Comments and Suggestions Please -- Garden Path

jandrewnelsonjandrewnelson Registered Users Posts: 300 Major grins
edited July 30, 2009 in Landscapes
Thanks in advance for the help.

605515128_LvrfC-XL.jpg

Jerry Nelson
www.meesoon.smugmug.com

Comments

  • DonRicklinDonRicklin Registered Users Posts: 5,551 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2009
    A stile shot with style! :D

    thumb.gif

    There is so much green I would check for a color cast. Would be nice if there was a hint of some contrasting color for color depth. Might want to try this in B&W....

    Don
    Don Ricklin - Gear: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, was Pentax K7
    'I was older then, I'm younger than that now' ....
    My Blog | Q+ | Moderator, Lightroom Forums | My Amateur Smugmug Stuff | My Blurb book Rust and Whimsy. More Rust , FaceBook     .
  • thapamdthapamd Registered Users Posts: 1,722 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2009
    I like the composition very much, Gary, and the subject is interesting. My only nit is about the exposure. I think you should try to get back some detail from the highlights. The shadow detail, on the other hand, is just right for my taste. thumb.gif
    Shoot in RAW because memory is cheap but memories are priceless.

    Mahesh
    http://www.StarvingPhotographer.com
  • Miguel DelinquentoMiguel Delinquento Registered Users Posts: 904 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2009
    Jerry,
    I'll provide some brief thoughts about both content and technical aspects. This place looks like something my wife would have designed and enjoyed hanging out in with the more natural, informal feeling.
    I'm having some difficulty squaring the shot with your title. The scene doesn't seem like a path to me--I distinguish stairs from flat, worn paths. It also doesn't seem like a garden to me but rather an overgrown area in the woods.
    This leads me to wonder what the subject of the image is? The angled stairs are somewhat interesting but your capture is so wide that it's not quite the only subject. And the lighting is dark enough to not provide much visual drama or interest.

    Technically you have captured the challenging shadow areas quite well--some of those smaller plants may be worthy of close-in shooting. The background is a little blown but fixable with software.

    In a shot like this, the content is more important to get right, and I'm thinking it doesn't quite hold well together.

    M
    Eye In The Triangle Photography
  • jandrewnelsonjandrewnelson Registered Users Posts: 300 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2009
    DonRicklin wrote:
    A stile shot with style! :D

    thumb.gif

    There is so much green I would check for a color cast. Would be nice if there was a hint of some contrasting color for color depth. Might want to try this in B&W....

    Don

    How do you like it now? Also, what do you mean when you say "check for a color cast"?

    606095056_2Fgxs-M.jpg

    Thanks for the help.
  • jandrewnelsonjandrewnelson Registered Users Posts: 300 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2009
    Miguel Delinquento wrote:
    Jerry,
    I'm having some difficulty squaring the shot with your title. The scene doesn't seem like a path to me--I distinguish stairs from flat, worn paths. It also doesn't seem like a garden to me but rather an overgrown area in the woods.
    M

    Growing up in Virginia (a very long time ago) we had "garden paths". Today we'd call them hiking trails. The biggest difference was that then, a "garden path" was established by a neighborhood and/or community. The path would unabashedly cross property lines (a no-no these days). The primary purpose was to provide for a pleasant walk around the community, checking out neighbors gardens and visiting. This was NOT a community or government project...it was something that neighbors did for each other to enhance their community. To respect fences without interrutping the stroll, stairs like these were built that crossed the fence...up one side and down the other. For the life of me I can't remember what they were called...but they were all over the place. And yes, the path often ducked into woods between gardens but it was still called a garden path. Yesterday when I saw this one, it was the first one I had seen since leaving Virginia.

    UPDATE: I just googled it and the "thing" that utilizes stairs to cross a fence is called a stile. I remember that now...anyways, the link that refreshed my memory is: http://www.answers.com/topic/stile


    Thanks for the help on the photo!
    Blessings
    Jerry Nelson
  • Miguel DelinquentoMiguel Delinquento Registered Users Posts: 904 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2009
    Jerry, thanks for the history and language lesson. It is great to learn something relatively early in the day. Not growing up in the south, I was clueless.
    That said, I'm sure others may have the same disconnect between the title and the scene.

    M
    Eye In The Triangle Photography
  • jandrewnelsonjandrewnelson Registered Users Posts: 300 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2009
    Miguel Delinquento wrote:
    Jerry, thanks for the history and language lesson. It is great to learn something relatively early in the day. Not growing up in the south, I was clueless.
    That said, I'm sure others may have the same disconnect between the title and the scene.

    M

    I hope I didn't sound too "preachy" in my response. If I did, please accept my sincere apologies.

    Blessings
    Jerry
  • jandrewnelsonjandrewnelson Registered Users Posts: 300 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2009
    DonRicklin wrote:
    A stile shot with style! :D

    thumb.gif

    There is so much green I would check for a color cast. Would be nice if there was a hint of some contrasting color for color depth. Might want to try this in B&W....

    Don

    Too funneee! I missed that before...a good one!

    If I had've been paying attention, it would've saved a google search.

    Blessings
    Jerry Nelson
  • Miguel DelinquentoMiguel Delinquento Registered Users Posts: 904 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2009
    Jerry,
    Not at all, I was sincere in my response.

    You also got me thinking that you are definately on the right track, so to speak, here for future material. The transition from one garden along the path to another would make a rich photographic essay and possibly an art show. (I help curate photographic fine art exhibitions). Keep shooting.

    M
    jandrewnelson wrote:
    I hope I didn't sound too "preachy" in my response. If I did, please accept my sincere apologies.

    Blessings
    Jerry
    Eye In The Triangle Photography
Sign In or Register to comment.