Abstracts from the Farm

[sm4him]

This Saturday, I went to a wildlife refuge near my home--one of those places I've always meant to go to, and never gotten around to visiting. I'll be going back, soon.
(For a story about the adventure I had just getting there, visit my blog, link in sig)


I've already posted one photo from the trip, here.
That was probably my best shot of the day.

But I also walked down to the Homestead (this is a 360-acre wildlife refuge was once a farm, and the family donated it to the Legacy Parks foundation to create a wildlife refuge--the original house, barn and a couple of other buildings are still there)--I never made it up the hill to the house. I stopped at the barn first, and spent over two hours there. I could EASILY have spent several more hours on this property, but I stayed far longer than I'd intended to that day.

The following are some abstracts from around the barn:

1.



2.



3.



4.

DSC_0148editweb by sm4him, on Flickr

Comments are always appreciated!

 

[Derrel]

Oh, man, these are good. Wow!

 

[jamesbjenkins]

Fantastic.

4 is my fave.

 

[pgriz]

It takes a good eye to see beauty in decreptitude. Line, pattern, shape, contrast - each illustrates a different approach. well done, Sharon!

 

[mishele]

I'm diggin #4. Great find, Sharon!!

 

[FanBoy]

#2 looks like a world map! :mrgreen: I like the color on this one.

 

[otherprof96 37]

Great images!

 

[KenC]

Good stuff! My only quibble is the very bright spots in the upper left of the first one. I'd crop most of that area and darken the rest. #4 is my favorite - I'm not that crazy about that dark line on the right pointing out of the image - OK so the other one wasn't actually "my only quibble" - so sue me - just doin' my best here.

 

[cgipson1]

love #1....

 

[sm4him]

Thanks, everyone!! I really appreciate the comments! #4 seems to be a consensus favorite--it was my favorite of the abstracts as well, but I just had a GREAT time hunting for them--these were the best of the lot this time, but there are several more that I want to redo the next time I get out there, which will be SOON. Great place to spend a day, or three--wildlife, macro shots, landscapes AND abstracts all abound, just waiting for me to get back to them...

#2 looks like a world map! :mrgreen: I like the color on this one.

Interesting; thanks for the comment, because that is exactly what attracted me to this in the first place. This is part of an old hitching post that has been painted, evidently about 118 times.

Good stuff! My only quibble is the very bright spots in the upper left of the first one. I'd crop most of that area and darken the rest. #4 is my favorite - I'm not that crazy about that dark line on the right pointing out of the image - OK so the other one wasn't actually "my only quibble" - so sue me - just doin' my best here.

I agree that the upper left corner is too bright; that bothered me, but not enough to crop it out and lose the equivalent area of the scalloped edge in the foreground. The problem was that my light was changing constantly; it was getting pretty windy and one minute the sun would be completely obscured by clouds, and within seconds, the clouds would blow off and the sun would burst forth. It was also hard to get a good angle on this where I didn't get the blown-out spots, but still picked up the colors and shininess of the metal.

Here's another one that's closer to what you're describing--I like it, but imo, it's a little "flatter" than the other. What do the rest of you think? Which do you prefer?

 

[charlie76]

Yep...great textures! I like em all!

 

[cgipson1]

I actually like the second #1 better!

 

[KenC]

Here's another one that's closer to what you're describing--I like it, but imo, it's a little "flatter" than the other.

I like the second one better. It may seem "flatter" because the highlights near the edge are brighter in the first one and the dark areas a little darker. The second could be modified in this way.

 

[Dagwood56]

These are fantastic!! I love them all, but the first two are my favorites. Great work!!

 

[CherylL1]

I love #4. If you don't mind me asking, was wondering how you shot these. For example, did you take multiple photos at different exposures to get the one you liked best? What is your thought process on capturing these images? Thanks.