March 2022 SOLC–Day 14
A huge thank you to Two Writing Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
http://www.twowritingteachers.org
I don’t consider myself a misanthrope, but I much, much, much prefer my scenery without people in it. I’ve been known to grumble a bit a lot when other wanderers move into my scene and then have the audacity to LINGER there and enjoy the view. The nerve!
At any rate, this morning I was looking over a couple of photos I’d recently taken. On this particular day, I’d adjusted my view to avoid some people who inconsiderately got in the way my husband and daughter, but because of that, many of the images felt chopped off. I finally settled on the one I liked the most, but it still had a figure in it. The figure (aka my husband) was far off in the distance and I honestly couldn’t decide if this might be one of the rare times that a person enhanced the photo.
So I decided to play around with the image a bit. I clicked on Edit, then scrolled down to Retouch. I adjust the size, fiddled around with some things and then clicked on my husband…
and he disappeared.
Oh! That felt so odd. Poof! And he was gone.
Better picture or not, I really didn’t like that.
Command Z.
Phew! There he is again. Ok, that feels better.
But honestly, which picture do you prefer?
Nix the comfort zone 
Definitely with Kurt! His silhouette enhances the image!
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He appreciates the vote 🙂
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I agree with Dan. I think the figure in the distance gives the photo a better perspective. You didn’t ask, but I also really love that the person is in the mist picture. Keep him, too.
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I think the mood changes when you remove the person, especially in the second photo, but sometimes a person (rarely!) can be just the thing. Thanks for chiming in. Kurt’s glad he’s making the cut 🙂
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I understand your frustration with people getting in the way, but I agree with those above that the figure gives perspective and a greater sense of depth. The bottom photo seems somehow….empty?!
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I kind of liked that empty mood, but didn’t feel comfortable removing my husband…even digitally. lol
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They are both wonderful! I like the one with him in it better, although I can imagine needing an empty one for putting a poem on or something. Your slices are inspiring me to keep a month of slices myself, but I don’t know which month. xo
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Tabatha, writing daily slices for a month is always challenging, but soooo rewarding. March is probably the worst possible month for me — report cards, parent-teacher conferences, etc. Still this is my 8th year (or something like that) and I keep on coming back for more.
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There is something so odd about being able to simply delete a piece of an image, isn’t there? My kids and I were playing around with this on my phone and it made me feel very uncomfortable! I am definitely over-thinking it, but isn’t that the point of our Slicing? (And, for the record, I like the one with your husband in it…for sure.)
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It made me very uncomfortable this morning as well. I was surprised by how strong my visceral response was.
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This is such an interesting thing to think about, with or without? I like both images. With the figure, the tone of the photo seems more hopeful, like someone is inviting you to walk with him. The second one has a lonely, solitude tone. Maybe knowing the figure was absent made it feel sadder.
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Oh, it is interesting to wonder if knowing of the absence impacted the experience of the second photo. It felt like a moody shot to me and I was going for that. I still couldn’t take Kurt out though.
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I need to learn to do that. Too often, some random person has spoiled an otherwise perfect photograph. Thanks for the inspiration. I think my Facetune 2 app will do this for me… just haven’t tried yet.
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I actually felt really uncomfortable when I did remove my husband. It was so odd! Also, I’m not very good at it, and I’m pretty sure if you zoom in you can see the evidence of the retouch.
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I’m definitely in the keep him in crowd. There’s something about the mood and perspective that are enhanced with the person in the distance. And I love the person in that first picture too! (In fact I just love that first picture!) Sometimes retouching isn’t the best choice. (But I usually have to try it to figure that out.)
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I have little experience and less skill in retouching. Mostly I just wait for people to scoot! lol Thanks for the vote–Kurt clearly gets to stay 🙂
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This was such an interesting slice! I agree with you that I usually don’t want people in my nature photos. I’d have to photoshop the person in the first photo right out of there. But I do think the photo with your husband in it is actually improved by having the person there. It tells a very different story with the person in it.
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It’s interesting to consider how a person (or their absence) can change the whole story or mood of a photo. Like I said, I’m definitely biased against them. lol It would be a good stretch for me to consider trying to include people in my photos…
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Molly, it is great to see how you play around with photos. Since I am really digging into photos that show the humanity of the moment, I like the endless walk with your husband at the end. May I add it to the Poetrylicious Gallery I am creating for NPM2022? The invite is at https://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2022/04/i-am-pleased-to-say-that-i-successfully.html
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