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Thread: Ruins of old farm

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    Scott Stephen's Avatar
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    Ruins of old farm

    This small stone building was part of a long-derelict farm I stumbled across while working up here in Pennsylvania. There were several old building sites, from different generations, but all were crumbling.

    Ruins of old farm

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    Re: Ruins of old farm

    Works fine, a good angle.

    Is that a crop or full size? I just wonder if you could get away with another shot which shows more of the tree and surrounding area. I mean an extra image, not instead of this one.

    I often look at old farm buildings where I live but I just can't get the right angle/light to work.

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    Re: Ruins of old farm

    Shows the quality of the Stone Mason's work very well.

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    Re: Ruins of old farm

    Hi,
    I've seen a host of such tumble-down buildings across England and Scotland, and they're extremely evocative aren't they. You kind of want to know the human story behind the derelict as in who, how and ultimate why? In Scotland these derelicts make you acutely aware of the infamous 'clearances' and you naturally wonder if what you're looking at stems from this unfortunate period in their history. These largely ignored sites offer us a positive wealth of photographic material, and beg to be considered for documentation.
    Forgive my (genuinely) humble observations Scott, but your image absolutely smacks of potential mood, but the sky is rather nondescript and the tree has basically swamped the building and rather stolen its dynamic thunder.

    Bob.

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    Moderator Dave Humphries's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins of old farm

    Hi Scott,

    While the front face is very nicely captured (as Dulaigh noted), I (like Bob) was thinking it would benefit from better separation from the background; grass, trees, etc.

    A shot from a higher angle would be good, but not helped by the apparent slope it stands on.

    I was a little surprised, using a Canon 6D at 47mm and f/4.5, that so much of the background was so sharp.

    Cheers,

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    Re: Ruins of old farm

    Hi, all and thanks for the insights and suggestions. I was shooting in a hurry as I had stranded my 3 puzzled coworkers in the vehicle when I bailed out with the camera. I agree the sky is bleak but there was not much detail to recover. I tried lowering exposure and luminescence and increasing saturation on the sky on some shots but there just wasn't much there to work with. I should learn my lesson and bring my cp filter on these work trips. The sky in western PA looks like this much of the time.

    Also, that tree was a challenge. It had grown up inside the little building so there was no escaping it, and at the other front corner angle it was blocking out the sky through the little window. I also tried a shot of the back of it, but it really was not very photogenic on that side. I'll bet I could do something next time though.

    I hope to get back there another day and try incorporating these ideas. I would submit the other shots of other buildings on this huge old farm from the same day for c & c, but on a lark I put them in the march comp and two mini comps.

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    Re: Ruins of old farm

    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Humphries View Post
    Hi Scott,

    While the front face is very nicely captured (as Dulaigh noted), I (like Bob) was thinking it would benefit from better separation from the background; grass, trees, etc.

    A shot from a higher angle would be good, but not helped by the apparent slope it stands on.

    I was a little surprised, using a Canon 6D at 47mm and f/4.5, that so much of the background was so sharp.

    Cheers,

    Do you not think that a more elevated image would have reduced its visual impact? I would perhaps instead have gone with a lower angle, placed slightly more emphasis upon those characteristic corner stones, and moved more to the right in an effort to reduce the tree's dominant position in relation to the ruins?
    Having said that...the question then remains as to what we do with the sky?

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    Re: Ruins of old farm

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Stephen View Post
    Hi, all and thanks for the insights and suggestions. I was shooting in a hurry as I had stranded my 3 puzzled coworkers in the vehicle when I bailed out with the camera. I agree the sky is bleak but there was not much detail to recover. I tried lowering exposure and luminescence and increasing saturation on the sky on some shots but there just wasn't much there to work with. I should learn my lesson and bring my cp filter on these work trips. The sky in western PA looks like this much of the time.

    Also, that tree was a challenge. It had grown up inside the little building so there was no escaping it, and at the other front corner angle it was blocking out the sky through the little window. I also tried a shot of the back of it, but it really was not very photogenic on that side. I'll bet I could do something next time though.

    I hope to get back there another day and try incorporating these ideas. I would submit the other shots of other buildings on this huge old farm from the same day for c & c, but on a lark I put them in the march comp and two mini comps.
    Hi Scott,
    Looking at the image, I did get the impression that the tree was somewhat tight to the ruins. I now fully appreciate the fact that you had to make the best of the conditions and circumstances that surrounded the time/moment you were there. Hopefully you will get back there in time, and capture it exactly as you'd like to.

    Bob.

  9. #9
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    Re: Ruins of old farm

    Here is the back side of this little stone building. The tree seems to have destroyed it as it grew.

    Note that in the opposite direction there was also a white sky, but using negative exposure, negative luminance, and a dab of saturation, I was able to make a sky out of this white sheet.

    The photos of the rest of the buildings are posted in 2 mini comps and the March comp. I will wait to submit them for C&C for a few days.

    Per Dave's comment, I had not even noticed I was at F/4.5. I should have gone to ISO 200 or 400 on the earlier shot before I started shooting, so I could have shot f/8 and had more DOF and kept the shutter speed?



    Ruins of old farm
    Last edited by Scott Stephen; 1st April 2013 at 06:47 AM.

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    Moderator Dave Humphries's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins of old farm

    Quote Originally Posted by Pentaxopithecus View Post
    Do you not think that a more elevated image would have reduced its visual impact?
    Possibly Bob, I was trying to minimise the sky and tree that had been mentioned

    It may be possibly to retain the subject's prominence by getting closer with an UWA, although I say that without ever having shot with one (next on my shopping list)

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    Moderator Dave Humphries's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins of old farm

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Stephen View Post
    I was shooting in a hurry as I had stranded my 3 puzzled coworkers in the vehicle when I bailed out with the camera. I agree the sky is bleak but there was not much detail to recover. I tried lowering exposure and luminescence and increasing saturation on the sky on some shots but there just wasn't much there to work with. I should learn my lesson and bring my cp filter on these work trips. ~

    Also, that tree was a challenge. It had grown up inside the little building so there was no escaping it, and at the other front corner angle it was blocking out the sky through the little window. I also tried a shot of the back of it, but it really was not very photogenic on that side. I'll bet I could do something next time though.
    Hmmm, I see you had problems there Scott

    The sky in western PA looks like this much of the time.
    Just like here

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    Re: Ruins of old farm

    I tell you what guys, the shot from the tree side works for me personally. I like the fractured stonework on the corner and the fact that the walls are leaning slowly and inexorably towards eventual collapse. This'd look good either covered in snow, or surrounded by fresh growth and vibrant colour.... a kind of 'winter of discontent' thing, or new life surrounding death in an obscure sort of way. I wonder if a crop would give it an advantage by losing some of the foreground and sky?
    I still think there's a massive amount of scope within these ruined buildings for a great photo-project...though perhaps a bit of a gloomy one?
    Cheers all. Bob

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    Re: Ruins of old farm

    Yes, I prefer the second angle which seems to have all the elements which were missing from the first image.

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