Snowy Cottage - Providence

[natefromri]

Here's a snowy photo I captured of a place in Providence, RI called the Betsy Williams Cottage in Roger Williams Park. This photo was taken with the Nikon D70. I PSed out a park trash can which was on the extreme left hand side of the photo, which I normally don't agree with, but for this photo, thought it was necessary to capture the essense of what I was trying for, that being a cottage in the winter-time without distraction.

What does everybody else think of "digitally enhancing" photographs to make them more visually appealing? Is this unethical? Would it have been better to simply move the trash can manually prior to snapping the photo? To me, the issue of altering a photo to make it what the artist is seeking presents ethical challenges. As an artist, how much editing is too much? Or does it not matter, since we are creating art instead of a factual capture of what we're seeing?

Thanks...Nate

[jar_e]

Here's a snowy photo I captured of a place in Providence, RI called the Betsy Williams Cottage in Roger Williams Park. This photo was taken with the Nikon D70. I PSed out a park trash can which was on the extreme left hand side of the photo, which I normally don't agree with, but for this photo, thought it was necessary to capture the essense of what I was trying for, that being a cottage in the winter-time without distraction.

What does everybody else think of "digitally enhancing" photographs to make them more visually appealing? Is this unethical? Would it have been better to simply move the trash can manually prior to snapping the photo? To me, the issue of altering a photo to make it what the artist is seeking presents ethical challenges. As an artist, how much editing is too much? Or does it not matter, since we are creating art instead of a factual capture of what we're seeing?

Thanks...Nate

Good shot, just not huge on the branch in the upper right, doesn't really help this photo out much. And in regards to how much PS is too much, you as a photographer have to draw your own line, because mine will vary from yours, and yours will vary from everybodies. I don't mind digital manipulation, as much of the time if your looking for a shot that YOU want then YOU can make the shot how you want. The only time I'd be hesitant to do that is when you start selling lots of your material saying "This Location" but really, it's altered too much to say it's actually that location.

Just my two cents,

Jared

[mjs1973]

I like the image and it's very easy to see what you were going for in this shot. I too find the branch at the top of the photo to be a distraction tho. Other than that, I think the composition is good. This image, like the others that you posted, seem very soft. A little USM works wonders for digital photos.

As for the digital enhancing photos... it's been discussed here many times so with a little bit of searching you should be able to find a thread dedicated to the topic. Personally, I have no problems with people editing their work. As Jared stated, your limit is totaly up to you. Taking the garbage can out of your image is very minor compaired to some of the images I have seen, and some of the images I have created. It's just like anything else that is subjective. Some people like it, others don't... it's up to you to figure out what's best for you.

[opus]

I think if you presented this picture to us with the words, "This is EXACTLY what I saw that day", then the fact that you did ps work would make your statement a lie. But, you are not saying that to us. You are presenting a picture to us for our visual pleasure. So the ps work does not matter one whit.

[gahspidy]

Good subject and nice angle , but I also fing the upper branch a distraction. Image does seem soft and there appears to be jpeg artifacts going on , most noticeable on the branch in the snow right at the bottom. You might be compressing your images too much?
As for the removal of the can, where is it? I wish to photograph it. ( ok kidding). I have no problem with that kind of editing, in this case rather mild.
Welcome aboard, look forward to more