The Bilbo House

From an old house in my neighborhood. It's been abandoned for years, and was full of antique furniture (momma and I spied through the windows one day and contemplated "borrowing" some pieces). Someone started a fire in it a few years back and burned a lot of the upper floor and that beautiful furniture, but the house survived. It's being restored, slowly, and I was able to get a peak inside. I love anything old, and this door in particular caught my eye.

For me its great bc I've known the place my whole life, but is it cliche to anyone else? How bout the angles, crop, whatever else might bug anyone? :) I'm all ears...

I don't find this cliche at all IMO. The only part I would be concerned with is the bright line in the middle of the shot from a window (?). But, after looking at ifor a while, I think it works and adds to the shot. I love the texture and the peeling paint on the right hand side...definitely a great addition IMO.

Great shot and wonderful eye!

Beautiful shot and I am glad that it survived the fire! Love the shapes that the darker areas of the image create, some lovely textures and the angles work well.

Good shot!
Herriot

Very good indeed Amithi. The colours are well captured. The slightly "burned out" section to the left of the door works in very well with the other contrasting colours. I love these type of shots and I'm guessing there are lots more where that came from. Did you get some more? If so I would love to see them here. If not, perhaps another visit?
Tom

Meg,

I had to comment on this purely because the colours are wonderful. However, a couple of things bother me slightly.

1. The verticals of the door - neither are vertical and it would be nice to have at least one of them vertical. However the other angles are fine and add to the interest of the photo.

2. Can I suggest you go back an retake when the light isn't quite so bright so that the tones around the frame come through a little more.

Other than that it looks as if the door stood up to the flames well and the chared colours add an appeal to the photo. nicely done.

I have always wanted to take photos in a burnt out building but not managed it yet.

Roger

The image actually scares me....which is a good thing. Once I saw it, my heart pumped cuz it looked like a crime scene or a place where people are kept against their will. Don't get me wrong....I like it. The color, texture, and aging....wow!

Show this place to a movie location scout and you've got yourself a winner for the next thriller.

When I was calm enough I looked for a critique and the only thing was the strong black vertical line (shadow). Maybe offset it more?

Good job....I'm sure you have more pics of the place...please share!

Beautiful work Meg! The colors and shadows work very well here and the place has a ton of character! I also noticed the "non-verticalness" of the vertical lines on the door, but in this case, I think it works. This place isn't quite right, and the verticals being off adds to the feeling that the place needs to be set aright! :)

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Originally Posted by manacsa

The image actually scares me....which is a good thing. Once I saw it, my heart pumped cuz it looked like a crime scene or a place where people are kept against their will. Don't get me wrong....I like it. The color, texture, and aging....wow!

Show this place to a movie location scout and you've got yourself a winner for the next thriller.
!

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First thing that came through my mind when I originally viewed this pic. Anyone ever see the movie Saw 2??! This originally struck me as something off of that set.

Great shot!

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Originally Posted by mpreslar

Beautiful work Meg! The colors and shadows work very well here and the place has a ton of character! I also noticed the "non-verticalness" of the vertical lines on the door, but in this case, I think it works. This place isn't quite right, and the verticals being off adds to the feeling that the place needs to be set aright! :)

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I agree fully with this critique. These old places are generally all over the place so the verticals and horizontals, being well and truely up the creek, tend to lend themselves in a very positive way to this image.INMO.
Tom

Really fine color and shape photograph! You are demonstrating quite an eye for serendipitous composition.

The white triangle of light in the middle really ties the smoke stain on the door and shadows in the lower left together making us wonder how soon the door will swing open and reveal . .

A couple of notes:
The 'straightness' or not of the photo isn't as critical to me as is the fact the wall on the extreme right would balance better if it were a little wider or matched (even as a ratio) to the molding of the door jamb. I'm also wondering if it needs a slightly different aspect ratio, even square, to really be as powerful as the elements hint it might become.

The picture either needs some color sharpening or the "haze" filtering with the inverted setting in a unsharp mask. You just make the amount/percent about 15-20% and the radius about 50-75 and it will reduce the blur and noise and it looks crisper and the colors pop better without introducing sharpening artifacts.

Again great image! Keep them coming and thanks for sharing.

Oh gosh y'all, I never thought of it like that, but I definitely see the horror movie factor now! Fortunately I've never seen the Saw movies, otherwise I'd never have gone in there by myself. I'm an easy scare, so when I go for a reshoot, I'm gonna have to take my sister with me to keep my imagination from getting the best of me.:p

drg, I've got Arcsoft photo studio, and I found the unsharp mask, but I really didn't know what to do with it :o You're welcome to edit the shot if you want to and repost it so I can see the difference.

Tom, manasca... sigh... I did take alot of pictures at this house, but this was the only one I thought was salvageable. The rest...well, I don't know, I just couldn't seem to capture what I wanted to.

I'll post a couple, see what y'all think I could do differently on a reshoot.

Thanks everybody for the comments.

Okay, any suggestions?

I'm really enjoying all these but the 4th shot shown (internal door) is excellent and the shape/presentation is spot on.
Looks to me like a very fruitful visit Meg.
Tom

I like the bw version (1st pic) more than the color version (2nd pic). The over exposed windows nuetralizes what can been seen on the other side of he wall keeping the focus on the ceiling which is the best part. I wouldn't want to crop the windows out because the shapes are interesting. I do like the colors in the 2nd pic but seeing what is pass the window takes away from the seen in the foreground. If the color version is recomposed, I'm sure it'll come together.

The 3rd shot with the brick wall has great color and texture. The way the bottom of the door sits on the photo might be better if it were just parallel to the bottom of the pic.

The last shot again has great texture and color but the line is clearly dividing the shot in half. Move the line more off center and I think it should be angled a bit more. Maybe shot while on one knee looking up at it?

These are little things...IMO.

The shots are very rich and your exposure is nice. Good job!

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks so much Tom!

And I'm with you on the bw picture, manasca. On the 3rd pic, I should shoot the door straight on then? I'll try to get the 4th one at a different angle too, try the knee thing...

There's a whole upstairs in the house that I've yet to walk through with my camera. I'll be home for the summer in a couple weeks, looking forward to a reshoot.

Thanks for commenting!

Hello Meg
Inmo it is the angle you used on the fourth one is what makes it a winner and gives it great tension and special character.
It means you gave some thought to the angle rather than go for the very obvious. It has your own very personal stamp on it as it is.
Tom

Thanks Tom! I think it's starting to grow on me :)

#4 is wonderful and the colours really bring home the danger and the heat the house has borne. The angle for the door is spot on and shows that thought has been given to the subject. I take it the lighting on the door is from a window as this really brings out the other colours and the door.

On #3 there is some perspective issues for me - the wall at the top is parallel and the bottom of the door is not. I think a square on photo would be much better or just leaving more room on the bottom would make this better.

#2 who did the damage the fire or the firemen - its so weired how fires cause damage in some areas and not in others. I prefer #1 because it look more sinister in B&W than it does in colour.

Roger

Thanks so much Roger!

I love how the UK people and Canadians say "spot on" and "bang on." You'd never hear that in Mississippi :) It'd be more like "Hun, that shore is a fine angle you got goin on thar."

I'm gonna have to go back and get shot #3 again; I want a good one of that brick. I'll take it straight on. There's a window to the left of the door too, might try to get that in there as well.

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Originally Posted by amithi

Thanks so much Roger!

I love how the UK people and Canadians say "spot on" and "bang on." You'd never hear that in Mississippi :) It'd be more like "Hun, that shore is a fine angle you got goin on thar."

I'm gonna have to go back and get shot #3 again; I want a good one of that brick. I'll take it straight on. There's a window to the left of the door too, might try to get that in there as well.

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Meg,

Look forward to seeing the new photo if #3 and especially with the window included.

Perhaps the Canadians and the UK lot should use more of the language to express ourselves. Now where's my Shakespear books for some tips; LOL

Roger

Quite minimalist. Almost seems like video instead of photography (not sure why). I also agree that it is not cliche. I like the rust and the decaying wallpaper/drywall.

Very interesting...
GB