+1 @ comp ... alternate ideas? After asking myself "What's the point?" ... maybe a different crop to strive more toward the vine ... as the vine was the point of shooting THIS cattail.
Still feeling awkward ... hmmm @ ideas? Strong vertical subjects have always seemed to be a bit challenging. Anybody else @ verticals like this?
Think of it like an arch formation ... it is semi-rare in nature, with its own sense of form & texture that you don't see in everyday life for most people.
The vine wrapped around a cattail isn't something you see everyday (well, I haven't). The dichotomy of texture and form accompanied by the contrast of the "choking strength" of a vine wrapped around the more delicate structure of the cattail makes for an interesting observation/study for me.
Granted, the cattail at the lake itself might seem rather mundane ... but then again, so is a rose in a flower garden, a tree in the woods, sand in the desert. I think it is the intimacy of the details that can transform mundane from a picture "of something" to a study of what it is comprised of in its character. Extracting such character well isn't always an easy undertaking, but I consider it the inverse of taking you to see a grand vista ... each having the potential benefit of taking the viewer to somewhere they may have not previously been ... one leaning micro, the other leaning macro.
For some the world around them becomes "mundane", while others marvel at that which abounds. To a certain degree, everything is mundane. When I lived in San Diego, a family member from the midwest came to visit and marveled over the palm trees. My reply was "Really, where?" and I about broke my neck trying to look out the car window to see one. I had truly forgotten that they were all around me.
Visitors to the mountains, oceans or even a wheat field may marvel over the mundane, yet for those who are routinely aware of them ... they are just part of everyday life. I tend to vacillate between being bored by the mundane and being challenged by it.
I was "eyeballing" a coal mine operation yesterday and someone told me "Nothing to see here." to which I just grin and reply, "Sometimes there is, sometimes there isn't." It kinda depends on your perspective and presentation as to how much there is to see and/or be seen.
Thanks Rusty for replying to my inquiry. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder isn't it.
I think there are also many side elements as well. Here are a few I can think of:
1. Simple beauty (pretty, cute, graceful etc), I usually find trees beautiful even palm trees which I lived around for my first 40 years and never grew tired of. I even find a pond with cattails beautiful sometimes but seldom a single cattail which fits another class.
2. Awesome. Like thunder clouds or skys or heavy surf or waterfalls.
3. Grandiose: Like canyons, mountains or large spires.
4. Unique. I understand that unique is often prized, but it usually does not touch me much artistically. But as a recording my scientific genes may perk up.
5. Miniatures: Tiny exquisite subjects like you might get with macro photography. I enjoy this but never attempt it myself, requires too much hand eye coordination.
6. Grotesque. This escapes me, but again I think it is a theme for some.
7. Serene: Sunrise, sunset, water reflection. Probably a subset of simple beauty.
8. Soupcans: The Andy Warhol school of art which I think of as simply boredom with life or nihilism.
I am not especially fond of arches. I like Mesa Arch when it glows, otherwise not so much. I have other arches but when in Moab, I point my camera at great slabs of copper colored rocks for the most part which I find grandiose..
Rusty, I think your crop is a big improvement. I am not sure that the subject is all that interesting at least to me. Second problem is the background. Our attention is drawn to the light sky. I don't see a good fix for that problem. If the sky is darkened the cattail will not stand out.
Kent,
I think its neat to take on this kind of comp and BW was the way to go.
The narrower vertical crop works better than the original but feels tight. I havent checked it out, but what if you took only 25% or so off the right on the original.
I definitely swung the crop pendulum from one side to the other. Getting these verticals has been almost as much a nemesis of mine as blue skies are at times.
Jim's comment prompted me to add a grad to the sky ... does that help?
Thanks guys ... so while it seems I've been working on another batch of "lemonade" ... any thoughts on how to turn a cattail into fine wine ... or is that just asking a bit too much?
RustyBug wrote:
Thanks guys ... so while it seems I've been working on another batch of "lemonade" ... any thoughts on how to turn a cattail into fine wine ... or is that just asking a bit too much?
I'd say this has been a great exercise in tuning a comp/image. And there may be other tweaks. I still think it needs a bit more space on the right.
That said, I dont think this is a keeper.
Thanks guys ... definitely food for thought @ the next round (whenever that may be).
Ben ... I think your shots have the cattails playing more of a "supporting" role
Diggin' the the twin towers perch.
Karen ... Gotcha @ static (i.e. stiff/formal)
Scott ... +1 @ exercise. I may revisit it again later as challenges do have a way of generating lessons to be applied. Will need to let it soak in a bit first as what I've picked up from this one.
