Tropical Resting Place

[ShaneS]

I have been having some challenges lately identifying images that I like...I think that my standards are getting higher and I am still working to define my 'style' all while learning more of the technical stuff.



f2.5, Exposure compensation -1, ISO 100 1/1600 with my new 50mm prime

I like the dark tropical feel of the image and the way the background appears to wrap around the bench offering a sense of seclusion but I am still trying to figure out the depth of field on the new prime lens and wonder if I am being too picky in noticing that the center of the bench is a little soft?

C&C welcome on this shot as it relates to your overall impression, composition, mono treatment and PP.

Thanks!

[Mike Buckley]

For me, this image has to be reviewed in the large version to understand it, much less appreciate it.

I don't see any softness in the areas that are intended to be sharp.

I wouldn't have known that the subject is a bench if you hadn't explained it, though understanding that isn't helpful in my mind to appreciating the image; I saw the subject in terms of a round piece of concrete and didn't need to know its purpose. I actually thought it was an interesting foundation to something else that had been removed.

I wonder if you took the shot at a larger aperture to blur the background a bit more.

[Geoff F]

This is a problem scene, Shane. You have used a wide aperture to blur the background and focused on the edge of the bench. Therefore with such a shallow focus depth the edges of the bench centre are going slightly out of focus.

Not a significant issue for me though.

But the background does seem just a little complicated and distracting in B&W. Would a slightly different crop ratio be possible? Or selectively slightly darkening the brighter areas in the background. Possibly doing this before conversion?

[Mike Buckley]

About your depth of field: If your camera has Live View, the easiest way to know whether everything you want to be in focus is actually in focus is to set the camera on a tripod and use Live View. Set the view to the highest magnification and review the parts that you want to be in focus. You'll be able to easily determine if they are.

[ShaneS]

No live view on my old D40X Mike so I am stuck with reviewing the shot after the fact by zooming in which isn't always as it seems when I get it on the 'big screen' at home. Also, the lens only opens up to 1.8 and this shot was taken at 2.5 as most of the literature I have read on the lens indicates that quality goes down significantly any wider but I haven't yet tested that out in the filed.

Geoff, if you think the background is distracting in b&w you should see it in color! It was a bright sunny day and the greenery is very vibrant compared to the cement bench material.

I will play a bit mare based on your comments from a PP perspective and see what I can come up with - may even try a color version.

Thanks to you both for taking the time to comment!