I don't necessarily agree with the new crop. A couple of points:
Any reasonably good or seasoned photo enthusiast can crop a photo, seven ways to Sunday. The issue is what one wants to, or hopes to convey. To my mind, Julie's crop is excellent, but so too was the original. I can crop further and emphasize the delicate looking swirling vines in the plants even more. The point is, each new crop tends to emphasize and reinforce something slightly different. Therefore, if one has an excellent image, which this one is, a new crop is just someone's personal taste. The other point is, we all have to work with the 2X3 (about) rectangular format that is on most cameras, so we tend to see and compose the elements within that frame unconsciously. Even if wanted to crop out any part of a given given image, we cannot until we get home on the computer, and it is doubtful that most of the time we would have the presence of mind to think in terms of cropping while shooting in the field. Of course, perimeter cropping is standard and quite different than habitually shooting with the aim of making substantial cropping later on. I think the original image deserves more credit.
JMR
John, I'm not too sure that it has anything to do with not giving credit to the original image at all. Life is about experiences, as many as we can fit into this short time span....and if we can experience something or respond to something in a different way by interacting with it or putting our input into it - well I say go for it! I wanted to share another vision and experience I had when I saw this image. If I had just left it alone and said...this image deserves for nothing more to be experienced from it, I would not have experienced the mind disorientation of the 2D and 3D effect and the lovely balance of shapes created by the crop I had a play with. There was room for me to experience something else from this image, and in this forum this is an ideal place to do so. Yes, as you rightly say...is just someone's personal taste...and mine - which I shared in a community in which I can interact and learn.
And personally, I also don't want to be limited by the parameters of the frame of the camera....why should I ? Just because my camera sensor is in a 2:3 format and the vision I see through the viewfinder is different from that proportion, what law (written or unwritten) is there to say that I 'shouldn't' do that ? I may have another camera at my feet which has the ratio which suits my vision; is it ok to put down one camera and use the other just so I haven't broken the "Though shalt not crop after clicking shutter code" ? Why is it ok to use one piece of technology to determine a frame ratio (camera), yet frowned upon to use another (ie; computer)?
I don't want to start a 'can' or 'can't' argument about cropping and sidetrack this thread, but since cropping this particular image has been given consideration by a few, I thought I would mention my own personal opinions.
Julie
