Asbestos! Rust! Vines! It's old, alright.

sweetharmony

But I can't decide which to use? I know, too, that someone else is bound to come up with old house pictures. Greg's got some pretty darn good old mill ones that really aren't that different than these.
Architecture is not my strong suit....this is certainly pushing me outside of my comfort zone. All from the same house.....

1. Wear and Tear


2. Yesterday's Fashions


3. (No title, as of yet)


4. Slow Decline

ghinson

I think 1 and 2 are too tight. 3 is my fave here. Love the crumbling shingles.

PedalGirl

I actually really like #2.

billseye

I like #2 as well, but I think it would benefit from some increased contrast.

sweetharmony

Thanks! Any excuse for me to play with them more is fine by me.....
Bill, I'm afraid to increase the contrast much more on #2 because the whites want to blow up.....I was quite surprised to see it registered as bright as it did out of the camera, given how dim the light was and that I didn't use a supplemental light source. I'll see what I can do with it.
Greg, if you don't mind, please discuss "too tight" with me for a moment. It's a concept I'm still not getting. Do you mean to say that I need to step back from the subject a bit, or is it that the space within the frame makes you feel uncomfortable?

ghinson

They just feel to me like the crop is too tight. If there was a little bit more door, or a little bit more wall, I feel like it would help the composition. Afterall, your subject isn't the one hole showing the wallpaper, it's the patchwork quilt of holes showing through. Of course, at the challenge resolution size, you'll have to be careful that it is still clear what is going on in the detailed pic. For the doorknob, the knob itself isn't that interesting; not like it is intricately carved or anything. And yet the pic has a macro feel to it. But the knob, left as the primary subject, showing a little more door, might take on a new meaning. Look at this knob that used to be handled all the time, went somewhere, now sitting as the gatekeeper to decay.

(OK. Maybe I'm overthinking it a bit. )

Looking at it further, I think that the wallpaper pic probably has the most potential.

kdotaylor

I also like the weathered look of #3.

StueveShots

Funny...my first reaction to #2 was the opposite of Greg's (Greg did give me pause, though--he's got great taste!). I'd actually like to see what it looks like with no door at all. I think the lack of architectural context might make the peeling paint and wallpaper a bit more ambiguous and intriguing. Maybe a square crop with several wallpaper patches visible. Don't know if it would work...but I thought I'd share the idea!

sweetharmony

Oh, you all are very good to me with your instructive words! Lots of learning potential in this post and I thank you all very much. ....
And Greg, especially, thank you for the insight.

lifeinfocus

I like number 1. Shoot tight, crop tighter.

sweetharmony

Well, got another chance to work on these this morning......here's my pick, mostly because I find peeling paper to be lovely and spent so very much time as a child studying the wallpaper in this house:


Bill, you were correct about working on the contrast. And StueveShots, for you (you were correct in that getting rid of the window frame enhances the wallpaper as a subject....I love the look of this, but picked the other because I felt the inclusion of the wood gave more of a story line:



And for the doorknob discussion:
Still tight and probably always going to be tight because of the constraints of the door and doorframe, but I like the balance of this one better:

Maybe the texture of the wood integrates the doorknob better?

lifeinfocus

sweetharmony wrote: »

Well, got another chance to work on these this morning......


And for the doorknob discussion:

Maybe the texture of the wood integrates the doorknob better?

I like the rust color on the door knob in the original.

ghinson

The wallpaper shots are all very nice. Great find. I like a bit of the door frame for context as well.

billseye

I have to say that I think each one you reprocessed is better as a result. Nice work - I think you've expanded your choices, nicely!

sapphire73

I'm liking your latest edition of the wallpaper. I agree about the wood at the left providing context, but wonder what it would look like if cropped so that we saw a thinner strip of the white board at the far left? To my eye, it distracts a bit from the wallpaper with its white color and same width as its neighbor.

Lovely find!

Gretchen

StueveShots

I agree with the others now....a little bit of the door does help to set context of the wallpaper
. But thanks for trying the crop! Good luck...this will be a strong entry.

sweetharmony

Thanks again to you all! I think your comments have helped me improve the original image quite a bit......
And the discussion about the door has followed it right into the gallery....may never know if I chose right or not by including it, less of it or none of it!