Razor sun

pursuer · Apr 6, 2005

first of all what do you guys think of the idea, is it to simple/boring?

The other thing i'm wondering about is the second version. I thought the sky was a little boring so I replaced the sky in the second version with one from another of my photos. What do you think about manipulations like this in general? How common are they? Would something that has been manipulated in this way ever be published or is this kind of thing frowned upon by serious photographers? I would love to hear some opinions on this subject. I like the second version much more then the first, but then again it's not exactly real now is it.

blitz · Apr 6, 2005

eh i think proffesional photographers always use photoshop to change the backgrounds and i think you did quite a good job with it

chroix · Apr 6, 2005

I like the first one. Maybe if you blurred the clouds a little in the second one to give a DOF effect. It's always better to get the shot straight out of the camera making minor adjustments in PS ideally, but in my book everything is changing and if it makes it better than it is better. The making it better part is very important. It is very easy to make things worse.

JohnMF · Apr 6, 2005

I too actually prefare the first one, not just the clouds but the colour tone you've captured

Unimaxium · Apr 6, 2005

In the second one it looks like the perspective in the sky is going the wrong way. But I'm not sure. But other than that, good job replacing the background. Although I do prefer the first one overall.

JamesD · Apr 6, 2005

I like the first one better, as well. It's simpler; the second seems really busy. Also, I like the contrast of the first. The second is more uniform and seems darker overall. It doesn't seem as though, if it were natural, the lighting which would be present in the second would be likely to produce the sillouhette of the wire--although that's probably just perception on my part. In the original, the way the tones of the clouds work around the circular wire is, in my opinion, very effective. Finally, I'm not sure whether it's my imagination... but if it isn't, I like the cropping of the first better.

pursuer · Apr 7, 2005

Thanks for all your comments,
Well it's clear everyone prefers the first version, the second version is a little dark. They are both duotones, I should have choosen more similar colors. The crops are slightly different and they have been resised to be the same hieght so the second one ends up looking narrower. What do you think of the Idea itself?

JamesD · Apr 7, 2005

I like the idea. The photograph appeals to me. And I've seen a lot of razor wire and concertina wire in my time, in many contexts. Looking at this photo brings a lot of connotations to my mind, and the beauty of it is that the complex "feeling" is generated by so simple an image. Plus, it's attractive.

:thumbup: Thumbs up.

thebeginning · Apr 7, 2005

yep. first one. sometimes 'basicness' is a good theme for a photo, and should not be looked down upon. I find minimal photos quite compelling actually. a photo with a few (or one) small (yet 'weighty') things going on is better IMO than one with alot of stuff going on.

Cole_Alex · Apr 8, 2005

I really like the 1st one. Not to discredit the hard work you did putting in the different background in the 2nd but the more detail in the clouds the more I feel they pull you away from and compete with the main subject...the razor wire. the only thing I would change if I could would be to try to get more detail out of the razor wire. If it were old and rusted the texture would be good(my opinion take as you will) I think this is a great capure...defenatly keep up the good shooting and post often.

alex