Opinions...

[Bujo]

Please tell me what you think.

[Mike]

The shaft of sunlight on the bricks above the fire is too bright, draws my eyes away from the man, if fact I didn't see him at first.

If you could have caught him with the hammer down towards the work, it would have been better, the hammer head blends into the back ground and is very hard to see.

I think that I woud have cropped it a little more, there is some dead space on the left and top of the photo that could be removed and that would have directed ones attention more quickly to the man and his work. It also would have removed him from dead center, which is a kind of no no.

All that being said, it is a nice shot, just needs a little tweaking and I wish I had shot that. Can you give us some details about where it was done?

Mike

[Kraellin]

i like the basic image and i think it would make a great photo art challenge.

i also think it could be cropped, but i'd go a bit more severe than mike. but, this is a personal preference and some of the charm and character of the shop gets lost with this. so, it's just an option; what do you want to emphasize, the man or the shop or both.

i also think there are some great opportunities here for photo manipulation. you could bring the fire closer, put some of those tools closer, crop the shot and still get all the character of the shop and the man into the shot.

Craig

[Duv]

I find it a powerful image from both perspectives. Personally, I would like to see more shadow detail..you can feel the age and dryness of the wood. Also, it may or may not be possible, but putting the main subject in "thirds" can be pretty powerful. For this, I simply exposed more of the shadow detail with Shadows/highlights in CS2. Bottom line..a pretty "striking" image.

Cheers

Dave

[Bujo]

The photo was taken at the Old Cowtown museum in Wichita, Kansas. It's a museum that's based in 1869 to 1877 or so. The blacksmith shop was one of many buildings with re-enactors there. Neat place.

Thanks for your opinions on the photo.

[Cassidy]

Hate to disagree with kraellin, but I think the surrounds add depth and perspective, love the photo

[Kraellin]

i also think it could be cropped, but i'd go a bit more severe than mike. but, this is a personal preference and some of the charm and character of the shop gets lost with this. so, it's just an option; what do you want to emphasize, the man or the shop or both.

there's no disagreement whatsoever, cassidy; i said 'could', not 'should'.

Craig

[Cassidy]

Good, no stompered egos then

[Mike]

Once again we have proved that art is in the eye of the beholder........

[Panpan]

I would make the lighting more dramatic (doh! "striking" already used ).

[ElectronicLady]

Originally Posted by Duv

putting the main subject in "thirds" can be pretty powerful. For this, I simply exposed more of the shadow detail with Shadows/highlights in CS2. Bottom line..a pretty "striking" image.

I'm a newbie. What do you mean by "thirds" and how was this accomplished by shadows/highlights?

[Duv]

ElectronicLady

My apologies. My post was quite horrendous. Two seperate thoughts. One was I thought the shadows were too deep..too much lost detail. I like to see more detail and lighten the shadows although deep shadows and higher contrast can make a very powerful image. Depends somewhat on the image perhaps.

The other thought was thirds..that is placing the important subject 1/3 from the top and 1/3 from the side. It's a technique to add power to an image that is well regarded. To give you an idea I've recropped to thirds. Again, for this image perhaps having the "smith" centred might be a better way to go. Ultimately, it's what you think..just be aware of the concept.

Cheers
Dave

[Bujo]

I almost forgot to post the original file. Here it is.

[Panpan]

Originally Posted by Bujo

I almost forgot to post the original file. Here it is.

Emphasis on the light coming from the forge and from the piece, detailed shadows, some saturation on the foreground tools. Frankly, I like this one best! As Duv suggests, it's a balance between power and detail. I'm for power here, especially for a forge.

Pierre

[Kraellin]

forgive me, bujo, but i've kind of gone into a challenge on this one. i think it's a great picture and so i offer up the excuse for hijacking your thread of that

i went a bit nuts with this. i tried a few scripts in psp 9 and liked one, but didnt like the very last action in the script. so, i read the script, followed it completely through manually, but left off the last action. from there, i went kind of haywire, so if you want to know the steps you'll have to go back in time and watch over my shoulder

i do think this would make a great mini-challenge pic though.

Craig