old courthouse

[kathleen]

i have worked on this a good while and think i am done, but i would appreciate your input.

i am most concerned about
1 whether it appears straight,
2 the two trees - there was not much in the original but fluff - do i need to do more (or less?)
3 i know you're not supposed to put your center of interest splat it the middle, and i have, but it seems best here. what do you think?

your criticism and suggestions would be welcome.

[CJ Swartz]

Kathleen,
It is a beautiful version of the building and its grounds. Grading it strictly on its own merits as an image -- it is quite lovely! The building appears square and true to my eyes, the trees quite believable and attractive, the details of the building are visible enough to both identify it and show its sign of age and character. The clouds look believable although the brightness level of the whitest one is blown-out.

To my tastes, the central placement of the building works for this image -- the symmetry of the architectural elements is not intended to be exciting, but instead to show a level of stabilty over time.

I don't know where you discovered the details in the inscribed name, the clock, etc., (added or found within the image?), but I am impressed at what you were able to bring out based on the small version of the original you downloaded here.

It is a very lovely image on its own, and as a retouch of the original -- it is a well-manipulated improvement. Excellent work!

[roger_ele]

Everything CJ said, and it does lean slightttttttly to the right. The pillars in the middle should be vertical - the lean on the windows at the edge of the image should lean in at the same angle (the ones on the left lean in, the ones on the right are vertical). I aslo find the flecks of color in parts og the sky to be so much more than the look of the building that it stands out as a little distracting. Maybe a ltttle blur and desaturate in the sky areas that have that look ...

Good work, roger

[kathleen]

thanks cj, roger, pm for your comments

cj, glad you like it. the only thing that was added was the flag, the rest was all there. i thought that people who know the building would prob like this, and im very grateful to know that someone who doesn't know it likes it too.

roger, i couldn't make up my mind on the lean, did some asymmetrical transfroming and think i got the pillars out of whack while adjusting the rest. i'll give that sky another pass.

pm, sometimes i thought it looked squinched; and both trees gave me a run for my money. that's why i asked. thanks for your input.