Grain Elevator at Dusk

Gallery: POP PhotosPosted February 8, 201577 views13 comments

Hi all! I don't take the long lenses off for something shorter often enough, especially living where I do in rural SW Alberta, but even a tunnel-visioned wildlife photographer has to succumb to the obvious sometimes! Josiah and I were out looking for foxes and owls at dusk last month and pulled into a small, mostly abandoned little hamlet near our home just as the sinking sun lit up the windswept clouds. I'm embarassed to say my first thought was, this is a nice little scene to photograph with my phone but thought better of it and swapped the 500 for a 50 and took the camera with me as well. Because of ridiculously slippery ice right where I most wanted to set up for the shot, I couldn't get QUITE the angle I wanted here. I was pleased when a flock of mallards flew into the scene in the background above the mountains, though!

Please view LARGER if you have the time...and I definitely welcome comments and suggestions for improvements on this one...a little stymied by the cropping options so this is full frame.

Nikon D600
Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G
ISO 280
1/25sec @ f/7.1
-0.3 EV
handheld
full frame

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Alberto Patiño on February 8, 2015 at 11:22 PM

This is truly beautiful, John. I have a special weakness for early- to mid-century rural scenes. Here you have that with great light and the mallards as a bonus- fantastic!

Registered on December 2, 2014, 278 Posts, 1736 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on February 9, 2015 at 7:59 PM

I like this. It reminds me of many small dying towns on the prairies of Canada and the US. Beautiful light and it tells a story well.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Sandra M. Apel on February 9, 2015 at 10:29 PM

Wonderful story telling happening here set in a beautiful scenic. Well done! Good choice of the 50 vs.the phone.

Registered on October 15, 2013, 20 Posts, 171 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Kennedy on February 9, 2015 at 11:20 PM

Beautiful shot John! The phone would not have done this justice. Good colors and light. The old building has an excellent texture. The mallards are a great add - timing not luck! My only suggestion is to crop just enough off the left to remove the satellite dish(?). I can't tell if that's actually what it is but I think the image would be just a little better without it.

Registered on March 9, 2009, 79 Posts, 676 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Zelinka on February 10, 2015 at 5:40 PM

Great perspective and fine presentation, I would just clone out the object touching the left frame.

Registered on August 20, 2007, 206 Posts, 998 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on February 10, 2015 at 5:56 PM

Excellent "heartland" image. I might pull some of the blues out of the shadows and snow, but that is a taste thing. Works real well as presented.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Lorna Taylor on February 10, 2015 at 6:01 PM

Wonderful shot, love the colours and the birds flying in the bg !

Registered on November 12, 2010, 254 Posts, 3083 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on February 10, 2015 at 11:07 PM

Fine image! I agree with all of the positive comments as well as getting rid of the object on the left. Great colors, fine detail in the old elevator. Great sky colors. The ducks are a plus, but would be good without them also. Except for the mountains this could be Kansas. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on February 11, 2015 at 5:25 PM

Very nice, John. I agree with the other suggestions.

--P

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on February 12, 2015 at 8:44 PM

Hi again and thanks so much for the comments and suggestions. Steve et al, the dark circular object on the left is the back of a rail car. I knew I should have cropped that out but as this hamlet existed specifically for rail purposes, I had a hard time doing so. I needed just a little less lens or a little more distance, neither of which were available to me.

Thank you again...

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on February 16, 2015 at 9:38 AM

John: The larger version is a must and gives one so much to explore and savor. Like the others I noted the tank car right off and do think I would make it go away despite the railroad's relevance to the scene. Love the light, the birds, the mountains, and even the windmill in the BG. They are great supporting actors for the star of the show. Well seen and superbly captured. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on February 22, 2015 at 7:32 PM

John,
This is a killer shot. I am glad you switched lenses. It would have been a disappointment to waste this shot on an IPhone. I cannot see how you might have improved the angle. It is simply stunning.

Registered on March 13, 2011, 326 Posts, 1679 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on February 25, 2015 at 10:11 AM

John,

The large version is really nice. The mallards are a big bonus. Well seen and well captured.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments