view of Japanese garden

Gallery: Man & NaturePosted November 24, 201279 views5 comments

My submission to Worldwide Photo Walk 2012, 10/13/12, at the Japanese Garden in Batavia, Illinois, USA, along the Fox River on a rainy morning.

To me, this was sort of an analogy to the recent picture of the lake with the bench by it, in that this little building and its windows and benches were constructed by someone for the explicit purpose of intending particular elements of a view by the visitor; some kind of linkage there with photography, but before photography was invented.

Within that context, I would welcome all comments regarding the concept, and as always anything you think might be helpful in the way of improving technique on something like this.

Pentax K-5 RAW/ACR Processing, Tamron 17-50 mm at 32 mm, f/5.6, 1/50 hand held SR, ISO 800.

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on November 24, 2012 at 8:07 AM

Enjoy this enticing view that draws you to an intimate window of the gardens beyond. Also like the wood grain surrounding the window and the bench to sit and enjoy. Only suggestion is to pull a little more of the wood grain aspect in the upper portion of the image.

Excellent image with a definite Asian feel.

Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments

Comment posted by Karen Kane on November 25, 2012 at 2:55 PM

John - Japanese gardens are one of my favorite places to visit - particularly when there's a need to de-stress.

I think the simplicity of this composition captures that feeling, but agree Patricia's comment - the black at the top is a bit over-powering. My intitial thought though is different approach - as I would crop about 5/8 to 3/4 of the black, reducing it's visual impact .

The wood grain beneath the window and what looks like a place to sit is a major reason for the succes of this concept, as it invites the viewer to a very specific place. Thank you - enjoyed this a lot!

Registered on August 4, 2012, 66 Posts, 726 Comments

Comment posted by John Clulow on November 25, 2012 at 4:55 PM

Thanks for pointing that out. I've tried to balance the black better in the one I'm attaching; assuming this is what you mean. I did not make any changes to the bench or wood because I want that to stay very low contrast. If you care to, let me know if you think this is any better.

Registered on November 1, 2012, 155 Posts, 1079 Comments

Comment posted by Karen Kane on November 25, 2012 at 5:59 PM

Thanks for reposting John - that's exactly what I was thinking. No need to change bench along the bottom, it was perfect in the original.

For my tastes, the balance in the repost better

Registered on August 4, 2012, 66 Posts, 726 Comments

Comment posted by John Clulow on November 25, 2012 at 6:40 PM

Once again, I'd like to thank both you and Patricia for your suggestions, Karen.

All of this is totally subjective, as we know, and the suggestion about the imbalance of black around the window was in accord with my feelings about the intent. I'm not sure about increasing the wood grain, but I kind of like it the way it is. This is not to say it wouldn't be preferable to others with that change; it just fits better for me this way.

So thanks to you both for taking the time to comment and give me your perceptions and feelings. I know that both of your inputs will be helpful to me in the future. I'm realling liking NPN.

Registered on November 1, 2012, 155 Posts, 1079 Comments