Salton Sea Bungalow

[GB1]

Oh, Salton Sea, you are so nasty...

From the west end of the lake.

Gb

[Bobintx]

I think that would be an awesome B&W shot GB1

[GB1]

I think that would be an awesome B&W shot GB1

Yeah, I can see what you mean. A grungier look maybe.

Here's another perspective, this one in black and white. I think it's better all around: thanks for the excellent suggestion!

G

[hminx]

First shot's nice possibly a curves tweak

Apart from the horizon in the middle of the frame I quite like the composition of the repost, maybe exposure of the building could be raised a tad.
Also the edge of the frame looks a little rough, I suppose you could either crop it straight or really rough it up.

[Bobintx]

BOOM! That's it!

[Erithacus]

The composition of the 2nd pic is better. And it looks great in B&W.

[Greg McCary]

I like the B&W you got away with putting the horizon in the center, nice shot.

[Didache]

Yep - the mono version nails it. Although there isn't a huge amount of space around the bungalow, there is enough to give a sense of bleakness and abandonment - a sense missing from the colour version.

The mono one gives that eerie feeling of a place forgotten.

I often think that a lot of people's photography could be better by concentrating on the mood engendered as much as on the technical side - how does the image make me 'feel' as much as what it shows.

Cheers
Mike

[GB1]

Fellows
Thanks for excellent feedback.

Mike, thanks, I will incorporate that idea into my future photos. I really think it's important to do what you say here, show the overall feeling of the area in the photographs. Cropping in would be such a waste in some situations. I also think it's important to evaluate the scene/situation beforehand, asking yourself what's interesting or important here? If the subject's the story and the surroundings are not so great, a tighter crop is warranted. But in a place like this, it makes sense to expand out the scene. I think I need to acquire a wider angle lens for some more shots too: 24mm is great, but this place could benefit from even a wider perspective.

Greg, I agree that I sort of got away w/ one on the horizontal centering. Doing that can give the image an unsettledness, due to conflict between the viewer looking at the top of the image or the bottom, but it may actually work in favor of this subject and location. An edgy composition just makes it uglier, which I guess is the point of the photograph.

Pete, thanks, but I actually added that roughed-up border - not good? I think these will strike different people in different ways. Btw, I did brighten up the shadows of the inside of the building a bit in a subsequent version. I think it looks better as it provides a tad more information, though it then makes me wonder what the heck this place was? Too small for a domicile. Maybe it was a fruit stand?

Thanks too, Erithacus and BobInTx.

G

[MarcusK]

The color version is good, but there are 2 things that I can't get over (I need to learn to let go): First is the small piece of wood just in front of it. It's just peaking, and for whatever reason, caught my attention. The 2nd thing is the fact that I get the feeling the image is tilting to the left. Probably just perpective, but... oh well.

The B&W version is pretty great and I actually think the centering of the horizon actually adds to the photo. It works.