2009-08-31

Silent Curse





6 comments:

J. Evan Kreider said...

I am thinking that this is largely about the face that is in focus and in contrast to the blurred surroundings. But I didn't see the face until I enlarged the photo. It's difficult to crop the photo further, but possibly some of the foreground could give way (at the expense of its helping develop a sense of desolate land sweeping across the frame.)

Tony Funk said...

Hi Evan. Good comments. I have tried to crop further but found problems with balance. The two strong parallel lines running left to right are part of the problem. Then, there's the chimney flues on the hotel. When I cropped the sky lower that looked weird. I'll try something and repost it.

Tony Funk said...

Evan: here's a cropped version. I still don't think its right. Any ideas folks? Perhaps eliminate some of the left side of the hotel?

Mark Kreider said...

Cropping the left side of the hotel makes the left side of the photo much darker and foreboding as she walks toward that darkness. That would make the shot different. I don't know that it would make it better.

Is there a short explanation for how you blurred everything but her face? It's very effective.

Tony Funk said...

Hi Mark. I've tried a crop, but I'm not sure if it is balanced. The two windows of the hotel now look like eyes. Hmm! This effect is from the Nik Software suit of plug-ins. I believe that this one was called "Midnight." I painted the picture at about 60% opacity, but omitted her face. By controlling where I put the effect I was able to keep her face clear. Let me know your thoughts about the crop. Thanks!

Mark Kreider said...

When I opened this cropped version, bingo... my eyes immediately went to her face, when what I wanted to see was the window "eyes". All of your versions have had their own merits. A really good photograph can be that way.