Grave Yard By Deon Hamilton™

[JTPhotography]

... Consider yourself lucky that better photographers are willing to give you feedback at all, arrogantly expecting them to do even more will get you nowhere. In fact, it will make people dislike you. Can you see that is already happening?

Pot, meet Kettle...

?

 

[Rick58]

Man there are some serious egos flying around here.

First, who the flip cares about his name and or copy write symbol. This is supposed to be about the photo

Second, The guy just asked for some examples how it could have been done differently or better. I see nothing wrong with asking for an example. That's why photos are included in instructional books, isn't it?

Instead, the guy is being told he's just lucky to be breathing the same air as the likes of the good people here.

I see things never change around here.

 

[Rick58]

Op, here's a couple suggestions. I cropped the photo to 8x10 and cut off some of the sky, bringing the horizon to the upper third, then I played a little with the sliders to open up to tones. Something I don't like, but can't do anything about is the white stone on the left and the square'ish foreground stone. They are both too cramped. You could shift the frame a little to the left, but watch out for that foreground stone wall. I like that detail, and would hate to loose it.

 

[Overread19 7]

And that's enough of the drama/arguing/bickering.

Focus on the photography everyone.


(((darn it Rick couldn't you have waited 4 more seconds to post that )))

 

[weags77]

Man there are some serious egos flying around here. First, who the flip cares about his name and or copy write symbol. This is supposed to be about the photo Second, The guy just asked for some examples how it could have been done differently or better. I see nothing wrong with asking for an example. That's why photos are included in instructional books, isn't it? Instead, the guy is being told he's just lucky to be breathing the same air as the likes of the good people here. I see things never change around here.

I think you are missing the point. Much like the OP. if he wants help, let us edit his photos. I don't so much care about the trademarking his name thing. Little wonky yes, but who am I to say.

My problem is the OP has come here to get tips suggestions, and "negative comments" yet does not have a good enough background to learn from these comments. It's like asking someone to teach you how to drive a car by watching them drive and having no idea what speed limits, gas pedals and the reason for using blinkers are. Then when given detailed suggestions and reasons, for example, why the B&W doesn't work here, the OP says he likes the B&W better because of the "gloomy" look. I just see this as going more for the look of a photo and not so much the story it should tell. Which is fine too if that's your thing.

I think there are definitely a few egos running rampant here but I'd say the OP and the guy who writes books on composition, might be the biggest offenders. You can only tell or show someone so many times before you realize they just don't have the knowledge or desire to understand what you are talking about.

That's why I suggested he read books or learn some other way and not just post a ton of pictures. We shouldnt have to tell someone more than a few times not to center a horizon, or not to leave a subject DEAD CENTER of the frame. Look at his previous posts. It is obvious that none of the suggestions are sinking in. Do you really think someone showing him how they composed their photo, will make any difference when he can't see the faults in his own work ?

There is such a vast wealth of knowledge available to us that asking someone to hold their hands through learning the most basic of fundamentals shows a lack of work ethic in my opinion. If he wants someone to teach him everything, there are classes for that as this isn't really the place to learn composition from scratch. . If he wants to expand on his knowledge or fine tune it this is where he can do that.

Ill ask the OP, have you, since you've started posting here, made any effort to study composition on your own ? Either by googling it, reading it or becoming at the very least familiar with it ? I'm guessing he's maybe put a few minutes at best into studying it and judging by the other threads, has not even taken the time to put the suggestions to good use by re editing them. And I think that's what is most annoying.

He did re edit this shot but NONE of the others. And his responses are often defensive and sarcastic. Not exactly the best way to solicit help from people if he's actually serious about learning. It is apparent by the 30 threads he has started that he has a vast library of photos to work on it just doesn't look like he wants to put in the time to do so.

 

[weags77]

<img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=63021"/>

Op, here's a couple suggestions. I cropped the photo to 8x10 and cut off some of the sky, bringing the horizon to the upper third, then I played a little with the sliders to open up to tones. Something I don't like, but can't do anything about is the white stone on the left and the square'ish foreground stone. They are both too cramped. You could shift the frame a little to the left, but watch out for that foreground stone wall. I like that detail, and would hate to loss it.

I like this edit much better. Still muddled a bit with the B&W from that vantage point but better separation nonetheless. I just hope he doesn't get mad about you editing his photos as his profile states its NOT OK to do so.

 

[Rick58]

My apologies to the OP. I should have checked, but didn't. I see your photo's are not to be edited. If you like, I'll be happy to remove my edit.

 

[limr33 3]

I also like Rick58's edit the best. I do agree with the OP in that black and white suits this scene better than the color. I'm not particularly fond of the color version myself, but as mentioned, this is totally a matter of preference so to each his own.

At first glance, the original picture isn't that bad, but it also doesn't have anything that makes it stand out. As others have mentioned, there are composition issues that prevent it from having the potential impact that it could have. The conversion seems not-quite-right. Too contrasty, making it seem busier than it already is.

A few things I would have done:
1) Lower angle
2) Pick one of those tombstones as a clearer focal point
3) Wider aperture to get a shallower depth of field to isolate that focal point more clearly and take some attention away from the more distracting and busy elements of those lower stones. The shoreline in the background is also kind of busy and I'd like to take attention away from that as well.
4) Take a few steps to the right where some more of the lines would work better together. There are too many angles and that creates a discordance that is not visually appealing. Make those lines work better together.

Sometimes I see a scene like this and think, "There's a good picture in here somewhere." If it's not immediately obvious how I want to take the shot, I'll walk around the whole scene looking through the viewfinder, trying to see different angles, different potential compositions.

With a busy scene like this, it's really important to spend some time looking at it from different vantage points. Sometimes none of them work. Sometimes what you see in your head is just better than what is actually in front of you. That doesn't mean you can't get a good shot, but that you most likely won't get the shot that you originally intended.

 

[JTPhotography]

NOWWWW its feeling like Christmas with the family around here! :mrgreen::mrgreen:

 

[yahgiggle]

Its all good guys don't fight, all of the photos here are ones ive taken before i came to this forum, so its not that im not learning i am, also im ok with the edits its fine cheers ;-D

 

[sashbar]

I will add my 2 p here as well. The main problem with this shot is not technical it is the content. It is very mixed and controversial. You have the graves, the lake, the perspective, the horizon, a lot of sky, the far away trees and houses (?) - and everything in one shot. The mood is mixed, you can help it with edits. Different parts of the picture project different feelings and mood. To me the image is too confusing.

 

[batmura]

How about getting really low and close to the cross in the foreground to isolate it with perhaps a shallow depth of field? If I were you, I would avoid cramping as many elements as possible into a frame as it rarely serves a purpose and creates chaos for the viewer. While taking photos like this, I advocate the less is more philosophy as a single point of interest has the potential to draw and hold the viewer's attention before allowing them to further scan the frame. If you also include a solid background element such as the towers or pond in your case, they will help to bring back the eye to the main element rather than wandering aimlessly. I do have some cemetery shots of isolated tombstones and crosses but don't think posting them here would improve this image or your composition.

 

[yahgiggle]

I think the problem with my composition is the leaning cross's i know stuff should not look like this because its not nice to look at but wanted to try it out anyway turns out none of it has worked maybe if it was just one leaning cross that may have looked less messy o well, ill go back and do some more photos there and see if any will work later next week

 

[manaheim]

It's a shot of a graveyard, and like most such shots, it lacks anything obvious to look at (i.e. subject)

It DOES capture the mood well, which is usually a failing in these shots.

Overall I'd give the image a 6.