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Konica Minolta Users | all galleries >> KM Challenges >> KM C71 Back to Nature - Hosted by Danger Dunc >> KM c71 - Back to Nature - Competition > Two Lighthouses and a Road
by Jerry Curtis
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10-MAR-2007

Two Lighthouses and a Road
by Jerry Curtis

Sony DSC-H5
1/800s f/4.0 at 18.0mm iso80 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Konica Minolta Users19-Mar-2007 15:28
To crop or not to crop - that is the question. I'm with Bugzie about the sky, but I think the bottom could be cropped until the road. The horizont an the road divides the picture into 3 parts with two curves that are symmetric, that is what I like best in this picture. Cheers, MCsaba
Konica Minolta Users14-Mar-2007 13:56
i wouldn't crop any of the sky because it's an important compositional element here -- the wedge of blue and the wedge of white which is cut in two by the road. i like this and i don't, at the same time. my idea of snow, living in australia, is all soft and fluffy and romantic, but this is more a picture of a barren wasteland. so it isn't the usual pretty pretty snow scene. which is why, in the end, i like it. bugzie
Konica Minolta Users13-Mar-2007 20:24
I think technically its a decent photo, but just not my kind of thing... I understand the thinking behind the shot from your comments though. Thanks for sharing, Dunc
Konica Minolta Users13-Mar-2007 16:52
You make some good points Jerry.
One of the most important things about this forum is (or should be) the honest, open sharing of ideas like this. It's the exercise of forumulating those opinions that is really important, not necessarily the conclusions we reach.
There is a certain appeal to the triangle created by the 2 buildings and the bench, with the horizon and road forming the sides.
Bob
BTW, the shot does look better on my monitor at home rather than my drab office PC.
Jerry Curtis13-Mar-2007 13:42
Thanks for the critiques, guys. I usually try and incorporate good suggestions into an image, but I'm going to stand my ground on this one. I think the road is a strong enough lead-in to the picture to bypass the smaller elements (sign and shrubs) at the bottom, then along the ridge past the two lighthouses and out. The size of the buildings, the distance between them and the amount of bare sky overhead all contribute to the feeling of isolation and desolation at this site. These buildings look like toys on the landscape from where I took this picture, and this image conveys that well, I think.
Guest 13-Mar-2007 09:51
I like the idea of the two light houses, but (for me) there is too much competition for my attention. Dale has a point about the sky, but I think I'd go the other way and crop off quite a bit of the bottom. The shrubs and the bench are about the same size as the buildings and are in an area of higher contrast so they keep my attention bouncing around the bottom and the lighthouses seem almost an afterthought.
It's also tough to shoot pairs of things (odd numbers usually work better) and in this case there is so much empty space between them it's tough to decide which to focus on - where should my attention be drawn.
With that in mind, I might try a pretty severe crop (or a reshoot?), just keeping the building on the left, with ehough of the road to point you in the direction of focus.
Anyway, just my 2 cents...
Bob
Konica Minolta Users12-Mar-2007 01:20
You always come up with an image that I like, Jerry. Don't know how you do that. Would like to see this with a crop on the sky however because it doesn't add enough to be so dominate. Love your work. Dale