Scrapyard

I guess this shot is bordering on experimental but I'm interested to know what folk think of it. It was taken at a scrap metal yard at Inverkeithing late last year and I only just recently rediscovered the shot and decided to try and make something of it. All C&C welcomed of course.

I like the sky and the way it seems to go on forever.
Looks like a painting.
Nice work.

Vibrant colours, diagonal elements and details please my eye. Well done, Graham.

Great composition and sky, I'd like to see a version with a cooler look for wb

Thanks for the comments guys!

I hadn't really noticed that until you pointed it out Peapicker! But you're right, those clouds do seem to go on and on.

Thanks Olli, unfortunately I shot this as a JPEG so I was a little bit more limited with what I could do with it compared to RAW. This was taken before I saw the light of shooting in raw!

Thanks for the thoughts Dorman, I've done a cooler version below which takes on a more natural colour balance. I quite liked the "sunburt" feel the colours above gave the image but see what you think of the more natural version:

I really, really like this picture, but I am having a bit of a conflict with the sky. The upper right corner has something going on that is just not right. Almost like your thumb was in front of the lens.

Nice shots Graham, a great improvement in the second shot.

It sounds like my attempts to do something a bit "arty" with the sky to make it more interesting have come across as a photographic faux pa! I put in a graduated mask to darken the sky down towards the top right hand corner.

Maybe my original image was OK, but my attempts to add an artistic element to it (the sky mask/colouration) have not been so successful?

the clouds look so surreal.

It is a captivating image (#1). The colors are appealing, the clouds quite nice, and the hard metal trash below the tranquil sky is an interesting combination. It does have the lines of a good image.

I find it too much. The composition is great, the subject is great, but I find the post processing turns it into something that can never exist in the real world. Just my opinion.

Wes

Thanks Riceburner, my wife and I often refer to those types of clouds as "Simpsons" Clouds, as they remind me of the clouds you see parting at the start of the opening credits of The Simpsons! LOL

Thanks for your comments Titus213, I find the stark contrast of opinions surrounding the colouration I performed on the image fascinating! I think a lot of it depends on how the viewer wants to interpret the image.

And your opinion is very much appreciated Wes! Does the second image work better for you (with more natural colouring)?? I should probably point out too that it wasn't really my intention to make the image look overly natural or "believable" (even though, apart from the colouration there really hasn't been any other post-processing done on it). Instead, I was trying to put a slightly surreal spin on the image (and it pleases me to see that word cropping up a few times). So in a way, if you feel the image looks slightly "other worldly", I'm kind of pleased!

You definitely succeeded in the surrealism department! It's not that I'm a purist for realism, I just found it overwhelming. The second image definitely works better for me. Actually it reminds me of a series of magazine ads, but I can't remember what they were for. If I think of it I'll let you know.

Keep it up!

Wes

Wes wrote:
You definitely succeeded in the surrealism department! It's not that I'm a purist for realism, I just found it overwhelming. The second image definitely works better for me. Actually it reminds me of a series of magazine ads, but I can't remember what they were for. If I think of it I'll let you know.

Keep it up!

Wes

Thanks Wes, I really appreciate the constructive feedback. Having viewed this image (first one) on a few more monitors, I have come to the same conclusion as you.. I think I definitely over-cooked it!

I'm curious about these magazine ads now, so if you do happen to come across them, I'd definitely be interested to know!

The second one works better for me. The mix of colors is just that much more pleasing to my eyes. Great shot...I can almost smell the air of metal.