Cyclic view

[Hazel Grant]

I posted this on the landscapes/cityscape/travel forum but then thought maybe it belonged here better. Went to the "big" city of Galconda, Illinois (near Paducah) today for their annual Shrimp Festival. Yes, they raise shrimp in Illinois...who knew? Anyway, a fun day with food, etc. and hundreds of huge cycles there. Lots of cycle clubs rode in for the day. Took this reflection.

[Diane Miller]

Very cool! I wonder about cropping out even more of the "context" to leave the viewer even more intrigued. Or possibly an alternative would be lightening the 3 darker corner areas to make them sort of face away, although normally that's not the way to bring the eye to the subject. Maybe you hit the best balance here...

[Hazel Grant]

The cropping idea is interesting. would bring more attention to the center. I'll try that. thanks.

[Nancy Bell]

Great OOTB take on this scene! Love the shininess and unusual shape of whatever car part that is, and those great reflections. I'm good with the surrounding elements, they add a uniform chaos of lines that add interest and context for me.

[Wendy Kates]

I thought about cropping it before I saw Diane's post. I agree that it would bring more attention to the center...although I really like the surrounding lines too. I wonder if it would work to crop the right "outside" area but leave the left?

[Hazel Grant]

I cropped it on the right side only. Is it too tight looking? or do I need the "depth" of the blurred engine parts?

[Dennis Bishop]

I liked the engine parts there, but I wonder if the parts surrounding the one with the reflection should be subdued (darkened and reduced contrast; perhaps even blurred a bit more).

[Wendy Kates]

Hazel, my eyes go immediately to the reflection now, but I see what you mean about the advantage of "depth" that the engine parts provided. So, on second thought, I like Dennis' idea of keeping them but subduing them.

[Nancy Bell]

I still vote for the original post! What attracts me is that many of those bkgd lines are on a the diagonal and that contrasts with and frames the center reflection part of the image. For me it is not just about the reflection, but all those hard lines and shapes and shiny vs dull, etc.

[Hazel Grant]

Thanks. I like the op better too. Interesting what different people look for. As I had mentioned, I also posted this in the landscape/cityscape forum. It got pretty bad reviews because the cycle in the reflection isn't sharp. I can see the point but then it's hard to get it all sharp. Got the lettering on the foreground sharp, so that's good. Maybe stacking might have worked here.

[Diane Miller]

Would have been a real challenge to stack things that overlap like these do. But here the difference in focal plane works for you -- you just have to choose either the FG or the BG to be in focus. I like that you chose the FG. If you had focused on the cycle reflection I doubt the FG lettering would show up well. It's tricky to have an OOF FG.

Having seen the crop, I agree that the OP is better.

Dennis suggested darkening and reducing contrast on the "corners" and what I had in mind was lightening, which would also reduce contrast. I did a quick try of both and darkening won.

[Hazel Grant]

Thanks to all for your time and concern. I've learned a lot. I think the darkening might work better, too. And I like the OP. Thanks, Diane for clarifying with me that I made the right choice re focus.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Hazel, sorry I'm late but I prefer the OP and I like the "eyes" to the left and top of the cycle (I assume they are screws/lug nuts?).

[gary ellwein]

Hazel, I like the original composition with the surrounding suspension and motor parts. The surrounding elements help identify the reflecting surface as a fuel tank. I like Nancy's version which sharpen the etchings on the tank.