Posted on Apr.08, 2011, under Ann Arbor

(Olympus E-3, 7-14mm at 10mm (2x crop factor), ISO 400, Exposure 1/15 sec @f/4.0)

Sometimes a crop can make all the difference in an image. The image you see above was taken in the new wing of the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA). I was trying to capture the classic ‘musuem’ shot which shows someone contemplating some piece of art. As I walked through the gallery, I noticed this gentleman standing and looking at something and I liked the way he was framed by the walls of the museum. For some reason I decided to shoot this vertically. I think I was captivated by all the angles and lines which were captured by the wide angle lens. However, the vertical nature of the shot was more about architecture than the person. As I looked at the image, I wondered what it might look like if I had shot it horizontal, so I tried a relatively severe crop to convert from vertical to horizontal. I liked what I saw so I did a fairly simple conversion to black and white. I then noticed that there was just a bit of a bench peeking out from the edge of the wall so I cloned it out. I should have been more observant when I took the shot. I still need to get better at scanning the entire frame of the shot for extra ‘stuff’ before shooting. If I had simply moved a few inches I could have avoided the bench and not had to clone it out later. Of course, it’s also possible my subject would have moved in the meantime. Anyway, with that bit of cropping, converting and cloning I ended up with the image you see above.

Love to hear your thoughts on the change made by the crop or any other comments or criticisms. Feel free to leave them below.

Copyright © 2009-2011 James W. Howe – All rights reserved.

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