About the Image(s)
Title: Snowy Fence
Out behind our little house, we have some old chain-link fence that was a dog run back when we had dogs. The large new house that went up three years ago next door put up a wood privacy fence, which made a good background to the chain-link fence for this shot of morning snow, after a six-inch snowfall a few days ago. It was a wet snow, and the temperature rose quickly, so it was all off the fence in a few hours.
I converted to monochrome the shot that was already essentially monochrome and cropped to exclude elements that I felt detracted.
I think there are a lot of cropping possibilities for this shot, so here is the original. I am eager to know your suggestions. I suppose one could even rotate or distort this shot a bit, or render it with extreme contrast in one direction or another.
Ed Ogle
This is an interesting shot. I copied it and did some edits in Photoshop. I increased the contrast and cropped it so that the lines in the wooden fence are perfectly vertical. I also increased the clarity. I find the one white gap in the wooden fence distracting because there is no other distinct subject. Since there isn't a distinct subject I added a vignette to give the viewer a place to focus their attention. What do you think?
Posted: 03/06/2025 14:11:12
Stephen Levitas
All good suggestions, and it looks better. I did not even notice that disturbing gap in the wood fence. Posted: 03/06/2025 22:59:00
Somdutt Prasad
Very nice image Steven, it prooves that one only has to look to find interesting things.
I like Ed's rendition, if you have the time and incliniation, maybe just clone out the white gap in the fence, or try content aware fill (not sure whether it will do a good job, or just mess it up though) Posted: 03/07/2025 10:59:31
Wes Odell
Your B&W conversion and cropping "made" the picture. Very nice. Posted: 03/10/2025 09:59:08
Diana Magor
I had to hunt for the white gap so it clearly didn't bother me. I'm not sure it is a stand alone picture- maybe as one in a sequence of snow shots. We know you like patterns so it is a interesting addition and also a puzzle picture at the same time. Would anyone have been able to decide what it was without your explanation?
I prefer the straightening that is possible. or else go for a definite diagonal view. Posted: 03/11/2025 06:49:02
Wes Odell
You're right, Diana: I would never have figured out what the pattern was from. Posted: 03/11/2025 10:34:30
Tom McCreary
You have a nice pattern image, but with out knowing what it is, we would not know that it is snow on a fence. I agree with Diana that it is not a stand alone image. Posted: 03/11/2025 12:31:35
Stephen Levitas
Thank you, everyone. The idea that this should not be a stand alone image is very helpful.
However, there is no mystery that this is a snowy fence because *snowy fence* is the title of the image. This takes me back to a discussion we had years ago in this group, in which I was advocating for the importance of good titles for images. I believe some of you argued, and I differed, that only the image counted. Posted: 03/25/2025 03:08:12
Tom McCreary
Titles can really help, like this image. But in almost all PSA judgings, the titles are not read unless it is nature or photo journalism. So the image needs to stand by itself. Posted: 03/28/2025 20:34:25
Stephen Levitas
Ah, good point, Tom. I don't enter into PSA judging, so I had forgotten that. Posted: 03/28/2025 23:03:00
Jennifer Doerrie
As others already mentioned, this is a nice pattern image. I, too, would not have known what it was without your title. However, since you're not entering the PSA exhibitions, that may be less of a concern here. I'm drawn to the left side with the multiple knotholes. Have you tried a vertical image just on that section? Posted: 03/31/2025 04:24:22
Stephen Levitas
No, but that is an interesting idea. Thanks. Posted: 03/31/2025 05:26:01
