July Image - Taos Oven

How I did it -

 COMMENTS:
 

Jerry Appel	I can see the interest in the subject, but the composition, I think, has its problems. For one, the bright blue of the screen frame, and the red hanging, are attention getters and compete with the oven which you mean to be the center of interest. The oven, itself, has its problems from the angle it is photographed, mainly in the black space in the center which becomes, basically, the center of interest. The exposure and color are pretty nice – maybe a somewhat different angle…..
Bill Buchanan	I like the idea of using HDR to control the contrast. It's not necessary to get the grunge HDR look. What bothers me in this image is the bright door on the left side. I may have moved to the left to eliminate the door and create a view from the stepped side of the oven. It may also be possible to use CS5 Content Aware Fill to eliminate the door. It's worth a try.
Guy Davies	It’s a great shot from Taos, and it has your style written all over it. The compositional elements of the curves of the oven and the rectangular windows, door and beam all come together and are complemented by the red and green colour contrasts with the yellow/brown of the rest of the scene. The focal point of the oven is the dark hole in the centre, and the whole structure reminds one of the shape of an armchair.
Karen Kotner	The HDR is a wonderful tool here as the exposure throughout the image appears to be very good. The image has beautiful soft earth tones punctuated with the orange in the peppers and the bright turquoise around the window that add pop. And the texture of the structures add interest as well. The juxtaposition of the various shapes in the image add interest. Is the Oven a working structure? {ed. note: I think not}
Erik Rosengren	--Welcome back Joe. Your photographic eye continues to inspire. This shot was taken from the perfect angle. Notice the hanging peppers do not merge with the door or window. The oven stairway makes for a strong leading line and the colors and saturation appear perfect.
Rafal Kowalkowski	Nice composition and colors of particular elements

Member Bio

Joe Hearst - Biography I've been a photographer for about 60 years, but until about ten years ago I was shooting mostly record shots. I gave slides shows of my travels to friends at work, and showed a slide program on the Sierra every two weeks at John Muir's home. Everyone told me how wonderful my pictures were. Then my wife persuaded me to join a camera club and I soon realized how mediocre they were. I submitted as many images as possible for critique by the judges, and also sent pictures to the PSA Print of the Month (POM) contest where I could get more critiques. I guess the critiques have improved my photography because my work has been doing well at the camera club level and at county fairs. I was given the APSA at the 2007 Conference in Tucson and the PPSA at the 2009 Conference in Yellowstone. Articles of mine have been published in the 3/01, 11/02, 10/03, 6/04, 5/05, 1/06, 7/06, 1/07, 5/07, 3/08 8/08, 4/09, issues of PSA Journal, and two portfolios in the British magazine Digital Photo Art. Judges have been kind enough to select three of my images as PPD Print of the Month. I'm a member of the Contra Costa and Livermore Valley Camera Clubs, and am past President of the Northern California Council of Camera Clubs, and am now Chair of the Yerba Buena Chapter of PSA. . I'm also Director of the PSA Picture of the Month competition. I can be reached at joe @ jhearst.com(remove gaps before using) and my web site is jhearst.typepad.com