Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Landscape & Nature Photography => Topic started by: russell a on September 20, 2004, 08:52:57 am
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[font color=\'#000000\']In general, I advise photographers to decide what they believe is the story they want to tell - the narrative. Then, crop anything that doesn't contribute or, especially, detracts from that narrative, such as something that draws the eye away from the true subject. (I would say that this is the case in your photo). One has to be careful in applying this rule to cases where the context - the surrounding place or activites, contribute to the narrative. One finds the latter case in much street photography. But, for other subjects I see a lot of photographers eliminating interesting complexity and ambiguity in the interests of monolithic subjects. Everything is a balancing act.[/font]
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[font color=\'#000000\']Scott: Using my "guidelines" above, I would consider the "narrative" to be the linear left to right flow following the fog down the river and culminating in the "star" of the sunlight through the branches. According, I feel the bright blue at the far upper left draws the eye away from that flow. So, I would crop the left end of the photo to just left of the first lighter green foliage, MAYBE leaving just a touch of the blue that has the sapling lines in it as a way to tease the eye into the picture, (but probably not). I tend to crop incrementally, tightening it up as I go.[/font]
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[font color=\'#000000\']I tend to have a problem with cropping too, but this is what I came up with based on Russell's idea:
(http://www.screw-digital.info/panocrop.jpg)
(Maybe it needs more off the top, but that just seemed to put too much weight on the left, which would have required that to be cropped, ad infinitum..)[/font]
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[font color=\'#000000\']I agree with Dave in that you have to satisfy yourself first, then others.
If I were cropping the image, I would crop off some of the bottom, not the top. The far river bank bisects the image in the center, giving the top and bottom about equal weight. It doesn't take much river at the bottom to show it is a river, and the foreground doesn't add much to the panoramic. The very right aea of sun in the mist draws you eye to the bottom area without the need for a lot of other detail. On t original, Iwould crop the left side at the first sharp dip in the trees as you move right to left, just past where the trees go off page. Then burn down the sky a bit.[/font]
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[font color=\'#000000\']I have been experimenting with panoramic images and have been looking for good feedback about when to crop the image. Sometimes, it is easy to get carried away with the wide format and just shoot for really wide. that isn't always best as far as composition. How would you crop this image?
(http://www.trailpixie.net/temp-image/browns%20bridge%20morning%20panorama%20reworked.jpg)
Three images from a Canon Pro 1 stitched with PT Assembler PanoTools.
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/100
Av( Aperture Value ) 8.0
Metering Mode Evaluative
ISO Speed 50
Focal Length 7.2mm
thanks,
Fike[/font]
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[font color=\'#000000\']Is there some reason you do not like the way it is cropped now?[/font]
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[font color=\'#000000\']Russel,
I knod of feel like you do about the view from the left to right, but I sometimes get the sense that my vision gets caught in the left side and can't easily glide to the right. I will have to try cropping it like you suggest, but the green part that is in the black area is pretty cool and by moving the left edge over, the green leaves seem to hang out kind of unnaturally.
Can anyone say "analysis-paralysis!'
fike[/font]
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[font color=\'#000000\']Fike - crop it the way that it looks best to you. Find your style. Find what you (and your family if applicable) like most, and create your images that way. Then, perhaps, post an image and ask if others like it your way. - Dave[/font]