On the way to Minnesota for a workshop I had to stop for some little ruins in northern Wisconsin. I just loved this little house built using concrete blocks with a wooden roof. It’s not long for this world - check out the cracks. I took this a bit further north and a couple hours later than the barn I posted earlier. What a difference the sky makes.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
Here I am again, dithering over ditch weeds. Well cattails in this case. Do you prefer them in or out?
Technical Details
Handheld on a snowbank. Per usual.
Lr for all processing including a wb shift, pulled down highlights and blacks, pushed whites and shadows, added texture, clarity and sharpening. A little distraction removal. Small crop.
I like both images, but the first one is a bit simpler and my eye goes directly to the structure and tree. With the second one, my eye stops on the cattails first then shifts up to the main subject. I also think the processing/white balance is a bit more natural in the first one…so my vote for print-worthy version is number one.
Another wonderful, snowy winter scene! The first is nice and simple, but this time I like the foreground cattIauls. They just add something to the farm-like scene.
I wonder if you were blocked from being further right. Farther right and you might have been able to position the tree between the two house and shed(?), which might have looked cool as well.
Love your winter scenes, Kris!
Actually, I like the second one a bit better, the lower and slightly more to the left perspective has more appeal to me.
The gable end of the house seems to have more interest when compared to the front of the house and the second one shows that better IMHO.
The cattails are interesting and they seem to point toward the house, shed and tree like nature’s arrows pointing to elements of interest in the scene (that…and I happen to like cattails )
The technical aspects like exposure, focus, DOF, color, etc. are all in harmony with each other so no comment there except that they’re all well done as usual!
The sky and clouds are ideal for this scene.
It’s a shame that this little gem is too far gone, no chance of an economically feasible restoration here.
Thanks for the view of days gone by, my imagination can picture this as it was in it’s prime
Thanks guys. Glad some of you like these odd little rural scenes. I have more and can’t stop taking them and I’m glad I can share them here.
@David_Bostock - you eagle eye you. I played with the black point a little between the two photos. The cattails sort of soften the scene for me and make it more approachable if that makes sense, so I lifted the blacks a tiny bit and maybe went too far. Snow is a natural reflector and shadows are not as deep sometimes, but it can get out of hand in post.
@Mark_Muller - if I got further to the right I ran into a lot of saplings and other stuff that stuck straight up into the mid and foreground. If I went to the left there were some utility boxes and other ugly stuff next to what was the driveway. Compromises galore.
Yeah, it’s not long for this world once the roof goes and it will be toast, @Merv. After driving by a log cabin about 100 times without noticing it, I finally did so hustled myself over there when the conditions were right. A couple years later it has finally collapsed so I’m glad I made the time. Here’s the gallery for what it’s worth - https://wickeddark.smugmug.com/Abandoned/Cabin-on-E/
I had a quick look but I wanna go back later when I have more time to enjoy the details.
At the moment I need to make some parts for an old obsolete lawnmower starter motor Maintenance and repairs never end, but, I do enjoy working with my hands so I’m not complaining
What an amazing structure in perfect light!! I love the version with the cattails, but both are wonderful!
Just had an urge to play and pulled it up (the cattail version, but would work for both) and desaturated cyans, I thought the softer sky gave it an interesting look. I would limit it to the sky, though, and leave the bit of color in the snow. (Nothing special about just doing cyans – it was just a quick way to have a look at a softer sky.)
What a great image of this house in disrepair! I like it a lot. I prefer the image including the cattails, it gives depth to the image and I also like the horizontal lines made up by the cattails, the tracks in the snow and the fence.
I would have liked the large tree to have been separated from the house but I guess it was not possible to get a (good) image from such a viewpoint.
Thanks @Diane_Miller, @Ola_Jovall & @JohnSnell - glad you find this little scene interesting. I shoot a lot of this since there are no old cemeteries for me to play in here. And yeah, the stories the tree and house could tell. Sad ones for sure, but maybe happy ones, too. Interesting about the cyans…I’ll have to play with it myself when I get home. I’ll probably go with the cattail one. Without snow I could have walked up the driveway to get the tree separated, but winter, while lovely for light and simplifying theses scenes, is tough for composition - quite limiting.
Hey folks - we went up to Bemidji, Minnesota a couple weeks ago and passed this cute little abandoned house again so of course I had to stop. I like how different it feels in fall rather than winter and so thought I’d put up another shot for comparison.
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Maintenance and repairs never end, but, I do enjoy working with my hands so I’m not complaining