the Side of the Road

[The_Traveler]

The House by the Side of the Road

by Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911)

Let me live in a house
by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by
​

 

[Bender]

Good use of selective coloring. I would not have known what to look at without it.
If this is digital I might say to go with less added grain.

Nice shot.

 

[The_Traveler]

thanks,
will try with less grain

 

[FITBMX]

I like it, but I think there is to much grain as well.

 

[tirediron]

Lew... using selective colour???? What kind of crazy, mixed-up world is this???


Neat image!!

 

[KenC]

Just to put my two cents in, I like the grain, but not the selective color. I'd prefer cropping to make the tent larger, perhaps about a third on top, down to the overpass and a little on each side (imo, the buildings are just a distraction). Most likely this is better in B&W, but you could also consider partially desaturating everything in the original except the tent, so that it has more saturation than anything else, but not so much that the first thing through your mind when you look at it is: "hey look, only the tent is in color." YMMV, but that's my take usually on selective color.

 

[The_Traveler]

Just to put my two cents in, I like the grain, but not the selective color. I'd prefer cropping to make the tent larger, perhaps about a third on top, down to the overpass and a little on each side (imo, the buildings are just a distraction). Most likely this is better in B&W, but you could also consider partially desaturating everything in the original except the tent, so that it has more saturation than anything else, but not so much that the first thing through your mind when you look at it is: "hey look, only the tent is in color." YMMV, but that's my take usually on selective color.

The following is meant without rancor but in truth.

Clearly, since I made the decision to use selective color no matter how others feel about it, I wanted to do it that way.
Telling me how you would take and compose and edit this picture isn't c/c of what you see in front of you and, tbh, is derogatory to photographers in general.
I daresay that you wouldn't tell someone who worked in oils that you didn't like their choice of color or brush or perspective or subject.
You, and others, may not like this picture at all - no problem but when you redo it in the abstract because you value your artistic vision over mine, I stop listening.

 

[Civchic]

Well said, Lew.

 

[KenC]

Just to put my two cents in, I like the grain, but not the selective color. I'd prefer cropping to make the tent larger, perhaps about a third on top, down to the overpass and a little on each side (imo, the buildings are just a distraction). Most likely this is better in B&W, but you could also consider partially desaturating everything in the original except the tent, so that it has more saturation than anything else, but not so much that the first thing through your mind when you look at it is: "hey look, only the tent is in color." YMMV, but that's my take usually on selective color.

The following is meant without rancor but in truth.

Clearly, since I made the decision to use selective color no matter how others feel about it, I wanted to do it that way.
Telling me how you would take and compose and edit this picture isn't c/c of what you see in front of you and, tbh, is derogatory to photographers in general.
I daresay that you wouldn't tell someone who worked in oils that you didn't like their choice of color or brush or perspective or subject.
You, and others, may not like this picture at all - no problem but when you redo it in the abstract because you value your artistic vision over mine, I stop listening.

I didn't mean to offend and I'm sorry that my post caused any.

I tend to critique in large part (perhaps too large) by stating how I think the image could be better, so that often the critique becomes implicit in my statement of what I would change. I did say that "imo, the buildings are just a distraction" which is a critique. Ditto for the comments on selective color.

Finally, I am not saying I do not like this; in fact I found it moving and effective, but it just struck me as something that could be even better, so I offered an opinion, which as always is just one subjective opinion. I have a lot of respect for your artistic vision, so again I am sorry to have caused any distress.

 

[Gary A.]

Just to put my two cents in, I like the grain, but not the selective color. I'd prefer cropping to make the tent larger, perhaps about a third on top, down to the overpass and a little on each side (imo, the buildings are just a distraction). Most likely this is better in B&W, but you could also consider partially desaturating everything in the original except the tent, so that it has more saturation than anything else, but not so much that the first thing through your mind when you look at it is: "hey look, only the tent is in color." YMMV, but that's my take usually on selective color.

The following is meant without rancor but in truth.

Clearly, since I made the decision to use selective color no matter how others feel about it, I wanted to do it that way.
Telling me how you would take and compose and edit this picture isn't c/c of what you see in front of you and, tbh, is derogatory to photographers in general.
I daresay that you wouldn't tell someone who worked in oils that you didn't like their choice of color or brush or perspective or subject.
You, and others, may not like this picture at all - no problem but when you redo it in the abstract because you value your artistic vision over mine, I stop listening.

I'm a bit hesitant to jump in here ... with the lions and all ... but ... here we go. I'm not a fan of selective color at all, but (the big but), it works for me in this image. Bravo. The grain is a bit excessive ... your subject matter doesn't have the strength to compete against the distracting grain. Your strong B&W lines surrounding the 'colored' tent and the block monothetic structure towering above the tent adds significant content and meaning to the image The coloration is subtle and the grain is a veil adding to or even creating the subtle quality of the subject.

"... I see from my house by the side of the road
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife,
But I turn not away from their smiles and tears,
Both parts of an infinite plan-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man. ..." -Sam Walter Foss

Well done.
Gary

 

[wbarthur]

very Schindler's List. Nice work

 

[Braineack]

Lew... using selective colour???? What kind of crazy, mixed-up world is this???


Neat image!!

He actually intended to use it as he took this shot.

 

[sm4him]

I like this quite a lot, captured just as it is. For me, the buildings are an absolutely essential part of the overall image, as they provide a context and a "feeling" to the untold story I see in this photo--without the buildings, I don't know, I might still like it but it would be completely different.
It's also an excellent example of selective coloring, not only an example of when selective coloring can actually work, but also very well-executed (i.e., the selectively colored item is not so powerfully saturated that it is ALL you can focus on in the image, as is often the case even in photos where s.c. could actually work well).

 

[The_Traveler]

I didn't mean to offend and I'm sorry that my post caused any.

I tend to critique in large part (perhaps too large) by stating how I think the image could be better, so that often the critique becomes implicit in my statement of what I would change. I did say that "imo, the buildings are just a distraction" which is a critique. Ditto for the comments on selective color.

Finally, I am not saying I do not like this; in fact I found it moving and effective, but it just struck me as something that could be even better, so I offered an opinion, which as always is just one subjective opinion. I have a lot of respect for your artistic vision, so again I am sorry to have caused any distress.

Not offended at all, and from our past interactions, I am certain that you were absolutely not trying to do so.
All critiques tread a fine line between helping the maker refine their own work and changing the work to what we would do.
In reacting to what you said, I realized that I am surely as guilty of overstepping that line as anyone here and I have resolved to be more careful about my own comments.

Thanks.

Lew

 

[Fred Berg]

Including the extract from the poem influences the viewers' response to this image so that critique of it as is is no longer possible.