#31 - Farm Market

richtersl

There's been a lot happening on the home front so I haven't been able to go out and take many photos. But on my way to work this morning I had a chance to photograph a farm market that may fit the theme.

There may be another chance to shoot tomorrow morning, provided Hurricane Bill passes far enough offshore for the sun to peek out inland.

C&C much appreciated. Thanks!

#1



#2



#3

MikeK

If you are going for the 'closed' or 'deserted' look, then #1 by a mile for me. I don't like the angle on #2 and the powerlines and tops of the silos in the background distract me. The closeup on #3 doesn't convey the deserted quality of #1 as well. #1 is simple, clean and to the point.

Cool!!

richtersl

MikeK wrote:

If you are going for the 'closed' or 'deserted' look, then #1 by a mile for me. I don't like the angle on #2 and the powerlines and tops of the silos in the background distract me. The closeup on #3 doesn't convey the deserted quality of #1 as well. #1 is simple, clean and to the point.

Cool!!

Much appreciated, Mike! Thanks.

Katmitchell

I agree with Mike Linda..

#1 is your winner out of these for sure.. Nice balance in the composition. I would try if you can, to PP some sky in, I know this can't be easy with the weather "bill" is kicking up, it is white haze here because of the effects on our weather too.. I would also nix the telephone poll in #1 for polishing...

I agree #3 does not work for the abandoned feeling of closed down and forgotten.. and #2 has too much headroom and the silos distract..

Sooooooo.. I basically just repeated Mike,, haha... but he is 100% on the money here..

Love that yellow color...!!!

Kat

MarkR

MikeK wrote:

If you are going for the 'closed' or 'deserted' look, then #1 by a mile for me. I don't like the angle on #2 and the powerlines and tops of the silos in the background distract me. The closeup on #3 doesn't convey the deserted quality of #1 as well. #1 is simple, clean and to the point.

Cool!!

ghinson

I like #1 too. Only nitpick is, to keep the clean lines of it, you have to show a lot of that sky. And the sky is boring. Love the pop and the contrast of the colors though. And certainly fits the vague theme as well as anything else I have seen.

divamum

me three for #1.

AWESOME colours, as well as a nice interpretation of the theme.

(and given what you say, methinks I need to check the hurricane reports again... haven't seen the news yet today so didn't realise Bill was swooping closer to land!)

nightpixels

Hi Linda,

I have 2 suggestions to make the sky a bit more dramatic (or interesting) which you may already know anyway. This is of course assuming that the sky is not completely washed out and it contains some details which can be revealed.

1) Duplicate the original layer, change the layer blending mode to "multiply". Keep doing this until you are happy with the sky details (hopefully there are some to be brought out). This will darken the entire image which means you will have to use a mask to only reveal the sky and hide the rest of the image.

2) Do HDR with a single shot. I call this "fake" HDR. If you have shot in raw, make 2 more copies of your original shot, open them up, set the exposure for one of them ... say to 2, the other ... say to -2 (or to whatever you are happy with), now you have 3 shots of 3 different exposures. Blend the 3 together and see what the result will look like. Again, this is assuming there are some details in the sky that can be revealed when you lower the exposure of the raw file. Maybe before even doing this, lower the exposure of the original shot as far as it can go to find out if there are any details in the sky to begin with at all.


HOWEVER! I feel like the over all lighting is pretty harsh and the composition just doesn't grab my attention. The roof of the house in the upper left is distracting too. I think, if I were you, I would go with a different shot (if you have the time that is).

That is just my take on it, of course.

travelways

Hi Linda,

I agree with Allen and also, the 3 images above, to me are a little too busy and...

- yes, it can be a good idea, but they tell me more about "emptiness" or maybe "end of the season",
rather than closed/open

They can say closed if you really want to, but it's not so obvious to me.

richtersl

Thank you all so much for your honesty. I took another stab at the photo taking your suggestions into consideration. The clouds were created with PS brushes. Better?

Unfortunately there were no clouds to speak of in the sky this morning. But there was some color that I was able to use in a gradient layer to darken the sky a bit.



There still are a few more days left if this doesn't pan out.

Divamum -- Hurricane Bill is offshore and hopefully he'll stay there. But you don't have to be anywhere near a hurricane to feel some effects.

The Curious Camel

richtersl wrote:

There's been a lot happening on the home front so I haven't been able to go out and take many photos. But on my way to work this morning I had a chance to photograph a farm market that may fit the theme.

There may be another chance to shoot tomorrow morning, provided Hurricane Bill passes far enough offshore for the sun to peek out inland.

C&C much appreciated. Thanks!

#1


I was wondering what happened to you.

Hi Linda, first off I apologize ahead of time if I repeat something the others have said.
I really like this shot best. It could be closed for the season or for the night? Maybe
you could even put a closed sign on front of the booths.

I love this type of shot there is just something so comforting about this type of scene.
Maybe you could catch a shot of the sky and paste it in and clone out the tele pole. You do
such amazing processing work.

Well that's my 2 cents that really isn't worth 2 cents anymore with our economy. :cry

g

Kinkajou

I like the rework of the first one. I think this sky really brings the image together, and for me it does say: "Closed. We'll reopen when we darn well feel like it"

travelways

I was sure you will come with an old chest or an old lock of an old door or something similar
from that 19th (18th ?) century environment where you like to take some of your photos...


PS - the re-worked photo looks better,... only that I know you can do better that this

PS2 - I noticed that when adding the clouds, you overlapped the roofs on both (left and right) sides

- You can make first a selection of the sky (with sharp, strait lines on the roofs areas)
and add the clouds only there, in the selection (mask)

whiterice

Linda - we've missed you around these parts!

Nice capture. I do like the composition, and I think you've done a nice job with the sky. Though I agree with Tatiana....there's a little sky muck on the roof, esp the far left.

Katmitchell

Looks better Linda, but I agree there are clouds overlapping the roof..

Ya need to boost the shadows some in the clouds,, there is no depth to set them off from the sky.. maybe a contrast boost in the blue area?

your getting there...

richtersl

Thanks -- yeah, that was a real quick and dirty job on the sky. I was hoping to have it cleaned up for the challenge.

We'll see if i get time for this. We're getting our house painted and the last room (our bedroom) will be done tomorrow, but we need to clear it out. But we have to make room for the stuff we're clearing out.

My brother's in the hospital after having fallen off a horse. He's got 3 broken ribs, a dislocated finger, and a collapsed lung. Just this evening I learned that one of his 4-year old twin girls has pneumonia....it never seems to end. Oy! :

nightpixels

richtersl wrote:

My brother's in the hospital after having fallen off a horse. He's got 3 broken ribs, a dislocated finger, and a collapsed lung. Just this evening I learned that one of his 4-year old twin girls has pneumonia....it never seems to end. Oy! :

Sorry to hear that, Linda. I wish your brother a speedy recovery.

travelways

richtersl wrote:

Thanks -- yeah, that was a real quick and dirty job on the sky. I was hoping to have it cleaned up for the challenge.

We'll see if i get time for this. We're getting our house painted and the last room (our bedroom) will be done tomorrow, but we need to clear it out. But we have to make room for the stuff we're clearing out.

My brother's in the hospital after having fallen off a horse. He's got 3 broken ribs, a dislocated finger, and a collapsed lung. Just this evening I learned that one of his 4-year old twin girls has pneumonia....it never seems to end. Oy! :

Take it easy Linda, I wish too that things will get better for your family - this is the most important.

Katmitchell

richtersl wrote:

Thanks -- yeah, that was a real quick and dirty job on the sky. I was hoping to have it cleaned up for the challenge.

We'll see if i get time for this. We're getting our house painted and the last room (our bedroom) will be done tomorrow, but we need to clear it out. But we have to make room for the stuff we're clearing out.

My brother's in the hospital after having fallen off a horse. He's got 3 broken ribs, a dislocated finger, and a collapsed lung. Just this evening I learned that one of his 4-year old twin girls has pneumonia....it never seems to end. Oy! :

Miss Linda,

I am so very sorry to hear that....:cry I do hope and pray your family makes a speedy recovery....:(:... We won't say another word about your sky, promise.. Hang in there...


Kat

divamum

richtersl wrote:

Divamum -- Hurricane Bill is offshore and hopefully he'll stay there. But you don't have to be anywhere near a hurricane to feel some effects.

Oh, I know. The air here today has been hideously heavy and humid... it's definitely what I think of as "hurricane weather" (we often get the outer fingers of storms - not enough to do more than make the air turn leaden and dump some rain, but after 10 years in this state I now know the signs...)

divamum

richtersl wrote:

My brother's in the hospital after having fallen off a horse. He's got 3 broken ribs, a dislocated finger, and a collapsed lung. Just this evening I learned that one of his 4-year old twin girls has pneumonia....it never seems to end. Oy! :

Oh heavens - that's definitely NOT a good week in the Linda's Brother's household!

Hope they're all doing ok....

The Curious Camel

Originally Posted by richtersl

We'll see if i get time for this. We're getting our house painted and the last room (our bedroom) will be done tomorrow, but we need to clear it out. But we have to make room for the stuff we're clearing out.

My brother's in the hospital after having fallen off a horse. He's got 3 broken ribs, a dislocated finger, and a collapsed lung. Just this evening I learned that one of his 4-year old twin girls has pneumonia....it never seems to end. Oy!

I am so sorry about all of the news. I certianly hope it turns out good. Sending good thoughts.

richtersl

Thank you all so much.

I stayed home from work today to finish clearing out our bedroom for the painters. I was still upstairs when they arrived and they're now vaccuming the walls, taping, etc., to get ready to put a coat of paint on. So no more photographs of that farm market. At least for now.

Doctors tried re-inflating my brother's lung yesterday to see how well he'd do. It collapsed again on him. They're going to make another attempt today.

Spoke with my sister-in-law last night and my niece is doing well. She had been complaining earlier in the week that she had tummy pains and could not go to the bathroom. We thought it was stress due to dad being in the hospital. Mom kept an eye on her, noticed she had a temperature and took her to the doctor. After examining her, the doctor said she either had pneumonia or strep throat and that the tummy pains were caused by mucus dripping into her stomach. Of course, that was the LAST thing my sister-in-law needed to hear. My niece was in no imminent danger because whatever this was, was in its early stages. But given the circumstances, my sister-in-law opted to take my niece to the ER where doctors examined her once again and admitted her overnight so they could keep her hydrated. When I spoke with her last night, I could hear my niece in the background talking. And, mom did have to stop the conversation a few times to ask her to stop picking her nose. Gotta love those 4-year olds.

My niece should be back home today. Not sure yet about dad. Maybe early next week?

As for my home front -- now we're going to have to start putting everything back to where it was. Our place right now looks like a tornado hit it. :wow

The Curious Camel

My goodness you and your family certainly have a lot to deal with right now.

I worked for doctors and hospitals for most of my life so I know the stress you must be feeling.
Sounds like everyone is in good hands so keep positive thoughts flowing.

Thinking of you and your family.

g

richtersl

The Curious Camel wrote:

My goodness you and your family certainly have a lot to deal with right now.

I worked for doctors and hospitals for most of my life so I know the stress you must be feeling.
Sounds like everyone is in good hands so keep positive thoughts flowing.

Thinking of you and your family.

g

Thanks, Gail. My sister-in-law is feeling the brunt of it. There also are other issues at play for her and my brother, which I won't go into, so things for them right now are very tough. I went through something similar with my husband over 20 years ago. In a nutshell, he was in a motorcycle accident where he broke every rib, had two collapsed lungs, and lived. But that was a piece of cake compared to what they're going through.

The Curious Camel

richtersl wrote:

Thanks, Gail. My sister-in-law is feeling the brunt of it. There also are other issues at play for her and my brother, which I won't go into, so things for them right now are very tough. I went through something similar with my husband over 20 years ago. In a nutshell, he was in a motorcycle accident where he broke every rib, had two collapsed lungs, and lived. But that was a piece of cake compared to what they're going through.

It's amazing the slings and arrows that are tossed our way and how really tough we are.

it's good that little 4 year old can make everyone smile

g

thapamd

Linda,

It seems so unimportant to comment about your beautiful picture at a time like this, as you have so much going on in your life. I wish you and your family all the best.

BTW, love the image. Ok, so I couldn't help myself...had to make a small comment.