Anges van der Logt, PPSA
January 2022 - Untitled
About the Image(s)
This is an image I have taken in the Netherlands in October. It had rained and there was just a break in between. Taken from the seaside of a dike in the north of Holland in the small village of Paesens in Friesland. I found the dark clouds and apparent rain very moody and just composed the top of the church tower in the frame, making it an abstract and simple image.
Any comments or input?
This round’s discussion is now closed!
14 comments posted
I must admit, I wouldn't have come to the idea of taking such a picture. It breaks a lot of rules, but rules are meant to be broken. The dark cloud occupies more than half of the image, but it lends a menacing feeling to the image. The bottom fourth is a green patch without much information, but it's needed to frame the church's tower. The viewers see just a small portion of the church, but they don't need to see more. On the other hand, the church's tower is placed according to the rule of thirds and against a clear sky. The only thing that I might change is to clone out the lower cloud on the right touching the field. Congratulations! Posted: 01/10/2022 19:07:59
Thanks for your review! Will try to clone out the cloud mentioned. Posted: 01/12/2022 01:22:52
The sky with rain falling is what really makes this image. I think you could possibly add more local contrast to the clouds to punch up the drama even more. I go back and forth on the choice to use only the tower; the composition is good, but I wonder if more of the church would be better? Did you get an opportunity to climb to the top to get a more full view? (Or was that view than more complicated?) Posted: 01/11/2022 09:32:44
Thanks Bob for the review. For info on what is behind the dike I attached a pic from a different view. Yes, it is a more complicated view if I had climbed the dike. I would also have been too close to the tower, and probably would have to use a wide angle lens which would probably not be enough to get the rain and dramatic clouds in the background (they were further away). I will try to add more contrast to the clouds though. Thanks. Posted: 01/12/2022 01:28:00
Jose and Bob's eval's are spot on! I really like the mood, simplicity, rule of thirds, framing, and use of light/dark to direct attention, which is toward the heaviness and trailing clouds… Very creative! However, as the viewer, I would be a bit confused as to what's attached to the steeple and would yearn for more. Perhaps, this is your objective. I really love your 2nd image to Bob's reply! My eye was guided immediately by the repetition of form and color on the left toward the clouds, which is complemented with the rolling grassy hill on the right. This tells a better story even more so with the menacing clouds… Very nice work! Posted: 01/12/2022 05:29:54
Thanks Christine for the review. Yes I can imagine the viewer could become confused, especially for people who have not seen a scene like this (with a village behind a tall dike). I just wanted to make a minimalist image actually, but my style is more like the image I attached to my reply to Bob. Thanks you like that one! So not so successful after all ;) Posted: 01/12/2022 05:50:28
I agree that the drama from this view is not as intense. The rain falling makes a big impact. Like so many images we take, it seems we have to make compromises when we change views (and time). At east you explored the other possibility, but I think your first choice is better. I tend to agree with Mervyn that possibly adding more light/contrast to the steeple might help. Posted: 01/12/2022 13:52:34
Thanks Christine for the review. Yes I can imagine the viewer could become confused, especially for people who have not seen a scene like this (with a village behind a tall dike). I just wanted to make a minimalist image actually, but my style is more like the image I attached to my reply to Bob. Thanks you like that one! So not so successful after all ;) Posted: 01/13/2022 02:21:58
Your composition and presentation is so unusual. Most of us would have turned away in frustration. Well done on thinking out of the box.
The sky is so dramatic that it adds to the story. On my monitor the foreground is quite dark, so I would suggest opening up those shadows slightly. I also agree with cloning out the bright cloud lower right.
Posted: 01/12/2022 12:35:20
The sky is so dramatic that it adds to the story. On my monitor the foreground is quite dark, so I would suggest opening up those shadows slightly. I also agree with cloning out the bright cloud lower right.
Posted: 01/12/2022 12:35:20
Thanks for the comments and review! Appreciated Posted: 01/14/2022 01:44:13
I agree the rain adds nice impact. I also really like how you framed the steeple in the clouds! I did not realize it was a steeple of a church until I read the other comments--probably my failure, but I wonder what it would have been like if you had included just a tiny bit of the top of the building? It seemed to me like an odd building poking up out of the ground. Posted: 01/14/2022 00:10:44
This is the church of a village near the sea. As many places in the Netherlands, they built dikes to refrain the seawater from entering the land. As the church is quite near the dike, and the dike was quite steep, there was no way for me to get higher and not get the church to large in the frame or with other buildings (as I would have had to use a wide lens to not be too close to the church then). I appreciate that different people have different opinions about this image. Maybe next time I can get an image with more building in the pic, but maybe I need to look for another location then. ;) Posted: 01/14/2022 01:47:47
Yep, sometimes it is just not possible to get a different angle, better or otherwise! Maybe you need a tall monopod to hold up :-).
Somewhere I was recently reading about drone photography--the comment was that the typical high-altitude overhead view, although very interesting and can be very effective, gets old fast. The point was made to use a drone for a slightly different angle of view--that is, just a few feet or 10s of feet (feel free to convert to the better metric system) higher, or of course from a point where you can't get (such as off the edge of a cliff). That makes me think a drone would be interesting to try. Posted: 01/15/2022 15:22:43
Somewhere I was recently reading about drone photography--the comment was that the typical high-altitude overhead view, although very interesting and can be very effective, gets old fast. The point was made to use a drone for a slightly different angle of view--that is, just a few feet or 10s of feet (feel free to convert to the better metric system) higher, or of course from a point where you can't get (such as off the edge of a cliff). That makes me think a drone would be interesting to try. Posted: 01/15/2022 15:22:43
The cloud and the rain fall appear interesting. I like the orange color of the sky below the dark cloud. Would it help if you increase the vibrance of the orange sky so as to add an element of interest because the colors of the cloud and the glass are muted? As Bob has suggested, increase the contrast and texture of the cloud can also help to increase the drama but of course it is of personal taste. Posted: 01/25/2022 10:44:52