Van Hoosen Farm Silo

[Dennis Bishop]

Van Hoosen Farm is an important part of local history. It -- actually a small part of what it once was -- is part of a public park and museum. There are two very large tile silos connected to the old dairy barn. This masonry silo may have been part of another barn that later burned down. The roof and the covers for the openings in the wall are missing. It was bright and sunny, yesterday, when I stretched myself and my tripod to the limit to take this shot through the first window from the bottom that isn't covered with plexiglass (no doubt to keep people like me from venturing inside). The two horizontal elements in the upper part of the image are the underside of the opening.

9-exposure HDR at 1 EV intervals
ISO 200, f/22, zoom lens at 24mm (full sensor)

Processing

• tone mapping with Photomatix to produce a good histogram
• slight Recovery, Clarity, and some tweaks to the colors (including some desaturation of the yellows and greens of the wall) in Adobe Camera Raw
• Nik Color Efex -- Glamour Glow (warm) applied only to highlights
• Photo Filter adjustment layer (yellow) applied only to the sunlit areas using a channel mask
• yellow reflective gradient centered on the sunlit areas
• Fractalius -- black & white preset based on Sketch, Multiply blend mode
• Alien Skin Snap Art -- black & white Stylize Line Art, Multiply blend mode
• slight uniform gradient vignette
• And -- contrary to my usual workflow -- no Topaz Simplify layer. I couldn't bear to compromise the tactile and visual texture with it.

[Kerry Perkins]

Dennis, this reminds me of a scene from "Myst", the wonderful Mac game that is now gone forever... I really like the bold geometric elements and the graphic look. The composition is compelling and timeless. In summary, I really like this image.

[John Storjohann]

Dennis, a spectacular treatment of this image...bold, repetitive patterns and lines..wonderful textures...great lighting and warm color tones....this is really nicely done.

[denise ippolito]

Dennis, I like the filtering and think that the stylized lines are perfectly done. The careful composition is terrific. Love the line of the light!

[Judy Howle]

Nice angle of view and filtering Dennis! I might have been tempted to bring out a little more grungy detail in the walls

[Indranil Sircar]

Wonderful composition, Dennis. The geometric shapes are appealing... it is indeed timeless! Your processing has brought out the character and textures really well. Excellent work and thanks for sharing the steps.

[Julie Kenward]

I really like this one, Dennis! I also think I'd like it with even more contrast or sharpness for a whole other look - maybe with a high pass filter to really sharpen those straight lines that run through the image. Nice work!

[Mark Fuge]

Interesting image and application, Dennis.

Nice light pattern. Not personally sure about the horizontal element???? But very nice image.

[Dennis Bishop]

Thanks for your comments, everyone. And for your suggestions. Today was Part 2 at the same location, and I took along a step stool. I managed to get me and the tripod on it at the same time, allowing me to get the camera inside the opening. That meant none of the opening was in the photos. And I was able to play around with a different composition. I'll try the high pass filter on the new one, Jules.

[Steve Adkins]

Super image and processing, Dennis! Love old silos. Can't add much to what's been said except that I hope you keep them coming... and add I more vote for "Myst"!

[Anita Bower]

Very nicely done! I like the graphic quality of the image. Wonderful composition and treatment. You brought out the interesting colors and textures and lines of this silo. I like the degree of fractulus used--enough but not too much. I think the horizontal beams overpower the rest of the image--maybe because they are darker? I would either lighten them, and/or crop off the top one leaving only the lower horizontal. Looking forward to more of these.

[Paul Lagasi]

Very nicely done, the effects and composition are solid..well thought out image.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Very nice work here Dennis. Love the design and the filtering. As an alternate version I prefer the abstract look created by cropping out the horizontal sections of the opening, but that's just me. Love old farm stuff...there is an old wooden silo a little ways away from my home that I would like to explore one day...I imagine there aren't too many wooden silos standing these days.

[Maureen Allen]

Very nice, Dennis. I wouldn't change a thing