Barbara Gore
February 2025 - Forgotten Farmstead
About the Image(s)
Canon 5D Mark 4
70-200 mm lens @ 120 mm
F/13
1/500 sec
ISO 640
While midday photography is not one of my favorites, when you see something interesting it can’t be ignored. This image, captured during a mid-afternoon drive through Virginia’s backroads, showcases an old barn/house that caught my eye. Despite my usual preference for better light, the old structure needed to be captured when I saw it. Unfortunately, this angle was the only viewpoint available at the time. In LR, I made basic adjustments and fine-tuned the tone curve. Since the sky was clear in the original image, in PS, I added some wispy clouds for interest, a few birds from another frame, and a stroke to create a visual boundary. I’m open to suggestions for further improvements.
10 comments posted
I'm with you on this one. Last fall in mid day I passed a couple of old barns that were lovely and begged my camera's attention. I couldn't wait for better and, you know the rest of the story. I do like the barn and can see why you stopped. Golden light on that grass and that building would be wonderful. I agree with the vertical format, what else could it be (?) but for me that tree just over powers the building. Interesting to note your tried the substitute a sky and add birds approach to save the image. The sky looks appropriate but I don't think the birds help as for me they make the image feel unbalanced. I wish you better light on your next back roads adventure. Posted: 02/10/2025 18:35:20
Thanks for your feedback..will consider the birds. As much as I wish I could have viewed the scene from a different angle, I like the greatness of the tree in front of the dilapidated barn structure. Definitely will be going back roading again! Posted: 02/16/2025 14:13:43
I think you got a story here - an old barn probably there when the tree didn't exist or was a sapling. I like the enhancements you made to the sky but agree with Larry about the birds. For me, any old barn taken mid-day is a B/W image. If it were my image, I think I would convert it to B/W, make the sky dark, bring out more texture in the barn in the shadows, and darken the foreground grass some. Posted: 02/12/2025 01:06:29
Wow Michael. What a wise guru you are! You should be sitting on top of a mountain offering words of wisdom!
I think you idea is so simple it is magical. The idea of turning of wooden farm building that are photographed in full daylight into monochrome is so simple I wish I had hear it before. But your are right. Monochrome is about shape, structure and line. Stripping the image of color will bring out those elements. I'm going to go back through some of my older images and experiment with this. Thanks Posted: 02/15/2025 20:53:58
I think you idea is so simple it is magical. The idea of turning of wooden farm building that are photographed in full daylight into monochrome is so simple I wish I had hear it before. But your are right. Monochrome is about shape, structure and line. Stripping the image of color will bring out those elements. I'm going to go back through some of my older images and experiment with this. Thanks Posted: 02/15/2025 20:53:58
Thanks Michael. Great idea about the black and white. I didn't consider it when editing but will do so now! Posted: 02/16/2025 14:14:57
what an interesting thought B,
I like a lot the centerline and how everything is around it. Well done.
Posted: 02/13/2025 01:33:24
I like a lot the centerline and how everything is around it. Well done.
Posted: 02/13/2025 01:33:24
Thanks Adi! Posted: 02/16/2025 14:15:39
It is an interesting building that brings me back to Western movies. The mid-day light doesn't bother me, but I would like to see more of the building and less of the trees around it. I agree that B&W might work well here perhaps with a sepia tone. Posted: 02/16/2025 06:54:59
Thanks Arne. I'm in the middle of transferring my work to a new computer but will go back and look at black and white options. Posted: 02/16/2025 14:16:55
I actually like the tree. You did a good job with the clouds, I don't see any haloing around the tree. I like the idea of a B&W treatment, think it would really make an interesting image. Posted: 02/20/2025 03:46:21