Zortman Chapel

by Neal Jorgnsen
(Preston, ID)

I went to Zortman, MT to take a picture of this chapel.

Every where I went either had lots of wires, or a less than exciting view.

I had taken one shot through this gateway, and when I got home I opened Picasa, and cropped it to this. Then I hit auto contrast, and auto color.

It has a few wires, that I don't like but all in all I think it is a OK picture.


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There's lots to commend about Neal's photo here.

The thing that strikes me most is that he says "everywhere I went had lots of wires", which leads me to assume that there was some hunting around for a good viewpoint – well done!

Often people just don't bother looking for a different viewpoint that might just eliminate an annoying part of a photo (the wires in Neal's shot), or might offer a new perspective.

Good for you to explore your options!

Back to the photo . . . The use of a frame here, again commendable, hasn't quite worked for my money. The wood doesn't quite fit in the photo, and it leaves the chapel too far down in the scene.

The colours could also do with a little pepping up. Neal says that he used the 'Auto' settings in Picasa. Often these will do a good job at improving a photo. But sometimes they need a little help.

I would suggest boosting the saturation a little. It might lift the greens a bit.

If you wanted to go mad with this photo, you could try really going for it with the contrast setting. Try really pushing the slider until the picture begins to break up and 'posterise'. I think it could produce an interesting result.

Here's another tip. Neal has spotted some annoying wires in the photo. There is a software fix for this – the clone tool. These wires could easily be cloned out of the photo in just a few clicks. Read more about how to use the clone tool to repair photos.

This is not the best photo in the world, but it's nice enough. What I really like is Neal's efforts in making the best of what he had to work with. Well done!


Ed.
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