City - Lancaster County State - PENNSYLVANIA Country - United States
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This young Amish lad is in complete control of his horses. And he needs to be: alas, I am very sad to report from what I have seen here in Lancaster County that the more oafish drivers of SUV's and trucks in particular harass and endanger these peaceful people and their animals as a matter of ignorant, macho routine. It makes me wince; the more I experience the Amish, the more I reflect, in a tiny tiny way, how I could be more in touch with things that really matter to the future of "civilisation". Glib I know, but I shall not forget my experience here.
For me this is the best image in your Amish series. I'd also disagree with Arup re the road. You've left a little space on the left for us to get an idea of where the road is headed and this space balances out the tree on the right. If I've one nitpick re the road it's the partially obscured roadsign. I also feel that you can get away with centering the image much more using the square format, especially when the subject fills the frame as yours does. Good toning too. Regards, Gary
I am most grateful - THIS is what defines Usefilm, for me: people who share their knowledge of this art freely and unselfishly. And who could ask for more? We never stop learning, and this community fosters it.
I think I might disagree with Arup. You actually have two 'power points' in the photo leading one to another. The first is what the driver and horses are 'aiming' at, the lower left point. The grass/ridge line above the road emphasizes this. And I think it's sufficient. But that in turn leads to the tree, not necessarily on a 'point', but still with sufficient space at right to frame it. And that's also the case for the subject, framed with just enough space, though I might slightly trim the bottom.
Arup, thank you very much for taking the trouble to comment so extensively, with erudition, and obvious care. It is impressive to me that many like you on Usefilm are willing to share their knowledge and skill, and I am very grateful. I am posting the original image, which was shot from a moving car...never a good idea :)
Nice shot and excellent B&W. But I felt the image is loosing its charm. Here is why :
Normally human brain looks for balance. When you put your main subject in the middle of the frame and compose the picture.. it obviously becomes soothing and that's why dull or not so interesting. On the other hand when you keep your main subject off centered, our brain tries to balance it out and looks for other parts of the image. In a way our eyes scans the whole frame which is in a way a photographer's primary goal. This creates dynamic tension and makes an image interesting.
Secondly, in your image a set of very strong lines i.e the lines created by the converging road has been ignored. As a result a definite vanishing point could not be represented. To my eye the road just appears as a flat platform instead of a path way leading to infinity.
Thirdly, as the sense of infinity is absent or to some extent hindered , a powerful storyline gets missing in the shot. Imagine a situation, the man is riding his cart and leading to the infinity.. allows viewer to think and create a story in his mind. The more different stories could be made from one single shot the more captivating an image becomes.
A suggestion, just experiment, put the man on the right part of the frame .. allow the road to start from the left and show the vanishing point in the converging lines of the road.
Dear Anthony, this is just a hypothesis and never a judgment. I am just giving you an idea to see the shot from a different mind frame.
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