This Fraser bronze has been in the family for many years. I set it on a table against the clouded background. One of our neighborhood buzzards soared by to help me make it more realistic. It was taken a couple of steps underexposed to make the bronze black for the challenge. Levels, contrast adjustment, color balance, and unsharpen mask were used to get this final cropped image.
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Place: 57 out of 169 Avg (all users): 5.7940 Avg (commenters): 6.8000 Avg (participants): 5.6796 Avg (non-participants): 5.9167 Views since voting: 1121 Votes: 199 Comments: 9 Favorites: 0
Thank you so very much for the detailed critique of my “Cherokee” entry. I don’t generally center the main subject but on this one I feel it best that way, due to its shape, at least from the prospective that I used. I had it turned to face towards and also away from me and it lost its recognizable shape. This made me think it would gather even less attention than it got.
I had a lot of fun putting it together, especially when the buzzards kept flying by. I have several shots with them in different places, but I never got one flying away from the statue, which is what I really would have liked. Oh by the way my bronze is about 16 inches tall.
Keep up the good work both on the CC and in the challenges, I always look forward to admiring your work.
The message The silhouette successfully conveys the message of Fraser's famous sculpture, one of great sadness and depression. The sky appears to me to be clearing, a message of happiness and optimism. I suppose the clouds could be gathering, but the soaring bird and the direction the statue is facing give the impression that the storm is over. So to me the subject and background don't match, and there is no obvious reason for the irony.
Creative choices The statue is positioned very nicely with respect to the clouds, although I think the picture would have been stronger if it was facing the other way (towards the clouds) and more clouds were included, increasing their drama and avoiding a centered composition. The perspective is great; shooting from below the sculpture increases the drama. Full color works well, although I think a sepia treatment would also have been effective.
Technical aspects The exposure looks about right; the silhouette is black and there are only a few minor burned-out spots in the bright clouds. Levels and contrast are appropriate for the subject. The photo is well focused with just the right amount of sharpness. There seems to be more noise than I would expect with the low ISO and short exposure. It isn't troublesome or distracting; I'm just surprised to see it.
Photo is awesome! Love the cloud in the background. The only thing I don't care for is the bird, but it doesn't really matter because this picture is great!
For some reason, I normally don't care to look at photos of statues. To me, it's like looking at photos of art. But this image is so well done that I'll make an exception and give you and 8.
Very graphic. The bird adds a nice touch. MOve the statue tio the right a bit so that its not so centered. It would wok better if there were more space in front of the horse than behind it.
James E. Fraser’s sculpture ‘End of the Trail'
I believe he was the original. It's been duplicated so many times in so many different mediums. Nice shot. Good luck in the challenge.
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