A New Kind of Death (The Enola Gay)

[pyanez]

Took this photo of the Enola Gay a few years ago. Because of how the plane is displayed and how large it is, it was impossible from me to take exactly the kind of shot I wanted -- very close with a very wide angle and aperture wide open to get the shallowest depth of field. So I did the best I could given the layout and then did my best to get the the feel I wanted in processing it.

Watcha think?

Thanks,
Pablo
www.modernstills.com (my new crib on the web)

http://www.modernstills.com/photos/444090904_W5cXB-L.jpg

[Miguel Delinquento]

The most interesting thing about this shot is that if you disregard the background, the plane looks like a scale model. Having worked for the manufacturer, I know how large these bombers were.
Your wording above confuses me--the shot looks like it was taken to achieve a very minimal, thin depth of field. Not a bad idea, but there is still way too much distracting background. I also don't like the crop of the prop. Finally, the color balance seems off quite a bit and the shot seems too dark.
I like your intention though.

M

[raptorcaptor]

-- very close with a very wide angle and aperture wide open to get the maximum depth of field.

I like the photo but with your aperture wide open you're going to get shallow depth of field not wide! :dunno

[pyanez]

oops, thanks for pointing that out -- I meant to write shallowest depth of field.

[pyanez]

Possible alternative based on some comments:

http://www.modernstills.com/photos/444802180_Y9gPj-L.jpg

[BradfordBenn]

I like the shot, and I am the first to admit that I am still learning, but I do not get a sense of scale from these photos.

[hioo1]

I like the alternate version better, it draws the views eye to the cockpit which is what i believe you are going for with the shallow depth of field. The blur on it looks a little forced, it maybe the angle but it looks like a very distinct line that seperates the in and out of focus parts. Still too much in the background for me but i really love how you can see all the gadgets in the cockpit, I can look at this for a while finding everything in there. Great shot!

[mercphoto]

I like the shot, and I am the first to admit that I am still learning, but I do not get a sense of scale from these photos.
I agree. I simply cannot figure out if its a large plane or a small plane. Or even a model of a plane. For this type of shot you really want to be able to convey the sheer size of this beast.

[HoofClix]

All depends on what you are trying to convey. I don't know that one necessarily HAS to try to convey the "sheer size of the beast." I think it adds interest to the image that it's hard to tell if its a model or the real thing. I think that even though the backgound is out of focus, it clues us in that this is inside a museum, so that kills the confusion. I also don't have a problem with the exposure or brightness of the final image.

An alternate crop of this image would be to just crop out the top as you did in your repost, just above the fuselage, but don't crop out left side, even if this does take off the top of the propeller.

A possible reshoot might get wider on the left to include the entire propeller, and possibly moving left a bit so that the propeller is closer to the focal plane of the cockpit. Nothing wrong with having two things in focus to consider in the image. You might use a polarizer so that you can cut the reflections off the cockpit glass so we can see into the cockpit.

[Tee Why]

I think it looks interesting. I like the cropped version better.
I'm not sure but if you tweaked the composition a touch it may have been even nicer. Maybe a little tilt or a portrait composition?

[iambarefoot]

For what it's worth, having seen millions of aircraft photos, the size confusion makes this a bit more interesting. Your title lends a socio-political element to the photograph, possibly further abstracting it. Aside from the crop/composition suggestions, I'd stop down just a little to get a tiny bit more DoF. But that's just me.

[du8die]

A very difficult plane to shoot. You want to get the whole thing, but can't because of the sheer size, and the way they have it situated in the museum.

I agree with the above post that the chopped off prop doesn't feel quite right. The silver of the body looks good.

A question / observation about the blur. The blur looks unnatural to me. It looks like it was an after-thought, perhaps added in Picasa or PS. The reason being is the back walls of the museum are blurred exactly the same amount as the tail of the plane, etc. Had the background been blurred by using a shallow depth of field, my guess is the result would have been a more appealing image.

Thanks for posting.