This was taken on an abandoned piece of property that I pass every time I drive into Ithaca. There’s a hugh beautiful barn in the back of the house and other building that I have always admired. Right next to this property is a large old graveyard with a pull over for cars to park. There’s a trail between the abandoned house and graveyard that fishermen use to walk down to the river which is an area that has beautiful Sycamore trees. I always think when I pass by that one day I’ll investigate the trail. I finally did that this winter. When I walked the trail it took me right pass this abandoned homestead. I was amazed to see that there was much more to this property than you could see from the road. It would take to long to describe this place, but I had a ball exploring and taking photographs. The image I’m posting was taken on this homestead.
Type of Critique Requested
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I rarely take non-nature images, but this old homestead inspired me to try. The first thing I saw was an old basketball hoop with it’s dilapidated net swaying in the wind. It was attached to a wall that had old yellow curling paint. It brought me back to my younger years when my dad nailed a basketball hoop to the only tree we had in our tiny back yard. It was only useful for practicing making baskets and not very far ones at that. I loved it anyway.
Technical Details
Sony a7r v 24-70mm @60mm
f/8
ss 1/160 handheld
ISO 640
This is really cool, Donna. I am brought back to my youth as well. As I look at this I get a sense of times past, with children tossing the ball, trying for the hoop. Pretty cool. The pealing paint and underlying aged wood adds to the sense of decay. I think the net is part of what makes the so compelling.
The hoop itself is fairly centered in the frame. I think if you cropped a bit off the right, moving the hoop a bit off center to the right, it would balance with the net which is swaying to the left. I believe that would add a bit of dynamics to the image. Also, I couldn’t help it, I had to see what it would look like in B&W…pretty fine if you ask me.
Oh I wish I was there to explore with you! Sounds heavenly. Now I no longer live in New England where I used to photograph old cemeteries, I have traded that for abandonment. On our way north to Minnesota I stopped to shoot several old buildings and would have done more, but for the car we took and our timeline.
Anyway, I like the varied textures here and the implied movement of the net. I don’t mind the centered placement here since the very even lines created by the siding make for a regular background that I think supports the subject well. You could, of course, play with crops to see if any work better.
Oh and this reminds me of when I finally stopped at a site that I couldn’t get to the first time because of very deep snow. From the road I couldn’t tell there was an old basketball hoop present, but there was!
@David_Bostock Hey David, I’m glad you like this one. I wasn’t sure how well it would be received. Great idea to try B&W, but my B&W processing is lacking. I am working on bringing my skill level up. I also wanted to try your suggestion on cropping a little off the RS. I posted a rework of my attempted B&W. Thanks.
@Kris_Smith I would gladly have had you there to give me tips on this type of photography. I viewed your images. Nice. Love the basketball hoop. They do bring back memories. We do have a lot of old barns and building here, but sometimes I don’t know if someone would come running out with a shotgun if they saw me snooping around . It’s hard to get good photos from the road.
I do too, but I think I can do a little better job of processing it. I didn’t take much time and as I said, my B&W processing needs some improving. Have a nice evening or I should say have a nice afternoon.
. It’s hard to get good photos from the road.