I think you've stumbled across a potentially great photo but you need to revisit and reshoot with different, dramatic lighting. Maybe dawn or sunset, or maybe after a thunderstorm when the sun is illuminating the scene but the storm clouds are still dark in the sky behind the image.

I'd also get further away and use a longer lens to compress the perspective a little more and straighten out the church. The top of the picture is warping inwards... looks like you were using a wide-angle lens and tilting it up at the scene.
#1917729

I well remember your other photo. It's one of my favorites here at bp. ok so ... mmm ...

I still love the subject and I think you've done another great job of shooting it.

I didn't notice the tilt until this shot but it's in the other one also ... is it possible the steeple really is tilted? for that matter what about the building ... I saw bunches of tilting buldings in Kansas in the old old boom towns. Lord, talk about history falling down around us ... At any rate if you want to fix it ... try a little distortion in ps.

but the thing that's making me nuts is the crop. the crop in the first pic is much much better. I know you'll ask why so let me sit with the idea a little ...

ok ... I think it's combo of the rule of thirds, line of sight, and foreground subject vs background.

yes technically the church is on a third but you're also visully dividing the image and the viewer right down the middle ... which is great if you're contrasting something but ... but I don't think you had contrasting subjects in mind here.

Since the trees are in full wardrobe, the line of site also dumps the viewer right into the middle of the pic. Even the church roof helps move the eye to the middle.

and you've got a lot of trees vs a little church ... so it's creating an imbalance. Some would say it creates a tension ... the viewer knows the church is the subject but they're probably gonna wonder what's with all of these trees?

i noticed the trees so much that I noticed there's a road running in the back ground that does not fit the image and ...

let's get some mileage out of my daughter's 6 digit education ... she was taught that it's imparitive to get the little contrasting color things out of the pic ... because they'll be distracting ... which is probably the reason that right after I noticed the road ... I noticed there's something shiney under the tree to the left ... and then while I was moving my eyes back and forth forth along the road in the back, I stopped and stared! surely that's not a newspaper on the front step ... what is it? lol

anyway ... the distort tool and the cloning tool should fix this pic right up.

ugg which is more than what I can say for the images i'm getting out of my hp945 ... I think i'm going to have to become very familiar with "neat image"

... and listen ... while you're just obsessing over over this shoot ... why not see if you can get it in more fall color on a fine misty morning :)

i'm ducking (the flying newspaper) ... i'm leaving ;)

have fun,
pam #1920544

Now about YOUR camera, It's the person using it more than the equipment. You take great shots. - Mike #1925628

I don't think you've got this shot wrong yet! I think you could do a whole series of seasonal shots on this setting and have a collection that people would love to buy. But don't build a business plan on my advice ... check with people who are doing it.

As to me and mine ... I'm flattered you think I take great shots. I do think I have been blessed with some amazing moments in time and been caught with my camera in-hand ... and I know for a fact my skills have drastically improved since I started hanging out in the critique section here at BP ... but here's the deal ... the camera issues just get more and more frustrating with the more I learn ...

1) I absolutely never can shoot in auto mode ... explaining the awful results would fill this post and 3 or 4 more.

2) I have to be certain I am avoiding "high contrast situations" ... I find it amazing how many situations are "high contrast" when it comes to this camera. When I shoot in such a setting, I get loverly outlines of bright teal, blue, even hot pink and an electric purple.

3) it has no idea how to assign color to individual pixels ... I get clumps of pixels assigned one color so I have a "grainey" or "mottled" looking image. It doesn't happen with just high ISO ... although it is muuuch worse as soon as the camera leaves the 100 ISO.

so ... I am looking for ways to deal ... it's very discouraging ... I know my skills are improving ... to the point that I would love to be able to sell some ... but ... first I have to figure out what to do about this idiot camera and the results I get ... OK, OK, OK!! YES IT IS very difficult to take my own advice and keep shooting solely for the express purpose to learn more about composition and control when the results are much less than I wanted.

in other words, I am having to learn to live within the limits of my camera and my finances in order to change my finances and then my camera.

I am also prodding my writing around ... my first zine should go out mmm probably next week ... it will be print and on line ... my first article involves Protacio's pic of New Orleans that he posted to his and has graciously allowed me to use !! (well as long as I give credit and promote :) You'll be very proud ... I actually pulled out a lot of gram'r and spel'n rules and followed many of them ... and it's not completely full of ... ... ...'s

yell if you want me to drop you a note when I actually accomplish this ... but right now ... I promised Roxana more info on the impact (on me) of her Mirrored photo A WEEK AGO! So I'm gonna go do it!

have fun,
me #1930332

Just to let you know, I got sooo frustrated while I was writing the above to you that I went and downloaded Neat Image. You can see the results here I'm a little Happier

So thanks for the encouragement!

(moving closer to publishing that zine ... i'm sure next time will require much less thought!)

have fun,
me #1946382