Three Figures - An Abstract. Does it Work?

[swmdrayfan]

I took a shot against a grey sky yesterday, and it just wasn't going to look good as a regular photo, so I converted it to b & w, increased the shadows, added a minimal Orton effect, and I'm posting it now for your consideration. The sculpture is titled "Three Figures", and I'll be going back when the sky is right. What I'm looking for is how you feel this works as an abstract? Worth the effort, or dump into recycle? Any thoughts you have will be greatly appreciated. :thumbsup:

[SmartWombat]

The softness makes my eyes hurt.
The orton effect makes it look like a bad out of focus attempt at silhouette.

[Tyson L. Sparks]

NO it doesn't!

[Don Schaeffer]

It's too easy--the sculpture does all the work. I would ditch the special effect as well.

[swmdrayfan]

The softness makes my eyes hurt.
The orton effect makes it look like a bad out of focus attempt at silhouette.

Yikes.........I think I've lost Smart Wombat.

[swmdrayfan]

NO it doesn't!

And with that I've probably lost Tyson Sparks.

[swmdrayfan]

Ok----it looks like this was a bad idea.

I'll be back when I think I have something worth posting. Please don't give up on me. I'm going to take some time off to re-evaluate what I'm doing. I will continue to show up here and try to contribute in other ways. Sorry I've wasted your time lately. I will be back.

[SmartWombat]

Yikes.........I think I've lost Smart Wombat.

Not at all, I was just being honest.
It would probably be better without the special effect.
I would devote more effort to trying to recover a little bit of shadow detail on the sculpture, and getting those clouds to look more dramatic.

Remember my opinion isn't worth more than other people's.
I just tidy away the chairs and sweep the floors in the sports forum

[Jaedon]

I like that sky and I think it could be made to work. Play with the curves and see what you get out of it. I agree with SW about the orton effect. It softens teh edges where the eye is expecting them to be sharp and defined. Layer up the 3 figures and deal with the sky.. then dial back the shadows on the figures and bring back the details. And after you have done all that... have fun .. relax... have some beer.. watch the NASCAR race. And start fresh tomorrow =)

[swmdrayfan]

Thank you Jay. I tend to get oversensitive sometimes. I also tend to overthink what I'm trying to do. I don't drink beer much anymore, but I just spent some time with the family and had pizza. Seeing the grandbaby wiped away all my frustration. Now if the Yankees would start winning, all would be right with the world.