Exercise fourteen: Cropping

So, the final exercise before assignment one. The brief was to select three images from my library with a view to creating 'new' images by cropping them.


Mauritius

55mm, 1/400 secs, f/8, ISO 100

Each alternative corp is an improvement on the original.  The landscape alternative falls a little short because of the empty space down the left hand side of the image.  The portrait alternative, however, is much better balanced.

Burj Al Arab, Dubai

20mm, 1/30 secs, f/18, ISO 200

The obvious alternative crop (portrait) is too flat, and resembles a run-of-the-mill holiday snap.  Although I tend not to opt for (or even spot) a square crop, it works very well here.  The building on the right that's flooded with evening light and the boat in the right foreground gives the viewer a greater sense of context.


Holy Island, Northumberland

18mm, 1/60 secs, f/18, ISO 200

I do like the original shot, framed to some degree by the reed on the left of the image - without it, all points of interest in the shot would be on the right hand side of the scene.  The landscape crop arguably provides greater balance but it suffers from the loss of the grassy area in the foreground.  The portrait crop works extremely well; conforming to the rule of thirds - firstly with the horizon and the shoreline, but also with the boat sitting on one of the intersections and the castle on another.


In conclusion, this was a nice little activity. Of course, composition is part of the thought process before a shot is even taken.  Following which, in post-production I may tighten/straighten up a little or occasionally I'll seek to find an alternative to the original composition.  This exercise has taught me that one image can yield several alternatives.