An English Village

[dje]

These shots were taken a few years in the village of Chilham, Kent. It's a delightful little village not far from Canterbury and it has it's own privately owned castle with a B&B in the grounds.

I've been re-visiting these images for processing with my current software (CS6 and nik) and would welcome any comments, including preference between colour and B&W.

Dave

The Church




The Cottage




The Castle

[Geoff F]

Basic shots are fine for me, Dave, but I just wonder about a slight crop. It would probably mean a different image size though.

With the first scene, I find the dark part of a building on the left rather 'heavy' and distracting from the 'main subject'. So I would try a crop to remove that brickwork and a little bit of a clone to remove some of the larger leaves at the top.

And the same thing, but on the right side for the last scene.

If there was more of general interest in the foreground, then using the main house as something of a backdrop would work well.

It is a pity about the cars appearing in the Cottage scene; but not really much option there.

The colour and B&W images each convey a different scene so I wouldn't want to choose between them as they both have a purpose.

[dabhand]

#1 - Quintessential mono village view, maybe just crop off 1/2 the brickwork on the left hand side.

#2 - Agree with Geoff about those cars but I think you could 'patch tool' the further away ones out quite easily, the nearer onje will prove a bigger challenge, but if you can, I think the image would then be best presented as a sepia tone.

#3 - I'm not sure how best to approach that, those light coloured bushes on the right hand side are a nuisance !

steve

[dje]

Thanks for your comments Geoff and Steve. When I took these shots, I had a bit of a fixation about taking shots at an aspect ratio of 16:9 (in-camera crop). I think it was to do with incorporating stills into widescreen video. I've since learned the error of my ways ! I'll have a look at the crops you suggested.

As far as the mono cottage is concerned, how about this Steve ?

[TonyW]

I prefer the colour version in all cases. The original crops seem best to me. It is true that the brickwork in the first is out of character but without it the picture is unbalanced. Removing the cars is an improvement.

They are nice pictures which make the village look attractive.

[dabhand]

Dave - that's a lot better, pity about the other car but with the first two gone your eyes are drawn more to the house, so it isn't too intrusive.

steve

[dje]

Thanks Tony and Steve.

Dave

[John 2]

Two very nice records Dave but I agree with the crops. I think that I prefer the colour version in each case. The only thing I would add is that I think that the first one needs an exposure shift to the right. It's a little on the dull side. If you are using CS6, Levels should sort it.

[dje]

Two very nice records Dave but I agree with the crops. I think that I prefer the colour version in each case. The only thing I would add is that I think that the first one needs an exposure shift to the right. It's a little on the dull side. If you are using CS6, Levels should sort it.

Thanks for the comments John. I'll try tweaking the levels a bit.

Dave