Mission Statue
Canonet GIII QL17, Ilford XP2 Super
This statue (of Mary, I believe) watches over the little graveyard at Mission Carmel. I tried a low-to-high angled shot here. I wanted to incorporate the skyward pointing roofline in tandem with Mary looking up (to heaven?).
It would have worked better, I think, if the background was not so cluttered, but that couldn't be helped. I tried to burn the bright background to darken it a bit, but then it made the image too flat, so I left it as is. I think the high contrast between the roof and the background is an integral part of the composition.
Do you think the busy, bright background detracts from the photo?
Do you think a different crop is possible, and still keep the concept? Personally, I'm not sure it's possible to retain the same feeling with a different crop. Perhaps reshooting with a shallower dept of field would help, or at a different time to get different lighting in the back.
What do you think?
--Warren
posted by Warren T. at 7:58 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Hi Warren,
A very nice, interesting photo - but I do think the background on the right detracts from it.
You're on the right path in your thinking... a shallower depth of field would be the place to start, and also maybe different lighting.)
If all else fails, try masking off the rest of the photo and using Gaussian blur on the right side to simulate shallow DOF :-) :-) :-)
I really like the way the dark triangle of the overhang leads to the main subject, and the jusxtaposition of the rough stone wall and almost featureless dark triangle with the very refined surface of the statue.
-- SteveR
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your comments. This is an interesting exercise. I did try using Gaussian blur, but my initial attempt seemed unnatural in the context of the subject matter, so I abandoned it. I may try again when I have some time.
I may also try to crop a little more off the right side (to get rid of the two bright spots on the lower right), and a little off the top, but still retain enough of the dark triangle to get the lead-in effect.
I would LOVE to hear some other opinions on this.
--Warren
I hate to keep following Steve and saying that I agree but in this case again, I agree with Steve. Perhaps cropping it so the statue is featured more and less background is showing.
I have used Photoshop in blurring a background and using the Extract feature in CS makes it relatively easy. Create a new layer with only the background and just blur it. Extract allows you to create a rough outline of what you are trying to delineate then Photoshop does its magic to follow the detailed contours of your subject based on the rough outline. (I'm not sure if I'm explaining it properly but I hope you get the idea.) Then go ahead and blur or sharpen, dodge or burn, etc.
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