Another Dream House

Cavalier

Lynn's post of a dream house reminded me of the Pflug mansion on Highway 395 in Washington State. John Pflug began building in 1908 himself - hauling all materials from a saw mill about 10 miles away with only a team and wagon. He never finished his dream house and it has been vacant since 1921. It is quite the spectacle from the highway and well worth a stop. I didn't have the proper lens with me to get a closer shot - but this will give you the idea:

Cavalier

Here is the same house - cropped differently to focus more on the house and then in BW. Make a difference?

lynnma

Cavalier wrote: »

Here is the same house - cropped differently to focus more on the house and then in BW. Make a difference?

Oh I love number two crop... the trees at the top distracted me a tad. Great shot... p.s. I really prefer the color.

Stumblebum

Sweet! Love #1! Wish it was tad off center or two shot pano to get some more sky and hills on the right! Love it still!

Cavalier

Thanks Lynn.

Yeah, the BW deadens the house - the color probably has a little more life in it..............as much life as a 90 year-old abandoned house can have!

Cavalier

Taz - this was done before I paid attention to the rule of thirds . I would love to get back up there to take another look at the place. Thanks as usual for your good feedback.

black mamba

Very nice, Jo. I, too, think the colored versions are best. I prefer the cropped second shot.

Tom

Cavalier

Thanks Tom. (btw, I love and relate to your signature caption!)

rwells

I much prefer the original image. The crop leaves your eye nowhere to go, and it makes the image out of balance. YMMV

Cavalier

Thanks for your feedback, Randy. Much appreciated. OK, I'm a little out of touch - what does YMMV mean?

rwells

Cavalier wrote: »

Thanks for your feedback, Randy. Much appreciated. OK, I'm a little out of touch - what does YMMV mean?

Your Mileage May Vary = You may have a different opinion

CCoop

My take:
1. original non-crop is great. Preserves a sense of scale, and the undulating quality of the hillside.
2. Love the color version. Nearly monochromatic as is, with all those soft tans.
Thanks for a beautiful shot!

Cavalier

Thanks for looking and your nice comment, CCoop.

Juano

Nice shot, I agree that the trees on the top of the first image are distracting, however I would crop leaving most of the hill in the back, without the trees. Your crop feels "tight" to me. I prefer the color version too.

Cavalier

Juano wrote: »

Nice shot, I agree that the trees on the top of the first image are distracting, however I would crop leaving most of the hill in the back, without the trees. Your crop feels "tight" to me. I prefer the color version too.

I see what you mean - pretty tightly cropped on my part. Here is another try with the cropping opened up a bit. Thanks for the suggestion! (I left a little bit of the sky in the upper right - may not be a good idea)

Jack'll do

I agree with Randy on your crops. However I would crop the bottom just to the point that the fence goes away. This still allows the eye to be drawn into the image and through the house to the sky.

Cavalier

So Jack, I cropped from the bottom leaving the trees and sky at the top. The result is below. Somehow, it seems to missing something with the fence gone - I guess I am just partial to the fence.
Now I can't decide which I like - too many choices makes me dizzy! I've put all the options side-by-side in small format below as well - if I have to be dizzy, so should all of you! :ivar

Cropped from the bottom:



the original -


the edits:
#1


#2


#3

David_S85

Of the above, I like the "original" best. And there seems to be more contrast in that one.

That fence helps make the shot! I wouldn't lose it. I would almost prefer a portrait interpretation of this subject if there was some sky above the main house. That might help to make what remains of the house look even more squished than what time has done to it. While closer-ups are great of these old wrecks, all those hills and fence seem to help the shot out a lot. I also like the color interpretation - those old timbers look even more old in that light.

Cavalier

Thanks for your comments David. The DGrin forum and its members are so informative, especially for an amateur - I've learned a lot here.