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I was trying for some shadow patterns from a sculpture we have on the wall. On one of my early setup shots, the flash inadvertently fired full power. After cropping and pushing the contrast as far as I could, I ended up with this. Thoughts?

Day 075 Shadows 1
SIngle flash Camera Left M/1 (I think)

Incidentally, this is where I was aiming :

Shadows 2
Not quite my vision as I was after more sharply defined shadows. To achieve that, I think I would need a focused spot much further away, but I lack the room to do it. And for that matter the spotlight.

One flash bare camera right, close to the sculpture (about 30cm). TTL
One flash bounced into an umbrella Camera Left M/32 much further away
Graduated ND to balance the lighting across the frame as much as possible

It actually looks like a purposeful abstract painting rather than a blue.

Hey Greg, the first does nothing for me, however i reckon the second has a lot of potential, with a little extra tweakage I think you could blur that line of reality and make it almost like a illusion, ie, one cannot tell whether its going into teh page or out.

ie

This has potential Greg, but I think you need to play some more.
You may try moving the sculpture further from the wall or adjusting the angle it has to the wall.

the rework of this image really does highlight the potential, i dont mind either of the original images either

As above, the black and white conversion
shows the picture has possibilities yet to
be explored.

I actually love the first image (the second does little for me) - goes to show that there is no accounting for taste. I'd consider cropping it though to get rid of the mass of white on top.

Greg, the original and reworked #2 is super!

Suren,
I mostly posted the second as a reference photo. When I saw the image in the first, I didn't bother with the original concept any more. Though I do like BG's treatment and will revisit it myself real soon now. So credit for the rework goes to BG.

Mozzie,
Your comment about the different crop was one of those "Doh" moments for me. Here is an 8x10 crop. I think it improves the image immeasurably (and I already thought it was good) Thank you.