Tatooine Sunset
It would need some technical polishing to please anyone other than myself but it is still one of my favorites in a year of very limited opportunities due to medical issues. A fierce setting sun perched over a flagpole, Gulf Shores AL, with oil platforms looking to me like Star Wars walkers in the distance.
This was on the tail end of a tornado, looking east. The time is about 6:30 PM. The tornado is heading east heading on to the Mid-Atlantic States.
If this tree had fallen to the west, instead of the north, it would have come down right on top of my head. If you look closely, you can see where it took out the electrical line leading up to the transformer across the street.
Steve Thomas
Wow - that could have hurt!
Defining "best" is too complex for me. This shot is not visually exciting or challenging but taking it gave me enormous pleasure. "Best" in that sense.
At the fish market in Ortigia, Sicily. We had just bought fish and it was beautifully prepared for us. As we left, the man who had done the descaling etc, burst into song. A quite stunningly good opera performance.
I was very tempted to do this with it.
I can't really define 'best', but your interpretation of "the one that gave me the most pleasure" is as good as any.
I like the crop but I think the full size one is better. But then I have a thing about not cutting off peoples feet.
Mike,
I like the first one best, seeing the whole person. Also the first picture shows more of the shop. I find that interesting. That's an excellent photo...well done!
Digirame and Alan.
I couldn't make up my mind. It was the three open mouths and especially that of the sword fish that I was hunting in the crop. The more panoramic angle encouraged an eye movement across the three of them and so seemed to link them more strongly. But then, I like the stage like setting of shot 1.
In general, I prefer the wider shot, establishing the context of the scene. The “POS” sign, complete with downward pointing arrow, is unfortunate and, if you’re of a mind to make localized adjustments — something I struggle with myself for these types of shots — you might consider a darkening brush on the sign and the window behind it.
Really nice as it is though. Good snap!
It's a great and very unique shot regardless. I feel like the main thing which I could see as a distraction is the busy background. I feel like it would still provide plenty of information about the kind of surroundings if it was shot at a shallower DOF and it would give it a more 'stage-like' appeal. Something like this:
Simplejoy, that's brilliant. Huge thanks. Your version is the best of all. I'm going to explore this further. As well as the blur, I might crop the right about halfway to the blue bin, but I'd want to leave the blue bin in.
Excellent idea for forcing more focus on the central characters, the two guys and the Big Fish (who also looks like he might be singing). There's ways to tweak the blur in post even further to manage the transitions but you've shown the path here for a new version that will accomplish Mike's vision. I really prefer the wider view like you've used here rather than the cropped one, with simplification depending on focus rather than crop. There is an effect, with the shop serving as an opera stage, that is similar to how I use the concrete structures of the dam in some of my bird photos, and that larger setting plays an integral part in the story. The singer's feet are necessary in that version of the story (though of course there may be many versions, likewise many different stories)/
