There is nothing quite like getting a flat tire in the heart of Naples, Italy at 1AM on a Sunday morning. Talk about bad luck… Since the auto shop can’t seem to find me a Fiat tire (Seriously… a Fiat tire… in Italy…), I am stuck driving 70 kilometers and hour or slower until further notice and praying my donut holds. Joy.
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Finally, today’s image. I was trying to add a little human element to this seascape photo at dusk that I shot last week in Maratea, Italy. As I said in an earlier post on composition, sometimes adding that human element can really amplify the feeling in an image. As I was composing this shot, my new Slovakian biker friend decided to get in for a little purple hour dip. Rather than wait for him to move out of the frame, I decided to try to add some human movement to the already beautiful seascape, a blurred silhouette if you will. What do you think? Do you prefer that human aspect in your landscape/fine art work??
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Hey now, Are you kidding, no fiat tires available….. That’s crazy! Hey sweet image!!! As for the people, i’m on the fence, i really like the twilight sweet light here, and think the person blur is a bit distracting, however there are times when it’s very cool for scale purposes etc. This is a killer image, perhaps a tiny bit of selective lightening on the rocks to further draw my eye in.. This is a very strong image.. man i’m jealous of this fantastic sweet light and comp here!!! Congrats.. you nailed it!!!
Thanks for the awesome response Don!
I like both. I like the purity of a landscape without a human element that allows the viewer to be alone with the “landscape” and I also like to see a human element when it adds to the landscape. Sometimes it can be to show how small we are compared to the vastness of the landscape or to place a point of interest in the shot. What I like about this image is that your friend pops out because of the color of his clothing which works so well against the backdro and colors of your scene. Great job.
Thanks Edith, I really appreciate the well constructed comment.
The movement of the person through a completely still scene is really nice, in a disturbing sort of way. Sort of like man waking through a natural landscape with no clear definition. Very nice.
Thanks. When I look at it that way I see what you are talking about. Kind of a like a well constructed chaos… more or less
I like the human element because I didn’t realize how massive the rocks were!
Yea Karen, they were huge! Thanks!
I think it looks cool. As far as if I prefer it, I think I’m on the fence there, but this certainly does work. Has a certain mood to it mostly because of the position of said human. Good stuff!
Thanks! It is interesting to see how different people look and feel about different images!
I go back and forth on whether to include people in my landscapes. Most of the time I prefer to leave them out, but occasionally will use people to add the human element you describe. I think for this shot I would’ve left out the person as the scene is just so beautiful on its own. Either way it’s a terrific image.
Thanks Steve. I appreciate your honest feedback, it means a lot! It has been interesting to see people’s detailed comments on this one.
This is a beautiful shot Adam! I prefer myself to exclude people in this type of scene, but I’m also not one to judge people on why they do what they do with their composition of shots. I really like this shot, the person added gives it a sense of scale to me but as someone else said earlier I find the inclusion a bit distracting. I don’t want to sound like a critic here cause I really love your work. Just sharing my thoughts as you requested.
If one does not look to hard, and suspends beliefe, the image could be a mermaid, or in the case of the sex of the person, a Merman!!
Haha, thanks Mom!
I can go either way on people in landscapes. Sometimes it is useful for scale or to add a contrasting splash of color. However, the downside is that the clothing tends to date the shot which can limit its appeal. In this instance, i do not think the inclusion of the person helps, maybe because of the blurring due to his movement. Otherwise, this is a great shot – do you have a version without the “swimmer-to-be”?
I do, but need to process it. I will post side by side in a couple days. I really appreciate your honesty Mark!
Very nice image Adam. Love the textures and details in the rocks. As far as the inclusion, for me it depends on the use. If hanging on my wall, probably not. Anything else, no problem. This is simply a matter of personal taste.
Adam, I am by no means a critic because I don’t know how to make camera settings. I do like people sometimes in images but because of the striking orange color not blending in with the other shades I think the image without the human element might be more appeasing to ” my” eye on this particular image.
Nancy
Beautiful shot, Adam.
My personal preference would be to exclude the human element and go with the fine art landscape. I find it a bit of a distraction quite honestly, simply because of the color.
Now that doesn’t take away from an overall outstanding image but I think it works better if the human were in a sharper focus with a little less on a contrast.
Very nice adam, adds a sense of scale.