful winter shot! Lovely composition! 6/7a. Best regards.

So awesome, Dick. What an eye. The coloured shutters make this the awesome shot that it is. 7/7 Wonderful work, my friend. Regards, Lawrence.

555

The old white paint contrasting with the new white snow is what does it for me'

The blue shutters really make this photo work. It is well composed and full of interesting detail. Very nice winter image!

Thank you all for your very kind comments!

On the surface a wonderful Winter scene, however, the old building with peeling paint and deteriorating windows contrasts with the bright blue shutters and the evergreen tree cutouts of a building that once held pride of ownership. A photograph with a story, even if untold.... Mike

 

Edit: Tried to put 7's in here, but restricted... 7/7 anon.

 

 

This is an elegant and superbly crafted composition. I am not sure that you could have set this up any better. Perfectly exposed too. At first I contemplated what this would look like in black and white (and I still do); but I think you've probably chosen the proper presentation here. I wish that the footprints were not visible just to the right of the birch. What about cloning out the two smallish black spots along the base of the image in the snow? A truly wonderful fine art image, Richard! Happy Holidays to You and Yours! Cheers! Chris

 

P.S. BTW, this has gone straight into "My Favorites" folder.

Thank you so much, Mike and Chris!

 

Mike, this old house was an administrator's residence for a state mental hospital which closed in 1994. The grounds now house a new medium security state correctional facility. The old hospital buildings still exist and have many interesting architectural features. My neighbor works for the prison and I've been considering asking him if I could tour the old buildings with my camera.

 

Best wishes of the season to you and your family,

 

Chris, I am very flattered by your kind comments! The black spots in the foreground are leaves. I considered cloning them out but decided that it looked more natural to leave them in. The ripples in the snow to the right of the tree are just natural variations in the snow. This was a very quick shot and I'm considering returning with a tripod to see if I can achieve sharper detail.

 

My best to you and yours also,

 

Dick

Lovely points of color here. Merry Christmass..... Feliz Navidad :-)

A very cool, crisp production. Simple but superb....Regards

Beautiful image with wonderful colour-effect. Best regards.

Thank you very much, Jose, Keith and Sumon!

As previously mentioned, the blue shutters are the icing on the cake, great texture and the composition works great, nice work!

Thanks very much, Tim!

Beautiful scene. The shutters make it for me. Although I will tell you that I think there is a second image there that might be better in black and white. Block off the shutters on each side and see what you thing of that smaller simpler shot.

Thanks, Dave! I've been thinking about several variations of this and trying a black and white version. Something to try over this holiday break.

 

Best wishes to you and your family for the holidays!

 

Dick

I'm a sucker for birch trees, Dick (many summers spent in Michigan, where my dad was born). But the thing about birch trees is that they're always the bride's maid, and never the bride. They're the frosting on some other visual cake. In this case, your great find (that structure, with those great shutters and siding textures) could be any number of places... but the birch trees bring it all home, geographically.

 

Love the way that the siding and birches echo each other in size, tone, and markings... with that perpendicular twist. Deft handling on the treacherous snow exposure situation, too! Great eye, Dick. It's a timeless image that manages to still be fresh and compelling. Stay warm!

Thanks very much, Matt! This represents the Michigan that I fell in love with as a kid, not the one that is currently making headlines. I used to come up here from Ohio every summer with my uncle to fish and then I got a chance to move here from Chicago in 1984. Never looked back. I have found the snow to be a little tricky.

 

My best to you and your family for the holidays!

 

Dick