While a good majority of my photography is about recording a scene and then editing to show what I saw, it is fun also to interpret a scene. That was the case when I shot this photo at the Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam in the Fall of 2016:
ISO 200 f/2.7 1/200sec 4.3mm
This photo gives you an idea of what the bronze statues around Rembrandt’s statue look like. They are an interpretation and tribute to his painting The Night Watch. I took the first photo as a way of remembering the overall scene. Then I took this photo:
ISO 200 f/2.7 1/250sec 4.3mm
It was a more detailed shot of the statues, as I found their texture to be very interesting. I knew I wanted a few things out of my interpretation. The first was to keep that detail of the bronze as an important element. The second was to use the terribly blown out sky in a creative way:
ISO 200 f/2.7 1/250sec 4.3mm
An adjustment to the detail slider helped bring the clarity I wanted. I used the “small details” only. The Luminar Look, Enigma, gave me the glowing sky I wanted.
Now a word about cropping. The first crop was done in-camera. That was the conscious step of photographing the whole scene and then asking myself what I found most interesting about what was in front of me and then taking a photo of that. That is how the second photo came to be. I often approach photography this way. Particularly when I travel, I find this a nice exercise in being in the moment. It makes for nice memories too, when I looked at these original files this morning, I could remember this moment. The second crop was done during the editing process, that Booking.com building is pretty distracting. When the crop didn’t remove it entirely, I used the clone and stamp tool to take the rest of it out.
The last edit was to set a vignette with the center on the statue. It’s a pretty subtle vignette, particularly compared to some of the other, more drastic, edits. A bit of a final nudge.
Your thoughts, comments, or questions about my method or the edits are welcome below.
Cheers!
Added to Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, Cropping the Shot.
Photography Journal Blog 
I can really see why you wanted a detailed picture of the statues, Amy. You’ve framed it really well, especially in view of the sky, and the close-up makes them come alive. You feel you could walk up and talk to them, as long as you don’t distract them from their Night Watch! Fabulous shot. 🙂
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Yes, no surprise that this was a selfie hot-spot. This art really did invite interaction, something I find really nice.
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Very interesting comparison of these shots, Amy. I like how you showed the adjustment to the details. The last shot is my favorite. Great choice for the theme!
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Thanks so much. Cropping is a basic photo tool but can be interpreted in many ways, so a great choice for this week’s challenge.
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Thank you, Amy! I’m glad you like it.
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Great shots, great crops. Interesting perspectives.
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Thanks very much!
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Well chosen for a crop – in this case the photo becomes so much more interesting when the faces come closer. Nicely edited as well. I really like this image.
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Thank you very much!
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I always find it so interesting to learn how other photographers think and work. And for it me it’s when a photographer interprets a scene that the photo itself becomes interesting. Like in this case. Your processing also added to the final result. It’s almost as the statues come alive.
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Thank you so much!
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Thanks for this encouragement around cropping and what is possible when it is done. An excellent example of the changes that can be created.
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Cropping can make a huge and sometimes fascinating difference. Thanks very much for stopping by to comment, I appreciate the share on Twitter!
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You are most welcome and I appreciate your support too!
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