Carole Kropscot, FPSA  

Shadows - Running to the Pumpkin Patch by Carole Kropscot, FPSA

May 2023 - Shadows - Running to the Pumpkin Patch

May 2023 - Carole Kropscot, FPSA

Original

About the Image(s)

The tiny orange spots at the top of the image are the pumpkins in the pumpkin patch! Yes, I wish they were a larger patch in my photo! My granddaughter is running excitedly towards them. She got to pick one to take home. The shadows were so unusually long that I just had to take the picture. I don't remember what I was wearing to make my shadow look so wide. Looks as if I have a floor-length winter coat on! My daughter is on the left. See the original for the visual reason I decided to crop off the top of the picture. I did my post-editing in Photoshop to clean up the grassy area and brighten up the colors. I should've taken more photos as we approached the pumpkins. A lesson for me to remember! Don't rely on one shot. Sometimes I forget I'm using a digital camera. (But when I use my phone, I take too many shots!)

7 comments posted

Joan Showers   Joan Showers
I can feel your grand-daughter's excitement. You caught her arms and the lift of her shoe just at the right moment. I liked the original because it gave me more of a sense of the location and of others gathering to pick fall pumpkins. I cropped it to a 16x9 eliminating some of the sky and your daughter's legs. I would also suggest using the clone tool and getting rid of some of the brown sticks in the grass. Fun times for kids. You captured it well.   Posted: 05/08/2023 16:21:13
Comment Image
Carole Kropscot   Carole Kropscot
The first thing you mentioned was about the exact motion I captured. That reminds me of a motion photo tip I usually suggest to people but failed to do myself. That is, when taking shots of anything in motion, I should set my camera to the mode that I call, Please keep taking shots as long as I keep my finger pressed down on the shutter button! Then, I can choose the shot with the most appealing motion. It's often impossible to take the peak motion by just looking and clicking.   Posted: 05/18/2023 20:24:12
Chane Cullens   Chane Cullens
There is a good story here with the excitement of running to the pumpkins. I like the central focus on your grand-daughter, that is without the people on the other side of the patch. The crop with sky shows more environment and good sky. That said, I still lean towards your tight crop and the focus on the story and shadow leading to the pumpkins.

p.s. good tip on capturing more photos, and with digital we almost never run out of "film".   Posted: 05/10/2023 21:08:32
Barbara Friedman   Barbara Friedman
Fun capture! I especially like your granddaughter's shadow. I prefer Joan's crop for the same reasons.   Posted: 05/13/2023 11:29:51
Lee Ann Stamm   Lee Ann Stamm
Hi Carole: Isn't it great how everyone can take a different creative path on the same image? I love your story-telling shot. These are the changes I would make. First I've been told not to have anything coming out of a corner of the image, i.e., your daughter's leg. I like seeing the people at the horizon and some sky. To me this looks like your granddaughter is running toward the fun. As for your clothing, I think it makes you look like a Wise Woman. This is how I would crop the image.   Posted: 05/15/2023 17:09:10
Comment Image
Lee Ann Stamm   Lee Ann Stamm
I also used Levels and colored the sky blue. I did not take the time to remove some of the corn husks, but I would recommend removing them.   Posted: 05/15/2023 17:11:26
Connie Reinhart   Connie Reinhart
There is excitement in this image because of the girl running toward the pumpkins, hands splayed in joy. The cropping may be a little close to her head, but that also makes her look way ahead of the adults following. Good job on fixing the grass. Good color and exposure. Very good focus on your moving granddaughter. The diagonal lines of all three shadows lead right to the pumpkins. The fact that one shadow is placed exactly at the corner does not bother me in this case. I like the sky cropped out because that makes the pumpkins more prominent.   Posted: 05/20/2023 08:20:05

 

Please log in to post a comment