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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 36 |
Oct 21 |
Comment |
Somewhere at heart I am a real minimalist. I like the real clean and simple and don't really like anything invasive. Thus I'm going to against the crowd. I've spent several days looking at this image, leaving and coming back to look again. So here are my thoughts on this image. just crop out the cloud at the top. There is still a glimmer of light filtering down through the image that will act as a leading line to the boat. The boat itself is interesting and has nice clean lines. The stillness of the water, the hazy land mass in the background all set a scene. The light brings out the boat to make it a clear, clean subject separated from the background. I don't think you need any thing else. |
Oct 16th |
 |
| 36 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
Thanks. Glad you liked it. I have given some thought to converting to B/W but have not had the time to try it out. Perhaps later this month I will. Thanks for the idea. |
Oct 15th |
| 36 |
Oct 21 |
Comment |
The view is striking and for sure the mountain dominates the scene and the composition greatly contributes to this effect. In this particular instance there seems to be two bright areas that are merged together so the scene becomes center weighted. This sort of locks the eye into the center and the eye stays in one place. I mostly agree with Michael in that there is too much dark shadow. I seems you applied a pretty strong vignette and when added to areas that were already dark, just made them darker. Vignettes often do not work well in landscapes because they create an unnatural feeling to the scene. Making some of the shadows lighter will make the scene less ominous. You might consider dodging some highlights onto the areas the sun strikes the mountain. It would add some life to the scene. |
Oct 11th |
| 36 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
Thanks Barbara I'm glad the story line came across. I'm still trying to learn how to make my storylines connect to the viewer.
Since these trees were a 6 hour drive from home I really had to take the weather was available. When I was walking to the site for my Milky WaY shot I passed these stumps but the light was coming from the sea side and it left the stumps in shadow---so I opted for shooting them on my way back.
I do wonder about a stormy sky changing the mood but beggers can't be choosy.
Thanks for your thoughts. |
Oct 11th |
| 36 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
Great! I'm really glad the story comes across. I love directional light for the textures it reveals and the drama it imparts. I see you caught my crop also. I just felt the sky was not contributing so the crop seemed logical.
Thanks for your thoughts. I always appreciate your input. |
Oct 11th |
| 36 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
Thank you Richard. I really try to tell a story when I capture an image. My hope is to let the viewer see and feel what I experienced. I spend a lot of time thinking about this before I start shooting. I greatly favor low angles because of the drama they create---the subject usually become more powerful---more in the face of the viewer.
I'm really pleased that you got the storyline.Thanks |
Oct 11th |
| 36 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
Thanks Isaac. One of the reasons I shot low was to place those small stumps in the background in the gaps caused by the framing roots. I thought being low really accents the drama of the scene. Sitting on the wet sand was a small price to pay for capturing this scene. |
Oct 11th |
| 36 |
Oct 21 |
Comment |
I always appreciate the use of light, especially directional light. The slashing bright area darting across the image not only captures the eye but adds drama to the scene One can actually feel the light racing across the stones.
If you could add just a little texture to the stones and perhaps some sharpness it may push the image over the top.
In Lightroom try using the sharpening mode and use the "secret settings" of Amount: mid 40's, Radius .5 and Detail in the high 80's. You might be surprised how well this works. |
Oct 9th |
| 36 |
Oct 21 |
Comment |
The light in this image is simply wonderful. I also appreciate your choice of a long exposure to create the movement in the clouds and to smooth out the water. Both add to the tranquil feeling of the scene.
For me the image feels a bit unbalance--all the visual weight is on the right side. Perhaps making this a square and cropping from the left side, while creating a more centered composition, it may improve the overall balance as well. |
Oct 9th |
| 36 |
Oct 21 |
Comment |
I have heard a great deal a bout this location and based on your image, the beauty of the site well worth the hardships of capturing it. I really didn't think that it would be THAT crowded.
I feel your composition quite nicely brought out beauty of both the mill and the environment. The scene is nicely balanced.
Perhaps it is my monitor but the image feel a bit over exposed. I think you might benefit from bringing down the mill roof just a bit. Also, reflections should be at least a 2/3 of a stop darker than the surroundings. Yconsider using filter to darken the water ju |
Oct 9th |
5 comments - 5 replies for Group 36
|
| 37 |
Oct 21 |
Comment |
Outstanding camera work to capture such a shot. Getting a sharp owl when they are flying toward your takes skill. Well done. |
Oct 17th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 37
|
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
Bud, I understand your frustration. There is an area in the southern end of the everglades about an hour and a half from my house where barred owls are known to live. Everytime time I go I stop by and in 20 years I've only found an owl twice. But I still search everytime. I spend much more time searching than I do shooting.y. Getting a good photo
Getting a photo of a bird is easy. Getting a good photo, one worth posting is much harder. But that is what makes it fun. |
Oct 28th |
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
Thanks for your comment. Glad to hear from someone who understands about owls and their environment. I was really glad to actually capture the owl in flight. |
Oct 28th |
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
Hi David
For this shot I was in a pontoon boat. My monopod was a RRS ball head attached and mounted on that is a RRS Sidekick bracket that turns the ball head into a full gimbal style head. I started using this years ago for backpacking because it had versatility. With the sidekick detached I had a full function ball head. Attached the Sidekick to the ball head (It has an Arcaswiss mount) and I had a full function gimbal for less than half the cost. Also less weight and cost than carrying a full regular gimbal. It supports the weight of my camera rig even with a 600mm prime Nikon lens.
I love this set up. It is easy to use, very solid and has never let me down. You can purchase knockoff sidekicks for less money if you search the internet. 5 or 6 members of my local camera club purchased the knockoff version once they saw me using mine. |
Oct 21st |
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
David
Shooting with the mono pod is easy. I lock the gimbal head's movement from left to right and just piviot on the monopod foot. The gimbal give me the vertical action. Holding a big heavy camera rig for along time tires the arms and then when I need control I'm pooped. The monopod carries the weight.
As for skies---I much prefer the land for a background I can do more with backgrounds and everything image doesn't look like all the rest. |
Oct 20th |
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Comment |
Any time you are able to present something out of the ordinary, something that people do not regularly see, you have an edge on your audience. This is something that few people will ever see live. There are plenty of lines that lead the viewer especially those coming from the right corner leading to the light spot in the ice curtain. The subtle and soft colors create a serene scene.
My only suggestion to to crop at least a third of the green curtain from the left side. There is so much of it that it becomes dominate and leaves the cave itself as an after thought. Reducing it retains the drama of the scene and allows the viewer to wander through the actual cave before seeking the entrance that is visually highlighted. The HDR processing worked quite nicely and it was a good idea to use it.
This is the best image you have shared thus far. |
Oct 16th |
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Comment |
According to the language of color blue and yellow and the colors that produce the most calming effect of the human mind. These complimentary colors draw viewers into an image. For me I see this as something of an abstract and the calming effect of the colors is all that draws me to the scene. |
Oct 16th |
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Comment |
OK, sorry this took some time but I wanted to try to get this editing thing right. Sorry about the halo on the mountains, but this existed on your original and I could not remove it. Working on a small file size didn't give me enough pixels to work with.
While i felt you had a good image with an interesting concept of a light beam I wanted to bring that to life- It was after all why you took the photo. I played with the blackand white points to extend and capture the full tonal range from true black to true white to to also use all the various tones of grey in between. This opened up shadows and brought the image to life. I also play with the dodging to high light the mounted and show the trees and most of all to make use of the ray of light.
sadly this is my vision of your image. If I went to far or did it wrong. Just say so and we can delete the image below. This is after all, your image.
For the record, the edits took about an hour to complete. This was pretty extensive. |
Oct 16th |
 |
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
I really agree with you. I love owls and love photographing them as well. Capturing an owl is always a treat. I hope your little German owls work out for you. Drop by next month, I'll have another owl image to post in this forum. |
Oct 16th |
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
OK Michael---I gave it a try. Is this version any more to your liking? |
Oct 16th |
 |
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Comment |
This, I feel is a standard fall image. You have created lots of interesting leading lines with the river and the golden brush leading to the background. For me the issue is the lack of cohesion between the left and right sides. Its almost feels like two different scenes. I do like the green trees with the clouds (fog) shrouding them. if both sides were the bare trees this could be really powerful. Perhaps adding a bit of sharpness to the foreground foliage would also add so me punch to the scene. |
Oct 10th |
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
The image below is not intended to be a finished produce. Just anexample of how once you manage the blur technique you can easily create beautiful bokeh quite easily. It doesn't workfor all images but perhaps you cansee the possibilities from this example.
|
Oct 10th |
 |
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Comment |
Hi Richard
Nothing says fall better the elk in the meadow. The cow and calf show some interaction and that helps to create a stronger nature story line for the image. Hope your trip to Smoky yielded some fall color as well.
I sort of like what Jason did by making the image a bit lighter me the issue is creating separation between the elk and their background. To thatend the manmade fence in the background re uinsthe feeling of these majestic beasts lording over their domain. Thus I thought of simply blurring out the background. Just a little bit of Photoshop magic and I was able to blur and with a bit of cloning also remove the fence. I could have just as easily completely blurred the entire background. I hope this would reduce clutter and help the elk stand out. |
Oct 10th |
 |
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
Hi Bev. Thanks for your comment and efforts. I will agree that the owl looks quite nice on a "sky" background. However allow me to note that barred owls very rarely fly high or very far. 30 -40 yards is a LONG flight for them. These owls life in dense forests and really only fly in short hops, tree to tree or to pounce on prey. I spent hours shooting these owls and do not have any sky (except through some trees) in any of the images. One male owl did land in a thick cypress and was lost from sight, then hopped out to a limb for a better view---some sky was behind him---but then he hopped right back into the foliage.
Maybe I should show the owl your edited version. Hopefully he will get the idea and take on some longer and higher flights. ThenI could get shots like yours. :-)
During most of the flights I saw the owl was no more than 10-12 feet above water or ground. |
Oct 10th |
| 67 |
Oct 21 |
Reply |
In any photo, it is ALWAYS about the light/ No light --no image. However it is how we as photographers manage and use that light. Used well, we have magic, without it--ho hum. There were little bits of sun rays breaking through the clouds, by moving the boat to a position to maximize the light rays--all I needed was a bird to fly in the right direction.
Good luck on your search for owls... |
Oct 8th |
5 comments - 9 replies for Group 67
|
| 89 |
Oct 21 |
Comment |
There is nothing to not like about this nature image. The image contains a clear and strong nature story featuring the act of feeding. You have a clear eye of the subject and both the subject and its prey are sharp and well separated from the background, which, by the way, is beautiful. While this is not your typical "wall hanger" it is a perfect nature photo. It does not get much better than this. Well, done. |
Oct 16th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 89
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12 comments - 14 replies Total
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