Take a seat…
Nikon D300, Nikkor 18-200mm, 95mm, f/5.3, ISO200, 3 exposures, handheld
…and let me tell you a story. Just kidding.
Last week, Scott Wood had a blog post about keeping old shots that did not make the cut the first time around. It’s an interesting discussion because if you shot a lot, like I would expect a guy like Scott Wood do, you will in the end up with countless of gigabytes of images that will never be edited or printed. And what will you do? Delete or buy more storage? I am afraid I’m one of those guys who just store images. I do of course delete total miss shots, like camera shakes, out of focus etc. But the rest I tend to keep. After reading Scott’s post, it made me think about my collection of images and I decided then that today’s post would be an image that originally wasn’t flagged, rated or had been edited in any way. Just one of those I keep. Turned out to be a fun exercise.
About the image.
Any one familiar with Hans Christian Andersen? Well, he was a Danish poet, writer, a story-teller and famous world-wide for his fairy tales. Had he lived today, he would be 206 years old. His work is published in more that 150 languages. Quite a feat if you ask me.
The images above and below are shot in Odense, Denmark. The place of his birth. You can tell the city is proud of him. There are many references to this guy all over this city. His characteristic silhouette is even featured as the stop/walking guy on the cross walk signs.
As I went through the files from that day, I discovered I had bracket the bench shot so I chose to run with it.
This bench is out side one of the buildings dedicated to H. C. Andersen, and I think it is a part of the statue you see below. It’s like he invites you to sit either next to him or on the bench (above) that would be to his left and slightly in front of him, and listen to one of his many stories.
His fairy tales usually had a moral ending to it – this experience makes me think that I wont start thinning out my collection of images anytime soon. I’ll buy a bigger hard drive first.
Nikon D300, Nikkor 18-200mm, 20mm, f/4, 1/80sec, ISO200
I am a photo “collecter” too. I save most of my images. It sometimes pays off. I just took Trey Ratcliff’s webinar (well worth it) and came out with a new HDR processing skills. I am now looking at my “rejects” and realized that some of them will work extremely well with my new-found skills.
Really nice shot by the way.
Check out Cliff Walk Sunrise from Len Saltiel
June 13, 2011 at 7:44 am
Glad you went back through your shots man, this one is great! I love the abstract feel!
Check out Just one of those days from Dave DiCello
June 13, 2011 at 7:46 am
Great idea… I need to get back into some of my earlier “rejects” and see if I can find some new keepers. Great picks!
Check out Ireland Covered in Snow 2 from Adam Allegro
June 13, 2011 at 8:10 am
I’m also an image hoarder and I did end up buying a bigger hard drive! I read Scott’s post too and I’ve already started sifting through some older brackets to see what I can do with them.
This is a nice shot and great work on the re-process!
Check out Hanging On By A Thread from Curt Fleenor
June 13, 2011 at 9:19 am
Keeper here too. I had a barren shooting spell earlier this year for various reasons so took a look at some of the old rejects, funny how shots that would not process right suddenly came good for me
Check out A Londoners London Pt 2 from Chrisdmrf
June 13, 2011 at 9:28 am
I’m thrilled that my post had some impact. I am also glad that you went back and looked through some old images in order to re-discover the one you posted here. I really like the textures in it. A simple subject like the end of a bench can really tell a story.
Check out Photowalk at Tempe Town Lake from Scott Wood
June 13, 2011 at 10:02 am
What funky right foot! Cool shots.
June 13, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Terrific Jan…I too am glad you went back through your archived shots. I love the first one of the park bench leg. Terrific!
June 13, 2011 at 1:20 pm
Thanks Edith. The second one was just put in there for context – wow, i cant believe I used that word.
June 13, 2011 at 5:01 pm
I’m with you on image storage. I don’t get rid of very much and going through the collection always yields a surprise or two.
Love these images. That cape in particular is just awesome.
Haven’t heard the name Hans Christian Andersen since grade school (I think). LOL
Check out Raid on Harpers Ferry from Jimi Jones
June 13, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Now that is a bench with a solid footing. (sorry about that punn) Love the tones in the image. I typically save a lot of images that never see the light of the monitor. during the winter months I’ll go through them, reworking them to create something of interest.
Check out Jr Skateboarder from Rob
June 14, 2011 at 9:44 am
I love this shot Jan. Your crop is creative, humorous and beautifully contrasts the brick wall with the cobblestone walkway. I’m glad that you found and shared this image! External hard drives are often on sale and provide high capacity, off-site storage.
Check out Rings Around the Sun from Barbara Youngleson
June 14, 2011 at 6:15 pm
woah, that is very cool! terrific composition!!!
Check out Mixed Signals from Charles Dastodd
June 15, 2011 at 1:10 pm
I routinely return to old shots. I know that I know more now about image processing and photography and that there are likely gems hidden from a few months or a few years ago that are looking to see the light of day!
I actually have a shot like that too, although with hands, not feet. Haven’t posted it yet but hope to soon!
Check out Russian Ukrainian Friendship Statue from Matt Shalvatis
June 16, 2011 at 7:28 am
Great bit of abstract art! I agree – keep all the images b/c you never know what you might come up with!
June 16, 2011 at 10:18 pm