Old wagon in barn

[Don Ferguson Jr.]

http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/8261/2005122600292.jpg


An old wagon from the early 1900's that is in our barn in SC. Hope some enjoy.

[Don Ferguson Jr.]

Wow 82 looks and no comments good or bad :)

[Sandrine Bascouert]

Hi!
I like the tone, I like the contrast, Ialso like the texture . You got a nice sharpness on this that is not "aggressive". I also love the ray of light that goes cross the wagon. I love less the cropping because I think that something is hidden in the top right angle. To me it's either too dark and too much cropped. I'd like too see this one two steps further. But I do feel an atmosphere. sunny afternoon, wind in the branches of sassafras :) , abandonned village, nobody around, the shadow of a coyote...

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Wow 82 looks and no comments good or bad :)

Hi Don,

This can be good, or bad ... ;)

Maybe people are too polite to vent criticism, or they feel too intimidated/inadequate (for whatever reason) to offer critique (which is something different from citicism).

For me, the combination of lots of structural detail, and light and shadow, creates too much detail. It's too much because there is no simple compositional structure to aid the eye.

I'm pretty sure that if you simplify the composition by getting closer, you'll gain the possibility to better use shape as a compositional element, and get more tranquility in the viewing experience (dormant barn area, cobwebs, dust, and all).
As a colo(u)r shooter, I also wonder what beautiful tones (shades of yellow, and gray, and brown) we are missing. IMHO contrasty lighting, and (toned) B&W, works best with simple shapes.

Cheers,
Bart

[Don Ferguson Jr.]

Hi!
I like the tone, I like the contrast, Ialso like the texture . You got a nice sharpness on this that is not "aggressive". I also love the ray of light that goes cross the wagon. I love less the cropping because I think that something is hidden in the top right angle. To me it's either too dark and too much cropped. I'd like too see this one two steps further. But I do feel an atmosphere. sunny afternoon, wind in the branches of sassafras :) , abandonned village, nobody around, the shadow of a coyote...

Thanks for commenting . Yea, there is a stack of old 4x4 old planks that I thought detracted from the photo.
We do have coyotes around here in SC :)
Don

[Don Ferguson Jr.]

Hi Don,

This can be good, or bad ... ;)

Maybe people are too polite to vent criticism, or they feel too intimidated/inadequate (for whatever reason) to offer critique (which is something different from citicism).

For me, the combination of lots of structural detail, and light and shadow, creates too much detail. It's too much because there is no simple compositional structure to aid the eye.

I'm pretty sure that if you simplify the composition by getting closer, you'll gain the possibility to better use shape as a compositional element, and get more tranquility in the viewing experience (dormant barn area, cobwebs, dust, and all).
As a colo(u)r shooter, I also wonder what beautiful tones (shades of yellow, and gray, and brown) we are missing. IMHO contrasty lighting, and (toned) B&W, works best with simple shapes.

Cheers,
Bart

I appreciate the comments and I was pretty close to the wagon . Maybe a close up of the wheel would be interesting. It is pretty good in color but I like the old tone and it has been in the family barn for a long time .I probably need to work with it some more .
Don

[Asher Kelman]

I appreciate the comments and I was pretty close to the wagon . Maybe a close up of the wheel would be interesting. It is pretty good in color but I like the old tone and it has been in the family barn for a long time .I probably need to work with it some more .
Don

Don,

Try just cropping to have the left lower quadrant, and then crop once again to refine that to your satisfaction. Bart is right that there's too much detail and not enough simple form! If it's chaos you want, then it has too much order!


http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/8261/2005122600292.jpg

Don Ferguson: Old wagon in Barn




One might simply darken and blur almost everything but a portion of importance. However, cropping does get us down to just simple shapes and this can make a dramatic composition. It's a brutal but straightforward approach. You just have to trust that we know enough to build what's not there. When this trust is there, one sees far more than the cart!

A part of a circle and then some straight elements, perhaps. For sure there's lots of nostalgia to document! But for your memories and even for us, seeing just part of a wheel and a little of the frame is enough for us to build a rich vision of times lost!

Thanks for sharing. I love the subject and hope you will go much further with this!

Asher

[Don Ferguson Jr.]

Asher ,thanks for the suggestions . I always like to hear your ideas.
Don

[Asher Kelman]

Asher ,thanks for the suggestions . I always like to hear your ideas.
Don

Don,

Ideas? Mine are only just was little nudges to you to work further on your idea. It's only you after all who can say whether or not this photograph shows what was in your intent here. If you think you've done that, then you're already there, my friend! That's where art has to be decided.

Asher