On one of our evening walks this week, we passed a backyard greenhouse/shed that we've always passed over the years; but that evening the sun was at just the right angle and shining through the structure. It really caught my eye because everything around it was in the deep shade of heavy drooping evergreen branches.
I always set my camera at some sort of base manual settings depending on the time of day, cloud cover, etc before going for our walks; so when I took this shot as a reflex to what I saw, I had forgotten that the exposure was too dark. That's what happened with the first image. Once I realized it, I adjusted the settings a little to brighten up a bit; so more noise was introduced in the second image.
Overall, I like both of them. They give me the feeling of an entrance to another world or at least a Stranger Things vibe. The first one was difficult to decide on how much to adjust the exposure - I couldn't settle on what was the right balance between dark/light and amount of details desired. In the second image, I would've liked to have had a sense of more depth. There's something too 2-dimensional about it. . No matter what, post processing was fun for playing around with them.
Good for you for carrying your camera on your evening walks. I guess that's the benefit to marrying a fellow photographer. I tend to leave my camera home when out with my wife........ 'nuf said...
I really like the mysterious vibe and drama in the first image - the eye is automatically drawn up from the darkness to the light and contrast of the subject. The darkness that surrounds (vignette?) works well as a frame.
The 2nd loses that mystery somewhat due to the shadow detail, and the story becomes much different.
I think exposure adjustment is tricky in the subject (there's nothing you really want at 18% gray), but I don't think it is critical if you are fine losing detail in the shadows.
Thanks for getting out there and kicking this off Jennifer.
Actually, John's a philosophy professor and knows nothing about cameras; so when we walk, he talks philosophy while I take pictures. He also assists on photo shoots helping me with equipment while entertaining clients on the ruining of the west through Hegelian dialectical reasoning. Lol!
Thank you for the feedback; I appreciate it.
I too, like Alan much prefer the first's moodiness/mystery. The second one, I think would be more effective with more around it.
I think you're on to something, Charles, in regards to the second one. Instead of a zoom, I should've taken it with a shorter focal length then vignetted around the subject. I'm going to try shooting it again. Thanks for the suggestion; I appreciate it!
I totally agree with that Jennifer, and look forward to seeing the result.
I wonder what it might be like if taking much wider, minimizing the dramatic subject somewhat. Just as another option.
Definitely worth a revisit.
Great job Jennifer.
Now all you need is an arm reaching out....or perhaps a body coiled on the ground...new title Go To The Dark.
Nice composition using light and dark.
Yeah...and an axe and blood and guts everywhere! lol
Wow, that took a dark turn quickly! Heehee! You guys are forgetting a few of curious and naive young people.
I like them both.
They're both dark in a different way, the first one very obvious but the 2nd one seems to hide something beyond the frame of the image.