Great resource..! Feedback appreciated

Having just joined, said 'Hi', been welcomed, and had very helpful responses to a question, this is looking like a really good forum to have discovered..! This part of the forum is a great idea - something I've maybe been looking for, without realising (!) Here's one of a set, and a link to the full set on SmugMug... (Hmm, bb code icons aren't working here either, just now). The URL is: Ruins of Ashwick Grove Manor, Nettlebridge Woods - IanCDs' Photos First full day out with camera on my own... so really first one with a digital SLR... Ashwick Grove Manor ruins, Nettlebridge woods... near Oakhill, Somerset Struck me as a very atmospheric place first time I found it a few years ago, and been wanting to go back to capture some of the feeling it evoked for me... The light was a bit dull / flat... no beams of sunlight, mist, etc - I'll go back again early morning / late evening on a sunnier day, and also in autumn, hoping to catch some ground mist and in winter with frost / snow. Any feedback much appreciated... composition, BW vs colour, exposure, post-processing of RAW, etc. Resized sample of one shot attached... not necessarily 'best', but fairly typical of the set. Thanks in anticipation, Ian

Ian, this is a beautiful shot. I love the muted light........adds a particular feeling and mood to the overall scene. Now.......where does your eye automatically go to in this shot? To the left, where the big moss covered stones are, or through the ruins on the road in front of the arch? My eye wants to follow the road through the ruins under that gorgeous arch of stone. I took the liberty of cropping your original shot to what I think would make for a more dramatic shot. Would you agree or disagree? This is just MY interpretation, mind you. I'm not saying it's the only way to go. This is just to demonstrate options you may want to employ while processing your shots.
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Here's another option.....colour correction and sharpening. See the difference? Which is more pleasing and stands out better for YOU?
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Very good shot Ian. You have a good eye for composition. I agree with Jack. Cropped down a little places more emphasis on the stone archway which is the indicated subject. While both versions done by Jack are good I think I like the first one a little better. It's has more of a foreboding look which to me is more in line with an old decaying building. The shot has good depth of field and very good tonal range. Good job.

Ian,
Again, I really liked the shots on your site. It would be very interesting to re-vist that spot with one of the wides you are thinking of getting. Some of the shots leave me wondering what else is around and feel perhaps a little confined.

Thanks folks - really helpful and constructive feedback

Joseph Bautsch said:

I agree with Jack. Cropped down a little places more emphasis on the stone archway which is the indicated subject. While both versions done by Jack are good I think I like the first one a little better. It's has more of a foreboding look which to me is more in line with an old decaying building.

Click to expand...

I prefer the first, too - more of the atmosphere I wanted to capture. Hence going back sometime in autumn when there might be some low mist to help! ;-)

Thanks for taking the trouble Jack.

I lined the shot up on the vertical suggested by including the tree... If I took it again, cropped to the edge of the archway, I'd get it a bit less tilted too.

cnyram said:

Ian,
Again, I really liked the shots on your site. It would be very interesting to re-vist that spot with one of the wides you are thinking of getting. Some of the shots leave me wondering what else is around and feel perhaps a little confined.

Click to expand...

Yes... I've a few more I didn't include in the set initially, but may add to it... and an UWA would be great there... though I think I've put that idea on hold for now!
Ian