Peaceful existence in Illinois: People and Coal Power

[Hazel Grant]

Don't mean to sound political here about the environment, but I have found some times when odd parts of our world seem to work together. Here's another one. Right next to the SIU Saluki football stadium stands the campus clean coal power plant, part of the school's research into this area. I've taken many shots trying to show the "peaceful coexistence" of people and power. This one seems to be the best so far. Desat to put all on a level viewing field. Otherwise just some level adjustment and about 1/4 crop from the right. Am wondering if the girl on the right should be cropped too, to focus on the plant's part of the photo? Other comments?
Nikon D7000. Bright afternoon 1/1250, F56, Iso 400.

[Nancy Bell]

Hazel, when I first looked at this it was the scoreboard that captured my attention. Then the girl on the right. Until I read what you wrote, I did not put it all together. I like the desat look but all the contrast is in the people and scoreboard and the plant is much more subdued and in the more distant bkgd. I have never attempted this type of statement in my photography and not sure what to do with this image. If the power plant loomed larger and more conspicuously it could be interpreted as a menace. Good of you to work on this kind of statement.

[Hazel Grant]

Thanks. More eyes help. Appreciate your input.

[Dennis Bishop]

I like the theme of the image, and you shot it from a good viewpoint (with the people looking toward the scoreboard and power plant) and at a good time with regard to the pose of the cheerleaders.

After playing around with your image for a long time, I came up with a few ideas, but I'm not at all sure they tell the story. Your idea about focusing on the plant made sense. To emphasize its importance in the image, I cropped a tad from the right and a fair amount from the bottom. I decreased the contrast of the scoreboard a bit, decreased the contrast of the lower part of the image starting at about the bottom of the scoreboard a lot, and increased the contrast of the plant a lot. The last thing was a freeform vignette around the scoreboard and plant.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Hazel,

Greetings. Reading your description and looking at the image, it's hard for me to put the two together with the scoreboard. Dennis has an interesting idea but the marriage of the scoreboard & plant still... doesn't seem what you intended. Maybe a shot from the other endzone with some action on the right side of the field avoiding the scoreboard?

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Hazel, was it you who posted some images a few years ago with this theme? I recall a horse in a pasture with a power plant in the distance. I like the concept, and like others I think the image could be re-worked to make a stronger statement. I think this image would be a good candidate for the LR5 "Radial Filter" treatment, which I used here... Just a thought.

[Anita Bower]

A great concept. I agree with Nancy's comments. The scoreboard is the main problem, and then the small size of the power plant. I hope you continue attempting to get a photo that captures your important message.