I know rule is one but they are the same subject so I'm going to lump them together.
Both of these are shot same day a couple months ago, they were not posted on 365 and I never got any comments on Flickr but others photos in the same group did so I'm thinking there is something wrong with them or they just aren't as striking as I though. Maybe its the subject people feel uncomfortable about.
For the top one, since all the stones are in focus, I feel like the vignetting isn't needed. Love how the trees frame some of the rows in the bottom shot. I think cropping is what could be changed here. Some of the stones are cut off as well. One idea I'd play around with is a lower angle shot. Like looking at them from around the same height as the stones.
shot 2 didn't hold my interest like the top one. i think it's because you already organized everything for me so that my eye didn't have to linger very long. the top shot is interesting visually (the stones that are a bit lean-y) but there's nothing to pull at emotions....it's more a pattern than a cemetery. Hope this helps
you pretty much HAVE to go abstract with it...you accomplished that in the first photo...
i like that one, it has a nice abstract quality with lines across the frame
how did it look in color?
the second one
it's decent but there's no focus
no where for the eye to go
i just look at the full frame so i'm not drawn in to any particular area
doesn't really work for me
I agree that the first picture does more for me. I think some of the lack of comments might be because that is a scene that most (if not all) of us have seen before. I think Juan might be on to something with his idea of a lower angle.
Sarah the color was horrible on the first one... that area must have flooded or something, the grass was all brown and yellow and green just too much going on with the pattern of the tomb stones so I made it black and white and evened the tones as much as I could to not take away from the real pattern I wanted to show.
definitely more drawn in by the first photo, I like how it feels a little like its undulating and am glad it is black and white. I learned something to. When I first looked I didn't see the vignetting at all, it wasn't until someone mentioned it that I went back and looked. So I have learned how to look at photos a little more closely so thanks!
I like the second one best, Death is too unorganized and questionable on its own, so the symmetry in the second is pleasing to me- calming, not as "haunting" as the first one, so I like two! I love them both though :)
I don't know, I don't think that the subject is uncomfortable, it's just kind of overdone. But I do think that these photos are some great examples of cemetary photography.
Love the first one! The second one just doesn't do it for me - I think it is because the composition has the focus on the tombstones behind the trees in the background where there is also more colour and contrast. I would also like to see Juan Gil's suggestion of a lower angle shot. I find that the biggest impact of these cemeteries is the huge numbers of people interred there. The first shot captures this by presenting a seemingly endless pattern that follows the topography and goes on forever past the frame. A lower angle in the second shot would have had a similar effect by making you see the pattern of tombstones going out into the distance until they disappear.
My fave would be the first one as well, because of the different directions you are taken in with the eye. A suggestion I'd like to make is that I notice in both shots that there is a 'sliver' of horizon left, while patterns like this try to give you an unending feel, like the stones go on and on, and that idea would be enforced even more if there is no horizon, or if all detail is lost on the horizon. For the first photo that would mean a minor crop, and the second photo a different angle.
Cheers!
Raymond
On the second one, I like everyone's comments, but as a variation, I like the framing of the tree. I just think there's a bit too much tree for the simplicity of the stones it's framing. I would consider cropping it landscape style cutting out the top and bottom of the photo, and leaving a bit of the leaves framing at the top.
I like the perspective, but if you could retake a shot, I agree about trying a shot on the same level as the stones, possibly trying one with a stone or two out of focus in the immediate foreground.
I like them both very much, but for different reasons. I second what jennykramer said about the second one. I couldn't put my finger on what I liked about it until she said that. That's exactly it. *shrugs* No accounting for taste, ey?
The folks who are suggesting getting low... I'm wondering if they've tried shooting in cemeteries before. When you get low, you get a row of tombstones in front of you instead of rows and columns. I've run into this problem before, so I understand why you hesitated to stoop.
I like the 2nd one best. It leads my eyes to the top and makes me wonder what's up there over the hill. I like pictures that make me stop and wonder about them.
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this is a tough subject to shoot....
you pretty much HAVE to go abstract with it...you accomplished that in the first photo...
i like that one, it has a nice abstract quality with lines across the frame
how did it look in color?
the second one
it's decent but there's no focus
no where for the eye to go
i just look at the full frame so i'm not drawn in to any particular area
doesn't really work for me
first one for sure though!! ;)
Justin Good point the shot isn't exactly unique.
Thanks everyone for the comments
Nice shots!
Cheers!
Raymond
On the second one, I like everyone's comments, but as a variation, I like the framing of the tree. I just think there's a bit too much tree for the simplicity of the stones it's framing. I would consider cropping it landscape style cutting out the top and bottom of the photo, and leaving a bit of the leaves framing at the top.
I like the perspective, but if you could retake a shot, I agree about trying a shot on the same level as the stones, possibly trying one with a stone or two out of focus in the immediate foreground.
Still, nice shots as they are!
The folks who are suggesting getting low... I'm wondering if they've tried shooting in cemeteries before. When you get low, you get a row of tombstones in front of you instead of rows and columns. I've run into this problem before, so I understand why you hesitated to stoop.