[Jim F]

I was playing with two ideas of contrast here : 1. the play of the deep blue skies off the starkness of the snow covered hill 2. the wire fence in the foreground with the buildings at the back. I brought the saturation up to deepen the blues and sharpened the image to help contrast the fence and buildings. My question is two fold: 1. does the contrasts of the photo work as is 2. would it be better cropping out the fence and focusing just on the hill and buildings. Leaving the fence in gives a DOF aspect but does leaving it in cause a 'clutter'? Any thoughts as always would be appreciated.

   

Camera Canon PowerShot SX50 HS
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 14.9 mm
ISO Speed 200

[Phil J]

Hi Jim,

Two part answer from me and I hope it helps in some way.

A) The blue of the sky completes the feeling of 'coldness'. Remember that Blue is generally regarded as a 'retreating and cold colour'. That being the case, it enhances the 'chill in the air' which is encapsulated in your photograph.

B) In my opinion, 'which is worth no more or less that anyone else's', the foreground fence frames the picture and provides it with a good grounding element whilst also lending a sense of perspective to your picture. It certainly doesn't clutter it up in any way. If you would like confirmation of this, fold a piece of paper and hold it over the fence on your own screen.

All in all I think it's a cracking good shot, well thought through, well framed and very well exposed. So give yourself a 'pat on the back', you have done a very good job. I'd love to see a large (A1) print of this photograph.

Regards.

Phil.

[kNox]

You had a great idea here - I tried the same concept back when I first got my camera ( http://500px.com/photo/5225532 ). That being said:

1. Yes, it does. It makes for a really awesome photo.

2. I would actually crop out the fence, it would draw the eye more on the buildings.

[Korry]

1. does the contrasts of the photo work as is

YES! Love the colors, love the sky, love the contrast and sharpness.

2. would it be better cropping out the fence and focusing just on the hill and buildings. Leaving the fence in gives a DOF aspect but does leaving it in cause a 'clutter'? Any thoughts as always would be appreciated.

From some other angle fence might work, but in this case I would remove it. I'll try to give you the answer not from technical aspect but from viewer point. All details on the photo should create a unity with eyes first falling on something special. In your case, something special is that gorgeous blue sky. With fence, viewer's eyes keep moving from sky to fence and back, and that creates confusion in viewers head and separates photo to equally important two parts with something white in the middle.

Fence doesn't make the photo bad, but I think it would be better without it.

[MrB]

Nice ideas about the contrasting elements in this shot, and my comments are contrasting with others here.

I think that the sky is a bit too dark, making the clouds also too dark. In fact, the whole image would benefit from a bit more brightness and contrast. Looking at the white surround of the forum page, the snow is quite grey by comparison, and yet it is obviously a bright sunny day.

You were quite right to include the fence. The photo needs some foreground interest, not just an expanse of snow - the fence post is a very strongly interesting element, due to its rotting wood texture and tones. It would have been good to see it down to ground level, and possibly a bit further away from the left hand side of the frame. The wires of the fence also make another contrast with the plain surface of the snow.

Just different opinions, of course.

Cheers.
Philip

[dianebaughn]

I was playing with two ideas of contrast here : 1. the play of the deep blue skies off the starkness of the snow covered hill 2. the wire fence in the foreground with the buildings at the back. I brought the saturation up to deepen the blues and sharpened the image to help contrast the fence and buildings. My question is two fold: 1. does the contrasts of the photo work as is 2. would it be better cropping out the fence and focusing just on the hill and buildings. Leaving the fence in gives a DOF aspect but does leaving it in cause a 'clutter'? Any thoughts as always would be appreciated.



Camera Canon PowerShot SX50 HS
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 14.9 mm
ISO Speed 200

Hi Jim, I love the High contrast it brings the temp into the photo and I would leave the fence in my opinion it is a great composition and the Fence moves you into the overall photo. :-) Great Pic!