Split (C & C)

[jjphotos]

Okay, well, this is a super quickie, because I don't have time to play with it just now. I'm not very pleased with it, but it gives you the idea. Just crop way in then start playing with it--leave the axe tip in the frame maybe. Rotate it a bit. Just play around with it and see if anything works for you.

I did also desaturate it a good bit, to *almost* a black-and-white, but not quite. My goal was to really try to pull out the textures instead of just the colors. I did want to leave the red bits in the axe, but not have it be so harsh that it draws all the attention.
As I said, I don't actually like this version that much; it's just the basic idea that you can then play around with more.
View attachment 99910
On the second one, all I'd do is just crop a teeny bit off the top and a bit more off the bottom. On that one, I did also actually ADD a little bit of saturation, only to the reds, to really pull out all the character in that axe.
View attachment 99911

Thanks for the feedback! Appreciate it. I'll definitely fiddle around with the crops and what not.

Really like number three!

Thanks! Seems like that one was the best of the 3.

I like the first one pretty well as is, although I might try some cropping. What I notice is the whitish vertical lines in the wood that are below the axe, those lines to me are somewhat a distraction. Then if I crop a bottom portion I usually crop the sides to get back to a similar balance of the original composition.

The third one to me has more space than needed to the left, I feel like my eyes follow the handle of the axe and keep going and there's nothing there. So I'd probably make copies and try some different crops of the left side with that one.

Great subject with probably a lot of ways it could be photographed.

Thanks for the critique. I'll play around with the crops and settings to try to shift the focus.

Agree with sm4him. If you left it like you found it, it may be interesting to get down below the head and shoot up

Thanks Brian. I'll definitely try next time I pass by. Would you have the angle be directly frontal (facing the cutline) or the side profile (the larger horizontal side so the cut isn't
visible)?
I would shoot including as much of the split in the log as you can. I would also use a shallow DOF

Oh okay. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[agp]

I like #3 the most out of the bunch, but I do not think these images are interesting. It takes a lot to take an interesting photo of an uninteresting subject.

Also I find the tree in the background distracting. It seems like the ax handle grew out of the tree.

 

[Gary A.]

I like #1 and #2 best. B&W for #1, different crops would enhance the images. #3 is interesting mainly, because the viewer expects to see a person wielding the axe. #1 and #2 tells me a story of the axe and the stump, of time and nature.

 

[tirediron]

Using spoiler to display your images is annoying

Let's keep it family friendly shall we?