Here in Northern Wisconsin we have a lot of abandoned stuff - mostly farms, but occasionally houses without farmland attached. This is one. It’s just down the road and I pass it all the time. That said I was waiting for the right conditions to shoot it. When it got foggy, I hit the road. The puddle was pure luck, but one I was happy to take advantage of and centered my composition around the reflection.
I’ve included this one for critique because it still looks like this pretty much and I can get to it easily. Most other things I’ve shot are who-knows-where in the wilds and windings of the state and aren’t easy to shoot again (I just get in the car and drive to see what I can see).
FYI - to the left and behind is a square building that isn’t so dilapidated because it never caught fire. It isn’t pretty or interesting and has some junk stacked around it so I left it out. To the right and in front slightly is a shed that’s been stripped of its walls and the roof has caved in, so I left that out as well.
While this property isn’t posted, it is on a fairly busy road. I suppose I could poke around, but it wouldn’t be stealthy.
Specific Feedback Requested
How else would you like to see this house presented? Do you want to see the ruined outbuildings? Different light? More natural processing? Sometimes it’s hard to be creative with rural decay.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Panasonic G9
LUMIX G VARIO 12-35/F2.8
17.0 mm (34.0 mm in 35mm)
Aperture f/9
1/160 sec
ISO 200
Handheld
Desaturated greens and emphasized yellows in Lr, general sharpening & clarity…probably a bit of lens correction for a more life-like stance. Can’t remember too much since it was almost 2 years ago that I shot this.
It looks pretty good as is. It has a very forlorn look, but maybe bring down the middle tones and make it even more bleak? An experiment, anyway. Also, for next time, maybe get down low and get more of the house against the gray sky, making it stand out more from the tree? Like I said, I like it as is, but thinking out loud on a couple things to play with and see how they work.
Pretty darn good as is, Kristen, I like the reflection, but would see another with the melting snow line near the building as a starting point and a larger image of the dilapidation , those windows are reek distress and I like how the foundation looks very square and strong. Everything else looks a wonderful shipwreck quality. Like to see the shed when the time seems right. Good monotone by the way.
Thanks Stephen, A wider shot is certainly possible, but you’re going to have to wait for any snow melt. We got another 8 inches of powder yesterday (yay!!). Hopefully it holds this kind of splayed attitude through spring. There’s a vertical-log cabin just down the road and it’s completely collapsed now. When I photographed it a few years ago it had a big hole in the roof so it was only a matter of time.
That house has definitely seen it’s better days. I agree with most of what Stephen suggested. I would simplify the image by removing the puddle and earth. I would them fade the darker tones of the bg behind the house. The house stands out now but I would make it stand out more. I think the reflection would have been more effective without the brown earth around it. Also, you could get closer and try different angles to exaggerate the leaning of the house. One of the first things that struck me was the trees rising above the roof of the house. I would either wait for stronger fog, or shoot upward, or process the bg as suggested. The house has great potential and just needs more experimentation.
