The framing on this could use some work, I welcome comments. I lean toward chopping off the top to get rid of the bright sky distracting from the stairway to nowhere.
Though mostly I look forward to feedback on the post-proc work for color, etc.
Looks like someone spent a lot of thought and time into making the stairway but not so much into making the image. The upper sky area is totally blown out and the remainder shows heavy chromatic aberration. Cropping off the top of the image would certainly make an improvement. The remainder of the image would certainly be entirely about the stairs. I am not sure that is enough to sustain interest.
If you do decide to crop off the upper portion of the image, that would leave an image that is mostly gray. You might want to consider a black and white conversion. You could also consider burning the edges and leaving the light on the stairs to draw the viewers eyes in towards the center. You have nice focus and exposure so you do have a lot of possibilities for further processing and enhancements. I am just not seeing what you want to convey with this.
Thanks for the feedback Camperjim. This is a tourist shot that goes along with my quest to learn how to turn an impetus into a good shot. i.e. I see this and think "wow, that's a nice stairway that someone spent a lot of thought and time to build with nice river rocks" but don't necessarily have the skill to translate it into a nice picture. While I didn't have much time when I took the shot, it's no excuse for not getting something better.
to make a good photograph all you need to know is why you are taking the photograph.
beauty counts only in fashion photography but is trumped by concept.
the reasons for taking a photograph are based on the elements of photography: lines, shapes, contrasts, composition, emotion.
p.s the top of the image is too blown, blow out the rest of the upper potion, add contrasts to the stones and darken the path around the stones.
Does it work better to blow out the top or to crop the image?
Aside from not cleaning up the CA on the top, compared to the OOC version any thoughts on the post-proc adjustments to the stones? I'm new to the post-proc world as well so any tips are good.
Imo, the blown sky does give it a "this image goes nowhere" vibe ... and thus disengages the viewer to exit. Without the sky, there remains a bit more potential for intrigue as one possibility. Depends on what you're trying to project to your viewer.
It's a little bit too long of an image. I would suggest editing down from the bottom. I see what you were trying to do. I think the image would be best shorter, though.
