Shed Door

[pgriz]

It's an interesting door. Details around it are suggestive, but not enough to really construct some kind of story or narrative. The composition is good, in my mind, in that you’ve included enough wall on the left to move the door off center. I like your original more in terms of tonality than runnah’s edit, partly because there is more detail in the lamp and the interior. The slant in the door, relative to the lines of the wall planks, imply a certain amount of decreptitude (yeah, that’s a word), that reinforces the feeling of peeling paint, and broken screen. It’s well photographed, but at the same time, it’s a vaguely depressing photo, mainly due to the subject matter.

As for your focusing issues, the only way to piece out what is going on is to test one variable at a time, keeping all the other things constant. If your camera supports live-view, then I think this is the most accurate way of getting the focus nailed down, as the image is read off the sensor. In doing these kinds of tests, everything is set to the base level, and all the automatic things are turned off. Putting the camera on a tripod is a must, as are all the vibration supression techniques (mirror up, remote release, etc.). The target has to have enough detail to be barely resolvable under the best of conditions, and the light needs to be constant during the test session.

I had some image softness when I upgraded my camera and it took me a while to figure out that my “protective” UV filter was the cause of that problem. When I upgraded my kit lens to the 24-105mm, it seemed to be softer than I was expecting. After doing the testing, I determined that the camera was back-focusing, and had Canon adjust the AF. I also learned that my camera’s AF is good but not great – any shot where the detail MUST be there, is shot on a tripod, with live-view focusing at 10x, and the usual plethora of techniques to suppress camera vibration (IS off, AF off, manual focus, mirror up, remote release).

I hope you are able to figure out what the issues are in your case (I’m talking camera, of course! )

 

[smithdan]

no prob with interest Rick, like these shots. Mostly already mentioned - Maybe see more of the shed unless there are some uglies just off frame, to show the different angles of the siding and door more. Contrast is taste like you said, perhaps not too dark as weathered wood usually is silverish.I'm hopelessly un-techno so no comment on the focus thing

 

[squirrels]

I really like the beaten up door and the sloping angles are unsettling in a good way. The broken "window" is tantalizing; I want to know what's behind the door. I also want to know the outcome of your experiment.

What I'm saying is, "I have interest!"
C

EDIT: Dang I took so long looking at the door and writing this that I burnt the french toast.

 

[KenC]

Yeah, definitely worth a trip.

It may be just me (or my monitor) but the highlights look a little over the top, especially along the top of the door. Check for detail in your original - sometimes the lower-res versions lose detail.

 

[Rick58]

I think this is a-door-able.

I see what you did there

 

[Rick58]

Yeah, definitely worth a trip.

It may be just me (or my monitor) but the highlights look a little over the top, especially along the top of the door. Check for detail in your original - sometimes the lower-res versions lose detail.

No it's not your monitor Ken. The problem is "it's just flat white paint". There really isn't any texture. I tamed it down to 254, just so I could say it isn't pure, pure white, but I didn't want it to be light gray white paint either.
Not an argument, I'm just explaining my justification. Running the mouse around that area, shows minor shade changes, Maybe someone with more skill could pull more out of it. Thanks for the comment

 

[Rick58]

I really like the beaten up door and the sloping angles are unsettling in a good way. The broken "window" is tantalizing; I want to know what's behind the door. I also want to know the outcome of your experiment.

What I'm saying is, "I have interest!"
C

EDIT: Dang I took so long looking at the door and writing this that I burnt the french toast.

Sorry about the french toast.
I wasn't sure what people would think of the exposed wall. I wanted the light fixture and the split in the door to be roughly on 3rds. I don't know why. It just looked right to me. I also liked the siding sloping towards the door. I didn't want to lose that.
I liked it, but I wasn't sure if it worked for an artsy eye

Thanks!

 

[Rick58]

It's an interesting door. Details around it are suggestive, but not enough to really construct some kind of story or narrative. The composition is good, in my mind, in that you’ve included enough wall on the left to move the door off center. I like your original more in terms of tonality than runnah’s edit, partly because there is more detail in the lamp and the interior. The slant in the door, relative to the lines of the wall planks, imply a certain amount of decreptitude (yeah, that’s a word), that reinforces the feeling of peeling paint, and broken screen. It’s well photographed, but at the same time, it’s a vaguely depressing photo, mainly due to the subject matter.

As for your focusing issues, the only way to piece out what is going on is to test one variable at a time, keeping all the other things constant. If your camera supports live-view, then I think this is the most accurate way of getting the focus nailed down, as the image is read off the sensor. In doing these kinds of tests, everything is set to the base level, and all the automatic things are turned off. Putting the camera on a tripod is a must, as are all the vibration supression techniques (mirror up, remote release, etc.). The target has to have enough detail to be barely resolvable under the best of conditions, and the light needs to be constant during the test session.

I had some image softness when I upgraded my camera and it took me a while to figure out that my “protective” UV filter was the cause of that problem. When I upgraded my kit lens to the 24-105mm, it seemed to be softer than I was expecting. After doing the testing, I determined that the camera was back-focusing, and had Canon adjust the AF. I also learned that my camera’s AF is good but not great – any shot where the detail MUST be there, is shot on a tripod, with live-view focusing at 10x, and the usual plethora of techniques to suppress camera vibration (IS off, AF off, manual focus, mirror up, remote release).

I hope you are able to figure out what the issues are in your case (I’m talking camera, of course! )

Thanks for all the testing tips. No live view, but I'll proceed the best I can. I'm going to keep narrowing the possibilities until I have it figured out, and if I need to do all manual focusing, no problem. This is only my second camera with auto-anything. The first was directly before this and was a entry level Sony. I'm no stranger to manually everything. I actually kind'a miss it anyway. Shooting with the manual 50 was fun and almost felt like "photography" again. Almost like driving a stick shift after being locked in an automatic.
Lastly...."it’s a vaguely depressing photo"...thanks. THAT, sir, is the best compliment I've gotten so far

 

[Rick58]

no prob with interest Rick, like these shots. Mostly already mentioned - Maybe see more of the shed unless there are some uglies just off frame, to show the different angles of the siding and door more. Contrast is taste like you said, perhaps not too dark as weathered wood usually is silverish.I'm hopelessly un-techno so no comment on the focus thing

Exactly... I know wood weathers differently in different parts of the world, but around here, it's primarily pine and weathers to a light gray/silver. As far as the rest of the shed? It's pretty uninteresting. The front shows no additional details. Just blank siding.
Thanks for the comment.

 

[jenko]

Strong image. Has a Walker Evans feel to it. Gloomy, but poignant. Nice job, Rick.

 

[Tiller]

I think this is a-door-able.

Ahh....terrible pun....it burns!

I like the door, but as other said, I wish there was a little more to spice up the image.

 

[pgriz]

Lastly...."it’s a vaguely depressing photo"...thanks. THAT, sir, is the best compliment I've gotten so far ;-)

Hmmm... not sure it came across the way I intended it. What I meant to say is that the image did evoke an emotion, and in that it went beyond many images that are interesting to look at but emotionally neutral. This one, at least for me, left with a sense of sadness in imagining that door to have been used under better circumstances, and now being in a state of abandonment and disrepair. Yes, I do "know" it's a shed door, but the image could have just as easily been part of an old house (like Invisible likes to discover and photograph), and this image evokes some of the same feelings that I get when I see his images of forgotten places.

Ugh. wordy. But "feelings" are slippery little eels that wiggle around the hardness of letters and words.

 

[runnah]

I think the OP shouldn't let his opinion of his photos hinge upon what others say. Only a real knob would think that way. But again that sort of behavior does swing both ways. The key is to rise above that.

 

[Rick58]

Lastly...."it’s a vaguely depressing photo"...thanks. THAT, sir, is the best compliment I've gotten so far ;-)

Hmmm... not sure it came across the way I intended it. What I meant to say is that the image did evoke an emotion, and in that it went beyond many images that are interesting to look at but emotionally neutral. This one, at least for me, left with a sense of sadness in imagining that door to have been used under better circumstances, and now being in a state of abandonment and disrepair. Yes, I do "know" it's a shed door, but the image could have just as easily been part of an old house (like Invisible likes to discover and photograph), and this image evokes some of the same feelings that I get when I see his images of forgotten places.

Ugh. wordy. But "feelings" are slippery little eels that wiggle around the hardness of letters and words.

That's the bad thing about the internet, you can't SEE the other persons response. I was 100% serious. You hit it on the head and described exactly what the photo was supposed to say. Run-down, decay, neglect. It's all there and you summed it up nicely. Again, the best compliment I received so far. Thank you

 

[Rick58]

I think the OP shouldn't let his opinion of his photos hinge upon what others say. Only a real knob would think that way. But again that sort of behavior does swing both ways. The key is to rise above that.

huh, spoken like a guy with questionable taste.
Ahh, com'on... lighten up already