Hi everyone! My name is Jesse Brown Nelson and I am brand new to this network (still on a trial membership). I have been trying to fine tune my landscape photographs lately and have been looking for a place for real critique, so I was really interested when I heard about NPN.
If you have ever been to the Black Hills in South Dakota then you are probably familiar with Bear Butte. Its a massive dormant volcano that rises from the prairie at the base of the Black Hills. This barn is a barn that I have been trying to get a good shot of for a couple years now. For some reason, I really struggle with the composition here. The barn sits at a weird angle and its hard to line it up with the Butte. Had that cloud streak not have came in from the right side, I’m not so sure this composition would have worked.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Any and all. Does the barn look warped from the pano stitch?
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any and all. Should I have cropped out the fence post on the left edge?
Any pertinent technical details:
This is a Panorama stitched together from 5 vertical shots @ 24mm- 1/15 @ f13, ISO 800
Edited using luminosity masks in Photoshop.
Nikon D810, Tamron 24-70 2.8
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
Welcome Jesse. This is a great shot. The fence works for me as it helps draw the eye in along with the fence on the right. The only suggestion I’d make is to tame some of the blown highlights from the right side of the sky near the horizon. There also appears to be an unusually bright patch in the sky right next to the barn.
Thank you very much for taking the time to look. I definitely see the blown out highlights now. The bright patch next to the barn is natural but is distracting for sure. I will tame down the highlights when I re-process.
This is a really nice shot and I don’t have much to add to what Richard has already said. I don’t know if it was possible but in an ideal world I would like to see the butte centered in the opening in the fences. As to your questions, I think that the barn looks fine and I would leave the fence post as is.
Thanks for the input Tom. I totally wrestled with that idea for awhile. But it seemed that the more I moved to the right to center the Butte in the opening the less dramatic my leading lines became on that right side. I wish I would have shot both though!
Welcome to NPN. A very fine first post here! Composition works very well with the two fences and opening leading the eye in to the scene with the butte and sky as a wonderful backdrop.
The barn looks good regarding your question. Hard to be critical there anyway since most of these old barns are leaning one way or another, right? I really like the last light striking the barn as well.
I think the colors and processing in general are quite excellent. I can understand the comment about the light between the butte and the barn, but I think it’s just made noticeable because both the barn and butte are hiking the natural progression of light as you move away from the sun. Speaking of sun, I suppose you could bring down the brightness there, but again, we’re talking about the sun! So quite expect it to wash out there. I think this is well done all the way around.
Welcome aboard. Look forward to more images from you.
Welcome to NPN, Jesse, and you have a beautiful first post. I think you will find NPN to be a friendly, encouraging place where you can both receive and give honest critiques, but without the rancor and pettiness you unfortunately find on some sites.
I was immediately struck by the beauty of the light and by the scene. It’s pretty darn hard to find fault with this, but aside from what has already been mentioned (the brightness on the right side and the brightness of that small patch between the barn and mountain), the only other critique I have to offer is that the distortion of the barn caused by using a 24 mm lens is a bit distracting.
I downloaded the image and played with straightening the building a bit and also tried tp tone down the two bright areas a little. I’ll let you and other be the judge if it helps or hurts.
Thank you so much Lon! I look forward to spending more time on here. It seems like such a valuable resource! I plan on reprocessing this image with the great pointers I’ve picked up here.
Thanks Bill! This version looks great. There was something bugging me about the barn and you helped me see it! Now that dang highlight in the sky has got to go when I reprocess.
Jesse, I just used the Keystone tool in Capture One 12 to straighten the barn, but the same feature is in ACR and, probably Lightroom too. I wouldn’t worry too much about the bright area; after all, the sun is pretty darn bright and if you bring it down too much it’ll look unnatural.
A terrific image Jesse. The elements within the frame are diverse and interesting and I love how your composition has pulled everything together so wonderfully.
I like the slight changes Bill has suggested but other than those this is perfect.
I really like the last light striking the barn as well.