Here is another one as well. These two should give us plenty to talk about. I am not fond of the sky though, it came out rather blotchy which I think is because I didn't develop right. One of my first developing on my own.
Here is another one as well. These two should give us plenty to talk about. I am not fond of the sky though, it came out rather blotchy which I think is because I didn't develop right. One of my first developing on my own.
Reminds me of the Lavender Pit near Bisbee, AZ. Amazing, some of the mining operations out there. I drove past a clay mining operation here in GA a few months ago and you couldn't really see anything through the trees, except some of an emerald-green retaining pond. Who knows what chemicals were in that...
Anyway, the light is harsh and there's just not much of a focal point to me. Perhaps you could explain more what drew you to this scene.
Mine Image: I enjoy putting the viewer's feet in the water. Perhaps dangling them over the pit, instead of having foreground, would be an interesting approach to the subject.
An example, Mill Creek (4x10 carbon print)
"Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China
At he EAA air show in Oshkosh WI I camped for a week, that morning I was one of the first in the gate at 7a and was rewarded with this shot and nice clouds.
http://rogerbeck.com/img20190728_20260822-3500.jpg
That has a great vintage feel, Roger. Good job beating the crowds! I drove by you going to and from work each weekday.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
Like!
Been there many times.
Originally Posted by Roger Beck
Tin Can
What caught my eye was the immense expanse of this thing. The image does not do it justice. You can get a feel though if you look at how tiny the dump trucks are. If you know how big those things are when you are next to them you can get a feel for the scale of things. The far right was probably a mile or so away.
There was not a central point, but rather the massive expanse of the scene and the many straight and geometric lines and the light and dark patterns. I chopped off a good portion of the foreground that really did nothing for the image.
Nice. I like to do similar as well. Stood in a river once to shoot a small damn in South Carolina.
I put the viewer's feet in the water, not mine. Well, usually! LOL!
One cannot crop to a good image if one is not there. If the image does not do the subject justice, the image failed. Why did you put it in this thread of "Your Best Photograph from the Previous Month" thread?
Edited to add: I realized that my question might sound rhetorical and disrespectful -- but it just part of the image's critique. Sometimes the subject can over-power a poorly composed image -- such subjects as flying saucers, movie stars, trail wrecks (meant train wrecks, but as a mule packer I have had the former!) and so forth.
If this subject was photographed well from this viewpoint and could be enlarged into a bedsheet-sized print, then the viewer might be able to walk in closer to see the detail and get the sense of scale.
Last edited by Vaughn; 16-Aug-2019 at 11:04.
"Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China
You cannot get closer to the edge than I was, hence you get foreground that does not add to it. There is a fence since people are only allowed in this area to view the mine. I suppose I could have used a longer lens, but then you would lose out on its vastness. This thing is really, really huge. I put it here because there is more to learn than composition. Light, shadow, etc. Plus, I put images here to invoke conversation and for us to study. And hopefully encourage others who may be hesitant to post here that they should.
For this image, it is a more than a snap shot and critiques received will help for my next visit to this mine. Perhaps I can find a different vantage point that I did not know about. Lastly, I never take a critique as harsh or mean even if intended that way. It is how I learn and others as well. It also does not mean I will alter my final image because of the critiques. I more often than not, leave the image as I envisioned even if a change makes sense. Other times, I go back and play with it because the critiques given bolster my reservations about the image or something in it that I cannot put my finger on, but know it is there.
If I can redo the image better, I would consider a wall-sized mural of it. Currently I can only do a 24 inch wide by however long print. If I get a new printer, I may be able to do one that is 8 foot by however long. Assuming I can improve this image to be worth that effort.
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