Standing Alone in the Rain

[Judy Howle]

One of the few photos I made in the rain in Cades Cove. I used Nik Silver Efex.

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Wonderful image Judy! I love the subject matter, the fact it is B&W, the perspective, the atmosphere and how it effects the background. Excellent DOF control, and composition as well. Extraordinary. Regards~Bill

[Dennis Bishop]

Wow. This demonstrates the worth of taking photos in bad weather. It's a super image. I like the road leading in to the image, the puddles, the fence posts receding quickly into the background, and the tonal range. It's framed very well vertically, but I'd suggest cropping a small amount from the right. I think that puts the center of the tree and the right edge of the road in better positions in terms of horizontal proportions. It also makes the entry to the road relatively wider. And the right front fence post, which is such a big part of the receding fence line, becomes more important.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Beautifully done, Judy. Even though you had bad weather it looks like you came away with some really, really nice images

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Judy,

Greetings. Dennis said it, Wow! Just beautiful. Congratulations on creating a superb image from the details like the reflections in the puddle and the mist rising in the distance and the slight curve of the road at the end to the strong mood that draws one into the image... Good show!

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Judy Howle]

Thanks much Dennis! I see your point about cropping some off of the right but I wanted to keep those bare trees in the background in the image. If I crop it now I'll have to lose the frame but I might do it anyway.

Wow. This demonstrates the worth of taking photos in bad weather. It's a super image. I like the road leading in to the image, the puddles, the fence posts receding quickly into the background, and the tonal range. It's framed very well vertically, but I'd suggest cropping a small amount from the right. I think that puts the center of the tree and the right edge of the road in better positions in terms of horizontal proportions. It also makes the entry to the road relatively wider. And the right front fence post, which is such a big part of the receding fence line, becomes more important.

[Judy Howle]

Thanks Michael, Cheryl and Bill! It is one of my favorite images from the trip!

[Dennis Bishop]

Thanks much Dennis! I see your point about cropping some off of the right but I wanted to keep those bare trees in the background in the image. If I crop it now I'll have to lose the frame but I might do it anyway.

I like the bare trees, too. And the darkness of the cloud in the upper right. However, if you do decide to crop, you don't have to lose the frame on the right edge.

Here's how. Use the rectangular marquee tool to select from the very edge to just where the curve in the rounded corner of the frame joins the top and bottom edges of it. Then, copy and paste. That'll put the section you made on a new layer right above the original image. While still on the new layer, select the Move tool, and use the left arrow key to move the edge of the frame to where you want to crop. After cropping, the inside edge of the frame at the upper right is going to be darker than the rest of the image because part of that dark cloud is going to be there. If you change the blend mode to Pin Light, the darkness will go poof.

[Judy Howle]

Thanks for the suggestion Dennis, but I had saved a large version of the image for my website so I cropped it and then took it back into Silver Efex and added the frame quick and easy. That also kept it up to max size with no loss of quality as I resized down, not up. I also added a slight curves adjustment to lighten the lighter tones a little.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Judy, I prefer the OP best of all. I like the way the tree in the lower right, in the distance, helps to anchor that side of the comp. It doesn't work as well for me with the crop. A very lovely B&W rural scene...wish it were mine

[Hazel Grant]

Agree with Andrew re crop. That fence post is too slim an element to be half there...looks like a mistake. If it were a bigger element, like a stone wall, etc. then it wouldn't be a problem perhaps. Like the OP too.

[Judy Howle]

Thanks Andrew! I prefer the original crop also

Hi Judy, I prefer the OP best of all. I like the way the tree in the lower right, in the distance, helps to anchor that side of the comp. It doesn't work as well for me with the crop. A very lovely B&W rural scene...wish it were mine

[Jay Sheinfield]

Beautiful scene, Judy. Great sense of mood. The lighting form the fog and comp with the tress and fence line of very appealing. Well done.

[Anita Bower]

Gorgeous! Wonderful composition. I like your low angle of view. The fence, the road, the grassy banks, the tree, the mist--all work to create a beautiful image. It works very well in B&W. I prefer the OP--I like how the trees in the distance are framed by the wires. But, the cropped version is also lovely. I hope you print this image, frame it and hang it on your wall!

[Maureen Allen]

Beautiful image, Judy. I like the OP best.

[Paul Lagasi]

Original rocks, the possibilities using Nik Silver efex would be endless, love your composition..one of my favourites of yours...