|
| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
Thank you for your very kind comment. I teach a PSA course in preparing Images for competition. One of the things that is stressed is planning the image rather than just stumbling upon something and grabbing a snap. Planning for landscapes may include such things are the right season, time of day, angle of light,proper lens, proper camera position and a host of other things. Landscapes are easy to plan because the land is always there. It is up to the photographer to figure out how create the image so the land looks its very best. |
Jul 16th |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
Thanks Arne.
One of the things that struck me while there was the vertical feel of the scene. At first I was looking at a horizontal composition but that either looked to centered (phony) or I picked up too many distant street lights on the left. When I switched to a vertical format I was hit by the strong lines moving upward (to heaven). That symbolism was not lost to me. Glad to see you noticed. |
Jul 10th |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
I agree. Perhaps I should have w0rked a bit ore with it. Too bright in the foreground for sure. |
Jul 10th |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Comment |
Less than 10 years ago there were locations in the high Rocky Mountains in Colorado where I could hike and even in late July I could find snow and ice masses. I spent hours photographing these area in all types of light and into the night. Now, due to global warming, they are all gone. You image brings back fond memories and in the end, I feel that is what a photo should do. If as a photographer you can connect with your audience it should be a victory.
For using such a deep crop on that lens you really captured a pretty sharp image. Getting white ice to look sharp is hard, yet you have managed to retain some detail in the ice that helps the image. Personally, I wish the rocks looked a bit sharper, but that is my preference. I do feel the contrasts in the image create impact that will draw the viewer into the scene. |
Jul 9th |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Comment |
As an old history buff, I'm a great fan of castles. For me the feeling of nostalgia and the romantic mental vision of knights on chargers, pennants flying is just overpowering.
This image is no different.
You had quite a challenge facing you when I saw the original. With all those shadows you did well to bring out as much as you did. However the submitted image, as least for me, was still too dark. The castle and the minute reflection should be the stars of the show and they were too flat and I felt the sky drew attention away from them.
I made a few quick minor adjustments to achieve me vision (which is likely not yours). I cropped a bit of sky, but spent most of my time opening the shadows of the castle anf reflection. You have a strong feeling of evening in your image and I wanted to keep that. I noticed the edges of the trees on the right had a tiny bit of light on them, so using an adjustment brush I increased the exposure of just the edges of the trees and added a little bit of yellow to warm them slightly. Finally I created a bit of a ray of light coming from the lower left corner and ending at the castle. I thought this would help move the eye toward the castle that was still in the shadows. I may have done a bit too much, so if this changes your original vision, please feel free to just delete it. |
Jul 9th |
 |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
Thank you Bill. I never thought it was going to become such a project. But one thing seemed to lead to another.. |
Jul 9th |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
Thanks. I'm pleased with the results (except for the light that Michael noticed). Patience has its own rewards. |
Jul 9th |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
You need an excuse to go back to the Smokies???
I thought just waking up was a valid excuse. . . :-) |
Jul 6th |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Comment |
Michael
I was looking for something else on Youtube and came across this video. Since yours was the most recent image I've seen with some wires in the sky, I thought of you.
Not saying you need to do this to your image, but this is an idea. Try the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfm7Yf56KWA
|
Jul 5th |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
Thanks Michael. Upon reviewing the image after reading your comment, you are exactly correct. I did a bunch of burning to bring downs some bright areas and just plain missed that light. Good catch on your part.
The image was custom printed on metal at 24x30. It is a eye catcher for sure. |
Jul 5th |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Comment |
I am a strong believer thqt the job of a photographer is to show the world in a manner that others do not generally see it. I believe this fills the directive. The choice of a wide angle lens and the selected composition brings the grass to the forefront and creates a view of the coast that is not generally seen. The use of the yellows and browns along with a hint of green creates a strong natural mood and tone to the image. I like your compositional choice of letting the vertical lines of the grass dominate the sceen.
Personally,I like it as it is. |
Jul 4th |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Comment |
This seems to be a month of photographers being responsible folks and getting permission to get shots... Always a good idea.
I really applaud your patience. I teach a photography course for PSA and so many of the students are in a hurry to point, shoot and grab a shot. waiting for the light is such an important part of photography it is always good to see those who understand that concept. I think the leading line of light flowing from left to right across the land, although subtle, leads the eye to the cabin and creates a feeling of movement.
My only suggestion would be to slightly burn the bright spot on the right edge. It serves to draw the eye from the building and leads it out of the frame.
This is one of the more pleasing scenes of the Palouse I have seen because it does not try to overpower the viewer. Well done.
I feel you made a great many wise choices within this image. The pano format greatly increases the feeling of space and solitude and along with the complimentary color pallet of yellow/green and purple you have created a lower energy and more serene scene.
|
Jul 4th |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Comment |
There is little to even suggest changing in this image other than a possible technique question. I think the shutter speed worked well as it allowed the natural texture of the water to show through and I feel the colors look quite natural and not over saturated.
Now my question and suggestion. I see you used f11 to capture this shot. Thus you were counting on the hyper focal concept to obtain adequate depth of field. However (and this is not a complaint) there is a loss of detail in the leaves in the distant trees that is likely caused by wind and the slow shutter speed. So my question is, have you considered the idea of focus stacking? A scene like this could be done in three to four shots with the last shot having focus on the distant trees. There you could increase the shutter speed, freezing the leaves and then blend the images in PS. This would allow for sharpness throughout the scene.
Your thoughts?? |
Jul 3rd |
| 36 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
Thanks Richard
The image is now hanging in the church lobby and on the cover of their regular bulletin. There were 6 rectangular lights mounted on concrete scattered around the lake and in the trees. I can of WD40, a wrench and about a 40 minutes walking around the lake was all it took. I walked around twice. Once to spray the oil and let it soak in and then once to do the adjustments. It was really easy. The fountain head is just out of sight on the left. But it shoots water about 30 plus feet into the air. When in falls back onto the water surface it creates ripples and ruin the reflection. |
Jul 3rd |
6 comments - 8 replies for Group 36
|
| 38 |
Jul 21 |
Comment |
Thanks for the memories. When ever I shoot horse races this is my favorite spot to shoot from. I think the view of the horses galloping straight intothe lens is the best. You hve a fine shot. d The tight crop by ART enhances the power of the shot. |
Jul 10th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 38
|
| 67 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
Hey Richard. Just checked back and saw that my reply to the fixer-uper is missing. I wonder what happened? I'll have to check the archives to see if there is a glitch some where.
I think this is much better than the original You have removed the distracting elements and that just brings more attention to the bear, and he is the star.
Some some reason I seem to notice the paw more than I did before. Maybe it is just that my eye does not roam. ANyway, you can graduate from Photoshop School after this effort. |
Jul 29th |
| 67 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
Thank you for your kind remarks. |
Jul 29th |
| 67 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
I've always been a sort of background freak for my wildlife images. Over the years I've learned if I don't get a good background the image will just end up in the circular file And so I pass up shots I would have taken several years ago. The background for this image was chosen and I set myself up to make use of it. |
Jul 10th |
| 67 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
The foreground really adds balance to the image. That helps to add strength to the overall image. If you tone down the bush you will lose that balance. Without the foreground this would be just another sunrise. |
Jul 9th |
| 67 |
Jul 21 |
Comment |
Hey, I'm in complete agreement---any time you get to see a bear (especially withing reasonable camera range) it is worth trying to get a photo. Bears up in trees present their own problems due to then being black and the sunlight coming through the foliage makes for bad exposures. In this case you got a break and don't have really hot burned out areas.
Using high ISOs when you have nailed an exposure should not be a problem with that D500. The bear is quite sharp and that raised paw with pads showing adds a great deal to the shot as does the tongue. It is too bad you couldn't have gotten one of the eyes to show. All in all, this is a quite worthy bear shot.
You indicate a lot of post work, most of which look quite good. I can see the use of a clone tool and would like to point out three easily fixed spots since i sure you want to keep this shot. In the attached image below I'd cover the blue spot by the #1. By #2 I suggest removing the blue spot and well as the 6 little pine needles just below the 2.
Finally tone down the bright pine needles by #3 and the same for the branch by number 4.
This is a really nice image, wish I'd shot it. :-) |
Jul 9th |
 |
| 67 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
Well Richard, you better get used to Boris---I have a few other shots I'll be showing in the next few months. There are a few birding areas within an reasonable drive of where i live and I often return to them when there is seasonal action occurring.
These little owls seem to wake up hungry and so the early morning finds them quite active. I only spent about 2 hours actually shooting. After that it got hot and the owls went into their burrows and there was nothing to shoot.
I belong to a PSA Nature Study group and their requirements for images demand a clear nature story line (this image would not qualify for submission because of the lack of storyline) I was hoping for feeding or more interaction and that was why I returned so often---Boris was a willing subject.
All that said, my set up technique is always the same, that is I work the light and the wind.
Thanks for your kind remarks. I do appreciate your thoughts. |
Jul 9th |
| 67 |
Jul 21 |
Reply |
Michael
Thanks for the compliment. I could have shot this at f4 (the lens is quite fast), but I chose the f7.1 to get some depth. This allowed for the legs and even the tail feathers to appear sharp.. I think the legs ARE sharp, but the tail feathers appear to be nearly sharp. I probably should have used f8 or 9.
I really credit this image to my lens and camera for tracking and maintaining focus on this speedy guy while he was coming right at me. That was the hard part. |
Jul 6th |
| 67 |
Jul 21 |
Comment |
I feel the image has a strong sense of visual balance between the bush on the left and the peak on the right. With the peak being higher than the bush and the sky being brighter on the right as well it gives the image a sort of "up beat" feel. The color pallet comprised of mostly an alogeous colors give the image a strong natural tone and mood. With everything combined there is a sense of cohesiveness at makes ththe image work.
As Jason mentioned,the lens flare spots are a distraction to another wise beautiful image. But this can be corrected.
|
Jul 4th |
| 67 |
Jul 21 |
Comment |
While I am not a great fan of the arachnid family I must admit, this little guy, with the big eyes is a bit on the cute side. Even though he is a bit small, I think you did a fine job photographing the spider. However, for me, the images just feels odd. The flower is such a dominant feature that it overpowers the spider who ends up being an also ran to the flower. The visual balance is just tilted against the spider. I think the settings and the processing of the spider both work well. The would be star just needs to be larger in the frame. |
Jul 4th |
| 67 |
Jul 21 |
Comment |
First the image is surprisingly sharp for fish in the water and having all the whiskers sharp is an absolute positive for the image. I also feel that the conversion to B/W was a good choice. There is little you could do with the composition other than what is shown and so that choice seems solid.
This image carries the feel of a "fine art" image and for me, seems a bit fake. In that this is a nature plus forum the fine art approach seems a bit unusual.
All that said, the fine art approach would make it eye catching on a wall. |
Jul 4th |
4 comments - 6 replies for Group 67
|
| 74 |
Jul 21 |
Comment |
A perfect example of the harder you work, the luckier you get.
This is a well seen and well captured image. The composition is strong and the image is unique-the originality and genius of using the long exposure along with the conversion to B/W are all excellent choices.
|
Jul 10th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 74
|
12 comments - 14 replies Total
|
