Critique Pecos Pueblo Mission Church

[gnagel]

Pecos Pueblo Mission Church at Pecos National Historic Park in New Mexico

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Thanks for looking...
Glenn

 

[Mike Buckley]

Great lines! Is the church the building in the background?

 

[gnagel]

Great lines! Is the church the building in the background?

Thanks Mike...yes, the church is in the background. I have another photo of this scene with a slightly different perspective that places more emphasis on the church, but doesn’t have quite the same depth as this one.

Glenn

 

[alexf]

I prefer the BW version. Very nice.

 

[LyndeeLoo]

Glenn - I love the image, and definitely prefer the BW version. I'll be honest, though. I'm not a fan of the stick in the foreground. Personally, for me, my eye gravitates to that first, rather than to the church which is the main subject. I do like the well (?) in the foreground; it's just the stick...

Other than that, I'm loving the photos of your latest trip.

 

[gnagel]

I prefer the BW version. Very nice.

Thanks Alex

Glenn - I love the image, and definitely prefer the BW version. I'll be honest, though. I'm not a fan of the stick in the foreground. Personally, for me, my eye gravitates to that first, rather than to the church which is the main subject. I do like the well (?) in the foreground; it's just the stick...

Other than that, I'm loving the photos of your latest trip.

Thanks Lyndee...and I very much appreciate your feedback.

This is an example of how being there can distort one’s perception of the image. While standing there, I never thought of it as a stick because I knew it was an old ladder that the Native Americans constructed to enter the kiva. The reason that it does look like a stick is that they build the ladders so that the side railings continue without the rungs so that you have something to grab even as you are well above the ground...just makes it easier to enter and exit.

However, once you mentioned it, I could see how it appears as a stick (and likely a distracting element in the frame)...because that is exactly what it looks like in the image. I am not sure the composition would have worked if I had moved more to the side so that the viewer could more easily see that it has two railings and is a ladder.

Glenn

 

[Bart]

I figured it was a ladder the moment I saw the image. Don't ask me how
And indeed, it was automatically accepted as part of the scene.

A beautiful b&w with the structures and sharp shadows.
That and the adobe church building look exactly as what I would expect from this area.
(only seen in photos and films)

 

[Butlerkid]

Beautiful composition and I, too, prefer the B&W rendition. I know it is level, but to me it feels like the right side is just a wee bit higher.......

 

[gnagel]

I figured it was a ladder the moment I saw the image. Don't ask me how
And indeed, it was automatically accepted as part of the scene.

A beautiful b&w with the structures and sharp shadows.
That and the adobe church building look exactly as what I would expect from this area.
(only seen in photos and films)

Thanks Bart...maybe more viewers will automatically see the long stick as a ladder. I hope so!

Beautiful composition and I, too, prefer the B&W rendition. I know it is level, but to me it feels like the right side is just a wee bit higher.......

Thanks Karen...maybe the right side looks higher because of the mountain range out there on the horizon. I'll have to take a closer look.

Glenn

 

[Palouse]

Knowing what the "stick" is I guess I looked right through/past it, accepting it as part of the scene. I rather like it as it provides a counterpoint to the "ramps" on the church.

 

[gnagel]

Knowing what the "stick" is I guess I looked right through/past it, accepting it as part of the scene. I rather like it as it provides a counterpoint to the "ramps" on the church.

And that's what I did at the scene...looked right past it. I had already seen one woman go up and down the ladder to explore the kiva. I found the line it provided to be an important element of the composition. But, I can also see how someone might not realize what it is and how that introduces a distracting element into the scene.

Glenn

 

[Dayo]

Nice shot.
My eyes did initially jump to the "stick" as it does dominate the scene but was able to accept and take it in.

I did wonder why they stuck a stick in the hole and thought it must have been used to slide down in ... like a fireman's pole!

 

[Bart]

It's a ladder with 2 poles, Dayo. One longer than the other. Take a look at the shadows it casts.

Nice shot.
My eyes did initially jump to the "stick" as it does dominate the scene but was able to accept and take it in.

I did wonder why they stuck a stick in the hole and thought it must have been used to slide down in ... like a fireman's pole!

 

[Mike Buckley]

Bart is correct that it is a ladder. The ladder provides entry and exit for the kiva. If you're interested, there's lots of stuff on the Internet explaining the roles of kivas in that region of what eventually became America.

 

[Dayo]

It's a ladder

Thanks. I had gathered it was a ladder from the explanation given when I made my post. Hence the wrapping of the word in quotes in the first sentence.
The second sentence was going back to when I first saw the pic.

Just moving back and forth in the space/time continuum.

 

[Binnur]

Very nice B&W. IMO the ladder adds to the composition as a balancing element.

 

[dossy]

Beautiful comp and perspective!

 

[gnagel]

Very nice B&W. IMO the ladder adds to the composition as a balancing element.

Thanks Binnur

Beautiful comp and perspective!

Thanks Dossy...much appreciated!

Glenn