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View Full Version : Basking in the Afternoon Sun



Dvir Barkay
01-23-2014, 01:43 PM
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3815/12105848554_ee25961090_o.jpg

Late afternoon sun glances off ancient Roman ruins in Ephesus. The light was harsh yet very warm and soothing, and it cast a magical color on the ancient ruins. I liked the way the light led through the image.

A700, Sony 16-50/2.8
F/13, ISO 200, 1/60s

David Stephens
01-23-2014, 04:26 PM
I was just there a few months ago. Wonderful site to visit.

I love the light on this. My biggest problem is that I don't know which way is up. That main tree seems to be leaning down the hill. I generally would try to get "natural" things going the way they normally do in nature and then let the man made fall were it may. I might also exclude the tree.

Another thought is, there are ruins all around here, so why not get some of them in the BG? Your main focus may be the light, as you state, but the column capital in the FG dominates and ends up being the subject, at least in my eye.

Dvir Barkay
01-23-2014, 04:30 PM
well its perfectly level, I made sure of that when I took it, so its just that the tree is really leaning. Also the column is the subject, with the eye supposed to then follow the path of light, at least that is what initially captured my eyes and my composition. But I guess it might not be powerful enough. That specific ruin had nothing behind it, but I do have some other pics with more ruins, which I am still working on. Thanks for the reply.

David Stephens
01-23-2014, 04:45 PM
You're welcome.

Then I'd crop out the trunk of the tree to get rid of the conflict within the image. Retain the light. As is, the eye only sees the conflict between the tree and the capital and struggles to reconcile the two. Please realize that I'm not arguing about which way is up, but pointing out that there's a conflict that the viewers' minds can't resolve.

andresleon
01-23-2014, 04:51 PM
I'm not very sure this was the best way to compose the image. There are too many distractions that draw the eye away from the column. I also think that if you had used a smaller aperture (like f22) you could have gotten the sun rays to come through the tree. That may have given the needed path you wanted to guide the eye from the column to the tree and the sun. I think you did a great job keeping the vibrant green of the tree even against such harsh light.

Dvir Barkay
01-23-2014, 05:14 PM
I do have a few similar images of a different ruin nearby with the sun peeking out and forming a sunstar. But here the sun was behind a good amount of leaves, and none of it trickled out so no sun star was possible. How would you guys crop the image if it were yours?

Don Railton
01-23-2014, 06:55 PM
Hi Dvir

I am not having any trouble understanding 'which way is up' in this comp. It seems apparent enough for me from the small bush above the ruin and the ruins themselves. I do agree with David's call for a crop from the right as I think the clutter on the ground to the right of the tree is not worthy of inclusion. I would crop to just clear of the partial column mid screen. A preference would have been to rotate a little more to the left to include more (maybe all) of the ruin in the foreground when you were composing. I do like the back light tree framing the image and the light.

DON

Andrew McLachlan
01-23-2014, 09:22 PM
Hi Dvir, for me there is too much clutter in the overall image and the portion of sky behind the tree is too bright...have you considered converting to B&W and emphasizing the details in the stone-work...that may give it an alternate look that may work better for the image as a whole...just a thought.