Please help me decide which of these photos you feel has the best impact, if any.
They were taken yesterday just before sunset during a bitterly cold wind storm that was whipping up snow around this abandoned homestead.
3rd and 4th work best for me, Tom. The sun is a little overpowering in the first two, and the resultant flares distract a bit.
Love the light on the fg's and the whipping winds are nicely caught!
I really like these, but I would have shot before the sun crested the horizon to avoid that harsh light, then get your exposure for the structure just right. The last one is my favorite for the wind on the snow. Nice job, keep going.
I really, really like all the ingredients here. As others have mentioned though, the brightness of the sun is kinda taking over the shots. I think #1 is my favorite because it keeps the sun under control the best, but I find the shadows in the other three very appealing.
the first and last are superb in my eye. perhaps a slight crop off teh bottom in the last, just before that tuft of grasss.
its as if i was standing there. great use of the elements and farm.
They all have their merits, Tom. I think I like the first the best because of the light on the foreground grasses, but my first impression was for the 2nd, with a nearer positioning of the barn. Of course none of this really matters, as the only judgment of value is what you think works the best.
Number 2. I prefer the silhouetted look of the building and much prefer the composition over the last two. The first one looks faintly HDR, which I don't have any problem with (whether it is or isn't) but I prefer the stark contrast in the 2nd. It looks more inhospitable to me somehow. That said, I really like 1 also. So 2, closely followed by 1. Great shots mate! I love the shooting in into the sun look.
The first and last work the best for me. If there was no wind that picked up some snow, they would not be nearly as powerful. I'd tone down the brightness personally, to give it an even "frostier" look, but that's just me.
Thank you for your considered responses to this series of photos.
As I proceed with this hobby, it is becoming clearer to me what I want to
accomplish, and that is to create images that satisfy my own desire to capture things that I find interesting, but also to have that image resonate with ordinary folk who couldn't care less about compositon or post processing, but who just respond to what they see.
That is why I ask for your input, and respect it very much.
