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1

Kristen_SmithOctober 31, 2024_1008801.jpg
Kristen_SmithOctober 31, 2024_1008801.jpg2500×1326 2.38 MB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

This is a wonderfully whimsical pump house for an old, defunct cotton and wool mill that is behind me. Fulling and other processes in the textile industry were prone to fire due to the easy build up of static electricity combined with high temperatures, so having a supply of water under pressure was really important for safety.

It’s in rural Tennessee and there aren’t too many ways to photograph this since it’s right on the edge of the road. After getting a few photos from in front of that fence and on the stairs, I didn’t like them and so waited for everyone else to clear out. No one followed me across the road where I was able to get the fence into the shot which I think adds a lot. Funny since I think it creates a frame and information about how folks feel about their historic structures - they care for and maintain them, especially when one was built with such spirit of creativity; eschewing pedestrian design.

Specific Feedback

I switched to the Leica Monochrome profile for this one and tweaked the result in Lr. Does it work for you in B&W? I was looking for a somewhat somber, but not necessarily gloomy reaction to the photo. That it is an important, but mysterious little building that doesn’t at all reveal its purpose. Something you might stumble up on deep in the forest like a fairy tale. A little dark delight.

Technical Details

Handheld w/16:9 aspect ratio crop in camera as well as Leica Monochrome profile

Screenshot 2024-11-14 at 8.41.08 AM
Screenshot 2024-11-14 at 8.41.08 AM578×330 59.2 KB

Lr for all processing which was to maximize contrast while keeping some of the colorful foliage bright in the shot and to tone down the effect of the stair railing. Bumped texture & clarity quite a bit. Transform tool to correct geometry and a vignette.

Critique Template

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2

A very cool scene and I think you handled it well. I don’t know how to do it, but the brighter leaves might like to be even a bit brighter to raise the mood a little. I’m not sure what the little white stone structure is down at the bottom, but if it’s not integral to the image, I’d be tempted to remove it as I find it a bit of an eye attractant. I really like your decision to include the fence-it adds a lot to the scene.

3

Thanks @Dennis_Plank - I will load it up and mess with it more. It felt too forced, but maybe that was just me. And the little bit at the bottom is something else to do with the pumping mechanism to get the water across the road - could be hoses were hooked to it. I didn’t look that closely, but it could go.

4

What a gem!! It looks very European somehow. The B/W looks great, with a full tonal range but not harsh. The trees on either side are very interesting and I like the slightly off-center balance. I think removing the smaller structure would be a small but good simplification.

I love the split-rail fence and the leaf-covered FG, but my telephoto eye wants to get lost in the building and its surroundings. I could see a crop, or a darkening of the FG.