Country life

[RobN185]

East Sussex sheep farm.

 

[timor]

It is not a country life, it is a country landscape. Compo is good, but why the sky is so empty ? Heavy overcast or fog ?

 

[amolitor]

Interesting choice. There appears to be a thoroughly dodged region, or possibly a thoroughly burned area surrounding the region.

I find myself puzzled and interested in why you chose to so severely emphasize what is clearly already the main area of interest.

The composition, interestingly, *I* find to be the least interesting thing. Placing the building precisely on a 1/3x1/3 line feels trite. The area to the right of the fence feels cramped and out of balance relative to the foreground pasture area. The dodging emphasizes this sense of off-balance-ness.

If you're going for a weird off-kilter slightly creepy feeling, I think you need to push a bit harder. Dodge/burn more, and crop a little tighter to increase the sense of cramped unbalance. If you're going for a mellow bucolic country feeling, open up the right side of the frame and back off the extreme tonal range.

 

[RobN185]

It is not a country life, it is a country landscape. Compo is good, but why the sky is so empty ? Heavy overcast or fog ?

Overcast sky with bright haze behind the house (totally blown in the original), not foggy, just hazy.

Interesting choice. There appears to be a thoroughly dodged region, or possibly a thoroughly burned area surrounding the region.

I find myself puzzled and interested in why you chose to so severely emphasize what is clearly already the main area of interest.

The composition, interestingly, *I* find to be the least interesting thing. Placing the building precisely on a 1/3x1/3 line feels trite. The area to the right of the fence feels cramped and out of balance relative to the foreground pasture area. The dodging emphasizes this sense of off-balance-ness.

If you're going for a weird off-kilter slightly creepy feeling, I think you need to push a bit harder. Dodge/burn more, and crop a little tighter to increase the sense of cramped unbalance. If you're going for a mellow bucolic country feeling, open up the right side of the frame and back off the extreme tonal range.

No dodging, but a 100% yes to foreground and left side burning, the sky was pretty well blown, I wasn't trying for a creepy look, and I don't see the same cramped unbalance that you see?
The burning was to disguise a very boring foreground and left side (without it my eye lingered there too long), and IMO the obvious fact that the final focal point is dead on the 1/3rd it does not warrant your "trite" comment, but generally thanks for your observations and suggestions.

 

[amolitor]

Obviously we see somewhat different things, all I can report is what I see, eh?

The "crampedness" I feel is pretty specific, and is all about the area to the right of the fence and below that first horizon line where the building is. That's quite a narrow triangle and, to me, it has the lion's share of the visual interest of the photo. So, again this is just my feeling about the photo, it feels like a great deal of "the picture" is compressed into this narrow and sharp region.

It's quite possible that you're much more interested in, say, the sheep in the background than I am, in which case the picture probably feels a lot more open and "big" to you?

 

[RobN185]

I'm pleased that you see things differently, this is how I learn to see more, but for the life of me, I cannot see all of what you are seeing/not seeing here.

I do reckon there is a crop here, by removing, rather than burning, the foreground and left side, but IMO the house would then be too large in the frame?
I would welcome an alternative crop version, but please retain the 4:3 ratio (...something I OCD about).