OLYMPUS OM-2S/P,Zuiko 50/1.8,Fujichrome 50 Manual mode, spotmetered off sunlit rhododendrons. 1/60s at f/5.6. Handheld (didn't have a tripod yet).
full exif
It's much better. I personally would have cropped a bit more because I think the aspect ratio of the overall photo is way less important than the composition within the frame. I'm still finding myself tripping over that bit of blankness at the bottom, but it does work much better for me with this crop than the original crop. I get brutal about my cropping and don't think anything of hacking it apart. I've had times where I've cropped away twice as much as I even kept! LOL! ;) It truly is a lovely capture. ~ Lonnit
OK Lonnit, I have cropped a bit off at the bottom now. Not as much as you suggested - for two reasons: Aspect ratio (height of the photo in proportion to its width) and balance - I felt some space was needed below the reflection of the orange rhododendrons). For the record, here's what the photograph looked like originally: --
Olaf
Olaf.dk
13-Jun-2004 07:27
Wow Lonnit, thank you for your lengthy comment/analysis! I really appreciate it!!! Before I posted this photo here, I cropped a bit off the bottom, because I felt the foreground was dark and kind of empty. I also tried cropping it tighter, pretty much exactly like you've now suggested, but didn't like the resulting aspect ratio - almost a square, but not quite - those are ugly proportions! Further, I remember reasoning like this: If I post it with the looser crop, and that really is the less effective crop, I might be as lucky as to have somebody comment and suggest a different one. Whereas if I post it with the tighter crop, the viewer won't know the alternative... As for this being my finest shot yet (thank you!!!), the irony is that this is from the beginning of my "photographic career", shot 16 years ago, within the first six months after I got my very first SLR (which I still have and love)!!! Anyway, I will look at the crop once again and see if I can come up with something better.
--
Olaf
It's beautiful until you get down to the bottom 1/4 - this stunning image suddenly drops to nothingness - one is lead from top to bottom as the eye drifts through it to be abruptly disappointed by nothingness. One just then falls into an abyss. If you cropped that section off (cropping just a teensy fraction below the lowest orange flowers, it would be a VERY stunning image. This change would force the compostion so that the rocks on the right would start closer to the lower right corner and lead one into the photo to where the rocks sort of form a triangle, and the point of the triangle would end up near the lower left intersection of thirds. When cropped, your eye will enter from the lower right corner at the orange flowers, run up along the rocks to that lower left intersection of thirds, then be pulled upwards by that lovely green frondy plant which then brings you high enough to then help your eye leap over the the orange flowers on the upper right. Once there you are attracted to the reflections of the orange flowers, back down on the lower right, which starts you traveling thru again. The capture and the composition are stunning - it's just the simple crop that will make this a flawless image. Excellent seeing! I think this is your finest shot yet! Just beautiful!!! ~ Lonnit
