Behind the Sham

[André]

The look on the city from behind our Sham Castle.



André

[habakuk]

I do like the exceptionally strong way the green light beams pull me to the gate where I see a fairy tale scene in the distance... I also do like the color contrast and palette. The one thing that really gives me an uneasy feeling is the very bright branches of the tree.

The walls and the scene in the distance have so much metaphoric power. The invite me to think about my own prison, my wall that I built up, and then the green light shows me the way, pulls me right towards the gate that has opened, towards that world of dreams and imaginations, the world where life pulsates.

I tried to isolate what really captures me and that made me crop drastically in a way that the whole upper part of the castle wall is gone. That doesn't feel right, but it lets me concentrate so much more on those two light beams and I feel stunned. I could sit there for hours watching out the gate. As long as there are so bright lights above, my eye can't fine the rest I wish for.

cheers
®

[eob]

I see a great potential in this image, but also compositional weakness.

Like Roland, I love contrast and color gamut. But my eye is randomly moving from one element to another without much rest.

I think the weakest part of this composition is framing/cropping. I would definitely get rid of the trees on the right side. They produce a very fake, artificial effect to the scene (even if they are the most authentic and organic element of it). Well, actually, the way trees are lighted produce that effect.

Why not make this frame into a square, cutting right along the right side of the high rampart - getting rid of the lower wall and trees behind it. You may also want to trim a little bit on the left extreme and on the bottom - to make patterns of light and shadow better proportioned and geometric. Just a suggestion...

[André]

Thank you very much. You see much more in this image than I saw.
I tried a few crops of this image and haven't found a version that worked for me. Probably I have to find a slightly different camera spot when shooting.

Cheers,
André

[aprilS]

Oh, I hope you will go back and explore more possibilities! Like others, when I "crop" to the parapets (in a pano format) I'm totally captivated by the doorway, what lies beyond, and the way its light streams through into the foreground.