View from Within ll . . . .

[gahspidy]

Hey All,
I had posted one like this a while back and am thinking of doing a series on the theme of this type. Something about peering through a doorway that somewhat makes one feel like an observer. . sort of alienated from the world outside. Would like to know your thoughts on this. Technicals and also whether you feel the concept works for you or not. Thanks

[Tin-Cup]

plain and simply this is a great shot.... stunning infact....
i cant believe nobody has said so yet.... there is one critique and that i would have liked to see a bigger amount of light coming through the door...this cant really be done well in ps not as well as natural anyway...

i love nearly everything about this shop... i love the etchings in the door frame... i love the person just standing outside... i would sell this in my shop and it would sell as a large print...nice one...

were is it?


EDIT: i might crop the left hand side a little more if it were me

[bobbythebandit]

This is good and i wonder did you also try focusing on the person and letting the door frame be slightly out of focus ?
Bobby

[Seb]

Hey All,
I had posted one like this a while back and am thinking of doing a series on the theme of this type. Something about peering through a doorway that somewhat makes one feel like an observer. . sort of alienated from the world outside. Would like to know your thoughts on this. Technicals and also whether you feel the concept works for you or not. Thanks

Hello Gary,

This is a stunning picture in every ways. Your concept trully works as far as I am concerned. I also think that having the doorway in focus and "the outside" out of focus was the right decision. In fact, I think that it was the only way to go to achieve the feeling you were seeking for.

Seb

[shesells]

Gary, you're quite the photographer. I love your black and whites and this is no exception. I love that feeling of being "in" and looking "out". To me it's more intrigueing than being "out", looking "in". This photo keeps my attention for a long time. I love the light peeking in through the crack, the etchings, the mysterious figure out there and just wondering what kind of place this is. I've never really been in a place that looks like this. I assume its a stall of some kind because of the ground just coming in from the outside. The light is good, the shadows are good, the DOF is good, the subject is good, the idea is good, the photographer is good.

Kit

[schrackman]

Gary, I really like this shot. Has a very "dreamy" effect to it. But I can't help but wonder how better it might have been had you got (what I assume is) the boy in focus as well. That might have been a bit tricky to do in one shot, but perhaps you could have shot two frames (one each with foreground and then the background in focus) and then merged them together in ps. Just my thoughts on what I would have like to have seen. Other than that, great shot.

Ray

[gahspidy]

Tin-Cup . . . Thanks for the comments. glad you noticed the little things, like the etchings in the door frame. I chose a black border for this image, which was probably not the best choice. Without it, the left door frame is almost right up to the frame. The way it appears with the border, i would agree about a slight crop to the left frame, but i think I just need to rid the black border here. this was taken in a little cabin in Pallisade State Park N.J.

Bobby . . . Thanks for your comments. I felt i wanted the viewer to feel as if they were inside looking out and felt focusing on the interior was the way to achieve that. Actually, I feel the door frame or doorway is the subject with everything else being elements of interest.

Seb . . .I appreciate your comment on this as a concept. Happy to hear it as i look forward to getting more images for the theme. I agree, I thought the focus on the doorway was the only way to go.

Kit . . .I don't know what to say. . . I'm very encouraged by your positive comments. Thanks for your thoughts. I hate to spoil the mystery here, but I think I owe it to you to reveal the "inside" info on the location ;) There was a pic i posted not long ago called The Little Cabin. This is from inside that cabin. Thanks again,Kit

Ray. . .Thanks for your time to comment. when you say "dreamy" that was what I was trying for. The boy and outside was actually in sharper focus, I added a soft focus to the outside to further "seperate" it from within. It's just the feel I was trying to achieve, although it may not be for everyone. I had shot this scene with a 28mm, even though it was wide open( 2.8) it still carried a good dof. More than I wanted ,actually. .but with wide angles dof comes along for the ride.
Thanks again, Ray

[Hightree]

This is a very 'mystic'image. For some reason it reminds of the Blair Witch movie :-) Great image.

Cheers,
Frank

[Tin-Cup]

i felt i had to come back to this and ask what camera you used... i would love a full res of this..i like it so much i would have it on my wall....great capture...the best ive seen on these boards..

[gahspidy]

i felt i had to come back to this and ask what camera you used... i would love a full res of this..i like it so much i would have it on my wall....great capture...the best ive seen on these boards..

Frank. . .Thanks for the time to comment.

Tin-Cup . . .i shoot with a Canon Elan7 and was using Kodak Ultra Color 100 film that day. ( first time i tried it) I get the negatives developed and scan them with a film scanner. I would be reluctant to send out a high resolution file on the web, but have an idea that I will PM to you. Thanks again

[Chunk]

The light is good, the shadows are good, the DOF is good, the subject is good, the idea is good, the photographer is good.

Kit

Are you hinting for a thesaurus for Christmas, Kit?

I have to agree, though. I like the blurry backlight that gives a dreamy feel.

[Hindey]

LOL Chunk, made me laugh.

Gahspidy, I like this image. At first I wasn't sure but I'm getting more convinced everytime I look at it. The only thing I'd like to see is colour, to be honest. I can't really offer anything else, as everyone else seems to like the image so much I feel like I'm missing something. Perhaps next time I look I'll get the appeal 100%.

Cheers,
Chris

[villenadecorte]

Gary,
I think all of the shots I've seen thus far with this cabin make for a great series. I think the highlight on the left in the spaces between the cabin walls is an excellent addition. I also think the child outside is a good addition, and the DOF is very good, but the child captures so much attention (the shadow is perfect), the shot could almost cross the line and be about the child. It depends on your personal preference about what you want your shot to say.
There are a lot of details in this one, the carvings on the door way, the shadows reflected on the right, and my favorite aspect the texture of the grass on the floor. Again, you did a great job bringing the eye from the inside out.

[Speed]

Hey All,
I had posted one like this a while back and am thinking of doing a series on the theme of this type. Something about peering through a doorway that somewhat makes one feel like an observer. . sort of alienated from the world outside. Would like to know your thoughts on this. Technicals and also whether you feel the concept works for you or not. Thanks

Great concept, perfect execution.

Very nice.

Well done!

[Chunk]

LOL Chunk, made me laugh.

Gahspidy, I like this image. At first I wasn't sure but I'm getting more convinced everytime I look at it. The only thing I'd like to see is colour, to be honest. I can't really offer anything else, as everyone else seems to like the image so much I feel like I'm missing something. Perhaps next time I look I'll get the appeal 100%.

Cheers,
Chris

Since my response was a bit brief, I'll tell you what all I like about this shot, Chris.

An article I read recently said that one way to make your painting hold someones interest is to make sure you have a good amount of contrast in it. The author didn't mean just the contrast of dark against light but the contrast of soft against hard, rough against smooth, curved against straight, detail aginst plainess, focus against blur, saturated against non sat and a couple other things I don't recall right now, probably color related. Look at how many of these Gary has loaded into this frame. To me those things are all like eye candy - deliscous.

Then look at the composition here. The door is placed off center within the whole and the boy is off center within the door. These placements add interest and dynamics to the shot compared to having everthing centerd. Follow all the perspective lines you see in the walls and the shadows on the lawn. Don't they just pull you right out of the cabin and lead you to the boy? This physically flat image has a strong feeling of depth because of those lines as well as the size difference between the doorway and the boy.

And then Gary used some kind of magic, I guess , to combine it all so well and have that dreamy quality that transcends all the technical aspects.

[gahspidy]

Chunk,Speed, Rebekah, and Chris. . . Thanks, you 've helped me more than you know. I'm glad you thought the concept is good. ( used that word to make sure Kit understood) ;)

[92135011]

Very nice effect with the overexposure of the sky. Dont know if that was deliberate or accidental, but it definately fits very well.
Think it looks best at focused doorpost rather than the background.