Storefront for Sale

Back to the back roads in Missouri, I found this town, pretty small, with some loose dogs and few Confederate flags flying around. I did hang around for a bit, but stayed pretty close to the car. Here is one absolutely ridiculous image I tried to turn into something a bit comical. It has little in the way of artistic appeal, but it tells a bit of a story. I used simplify and can't remember what all else in the recipe, some Transform for straightening. It was pretty dark that day and I left it that way.

Welcome to the back roads of Missouri...........Comments welcome. Oh, that's a stop sign in the LRC............it's not very useful, as no one seems to stop there, and a couple of bullet holes through it spoke to the local's regard for the law. :S3:

Jay, I think this has a real back roads look to it that is very appealing. I've enjoyed your series and this one is no exception. The one thing I keep coming back to is the comp. I like a slice off the right but then the stop sign is on the edge. If it were mine- I'd evict the stop sign and take the slice off the right just cutting into the stop sign on the right side of it. I love the use of the Simplify filter and the blue is an eye catcher! Nicely seen and processed.:S3:

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Originally Posted by Jay Sheinfield

. . . It has little in the way of artistic appeal, but it tells a bit of a story. . . . It was pretty dark that day and I left it that way.

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I think it has a lot in the way of artistic appeal. I love the color and the grittiness of it. The look of the sky is very fitting; the image just wouldn't have been the same on a bright sunny day. The texture in the cinder blocks and road is great.

If I were going to play with composition (actually, I did), I'd extend the canvas lower a bit to get more of that road -- for the texture, to better show the curve, and to get that light stone (?) farther from the bottom edge. And, because that would be changing the aspect ratio in the wrong direction for me, I'd crop more off the top than I added to the bottom. Even at the expense of losing some of that false front on top. Really, though, I like it a lot just the way it is.

Jay, the processing and combination of colors and textures are what make this appealing to me. Whatever you did in addition to Simplify worked very nicely. Agree that blue is a pleasant eye catcher. Some good suggestions for different crop options, but nicely done.

Good feedback on the crop...............I did like the stop sign, but. Here it goes..................A bit off the right and add to the bottom. I'm unsure about the top crop, Dennis. I'll have to fool around with it.

Brendan, I remember using Flux to achieve part of the effect you were referring. It has been discontinued in NIK's new software suite. :(

Jay, You did a great job with the eviction and I like the way this turned out. The steps seem much more inviting to me now.:S3:

This is really nice, Jay. Both versions are great but to be honest, I liked the OP better. The old stop sign appealed to me and made it seem more rustic and believable. I think if it were mine, I might try to include the clipped branches on the tree to the left. That may not be possible, if there's something there in the way.

I am very much enjoying your series. :S3:

Beautiful composition and processing, Jay. I like how the road curves on lower part of the frame. Wonderful colors! I too like the OP because of the stop sign... makes it realistic.

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Originally Posted by Maureen Allen

This is really nice, Jay. Both versions are great but to be honest, I liked the OP better. The old stop sign appealed to me and made it seem more rustic and believable. I think if it were mine, I might try to include the clipped branches on the tree to the left. That may not be possible, if there's something there in the way.

I am very much enjoying your series. :S3:

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Maureen, Thanks a lot. Unfortunately, there is no more tree on the left.......... wish I could re-take it, but now they know what I look like:S3:.

Hi Jay, I love the processing of this one. The colors are great and I really like the effect on the tree. The repost with Denise's suggested crop works better for me. If it were mine I might try to eliminate the merge of the awning and the branches. Love these backroads images you have been posting. Nice work!

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Originally Posted by Andrew McLachlan

Hi Jay, I love the processing of this one. The colors are great and I really like the effect on the tree. The repost with Denise's suggested crop works better for me. If it were mine I might try to eliminate the merge of the awning and the branches. Love these backroads images you have been posting. Nice work!

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Andrew, Thanks. Good catch, I missed the merge of the tree/awning.:S3:

Some great exchanges above. That blue really rocks. The merge of the tree with the left frame edge bugs me more than the merge of the branch with the awning. Ah, on second look I see that Maureen already mentioned that. I do therefore agree with her :S3:. All in all the image is an eye-catcher.

Remember: watch those edges before you release the shutter. Framing a bit wider just in case is usually a good plan.

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Originally Posted by Arthur Morris

Some great exchanges above. That blue really rocks. The merge of the tree with the left frame edge bugs me more than the merge of the branch with the awning. Ah, on second look I see that Maureen already mentioned that. I do therefore agree with her :S3:. All in all the image is an eye-catcher.

Remember: watch those edges before you release the shutter. Framing a bit wider just in case is usually a good plan.

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Right you are! I had though about more canvass on the left, but it looked to hard:S3:.

Pretty much impossible at this point, at least for me... Improve your photography: become an edge-freak like me!

I figured attempting to add canvas to the left would be a good learning experience for me because I'm not very good at cloning/healing. Having to extend the tree seemed like a daunting task, but I had an idea that I wanted to test. What I got really doesn't come up to my personal standards, but I went far enough to convince myself it could be done. Unfortunately, I didn't keep track of time. Forty-five minutes, plus or minus??? But some of that had to do with simply learning how to better do healing.

Here's how I handled the tree: The image came in at something like 2 3/4 inches. Using the crop tool, I added about a half inch on the left. Then, I used the rectangular marquee to select a rectangle starting at the original left edge and including a reasonable amount of the branches (a width of about an eighth of an inch???). Next step was to paste it and move it left. After that, use the transform tool to compress it vertically and move it up and down until there was a reasonable match of heavy branches on the mating sides. Using the same selection, I pasted two more times and compressed it more each time than the last. Then, using a fine, hard brush, and colors picked from the original branches, I joined existing ones and added some more. All that was fairly easy and probably didn't take more than 10 minutes. The rest was playing with brushes and the healing tool to get a sky that looked like it belonged and move the road over.

Believe me -- if I can do it, it's not an insurmountable task.

Wow! The end result is fantastic. You did a great job with the tree and the added canvas---just a bit of smudging on the lower branches. The final image is spectacular and the new composition works beautifully. All in all this thread is a great example of what we hoped BPN would become (and what it is!) Thanks to all teh the Mods and members!

I have read and re-read this thread so many times, and had so many different thoughts about it, here are my thoughts at this moment....

I want to thank everyone who took the time to comment on the image and offer suggestions and posts. The feedback has considerable value to me. I still have a lot to learn about composition et al. Dennis, a special thanks to you for taking the time to do the edge work.

As I look at the image now, it is a better comp and presentation than the OP. However, in my mind it is not telling the same story...........to me the stop sign completed the vision, gave it a context. The last image could be anywhere, the middle of a desert, but it wasn't. It was in a small town
with dubious character.:S3: I feel that has been lost, somewhat. I have been a willing participant in the steps, and glad I was, because I learned a lot about all the different ways skilled and talented people can see the same image.

Art, I have a strong appreciation for your contribution and willingness to teach/pass along helpful tips to me, heavens knows, I can use them, and have used them many times in the past. So, please don't stop. I must however disagree that this is the FINAL image. It is not. I am not satisfied with it yet. It may be with inclusion of the stop sign, I can get this thing to work, and I am going to give it a try. Perhaps, I can't get it to work, and that will be it.

I love doing back-roads photography, they will never likely hang on any wall but mine, but the reason I do it is for the memories.

Please, don't take this the wrong way. It is with the input from all you that I will attempt to re-work this image. Your input has made me think of different approaches the next time I am out and about.:S3:

All that I can do is share my honest thoughts :).

Yes, I know you did. So did I.

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Originally Posted by Arthur Morris

Wow! The end result is fantastic. You did a great job with the tree and the added canvas---just a bit of smudging on the lower branches. The final image is spectacular and the new composition works beautifully. All in all this thread is a great example of what we hoped BPN would become (and what it is!) Thanks to all teh the Mods and members!

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When I posted the comment above I did not realize that the image in Pane 15 had not been created by the original poster. Apologies to all involved.

None needed..................wires just got crossed. It happens!:S3:

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Originally Posted by Jay Sheinfield

Art, I have a strong appreciation for your contribution and willingness to teach/pass along helpful tips to me, heavens knows, I can use them, and have used them many times in the past. So, please don't stop. I must however disagree that this is the FINAL image. It is not. I am not satisfied with it yet. It may be with inclusion of the stop sign, I can get this thing to work, and I am going to give it a try. Perhaps, I can't get it to work, and that will be it.

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Jay. In retrospect: I gotta say that the image in Pane 15 is--IMHO--far, far stronger compositionally than the originally posted image. As the person who pressed the shutter button however, you of course get to make all the decisions, stop sign or not, tell this story or that.

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Originally Posted by Arthur Morris

Jay. In retrospect: I gotta say that the image in Pane 15 is--IMHO--far, far stronger compositionally than the originally posted image. As the person who pressed the shutter button however, you of course get to make all the decisions, stop sign or not, tell this story or that.

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Art, I appreciate the follow up. I just figured I'd let the image hang out there for a bit and then come back to it, hopefully with a fresh perspective. I can tell you that I have the most trouble with compositions that involve a vanishing point, I need to do some reading up on that. :S3: And, of course more feedback from everyone at BPN, always helps. Thanks, Jay

YAW. I am one of the lucky ones: I do not even know what a vanishing point is!