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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 36 |
Jul 22 |
Reply |
Thanks Ian. I really wanted this to be more than just another monument photo and it took a while to figure out how to do it, Those storm clouds really helped. I also reviewed my photos of the Korean War soldiers in Washington DC on the Mall. The statues are similar and under the lights at night they are dramatic. |
Jul 17th |
| 36 |
Jul 22 |
Reply |
Thanks Bill. I could do some bulb dimming without too much problem, so I;'ll give that a try. As for brightening Mike. That may be hard. There are so many highlights on the statue that they get blown when trying to brighten the statue. The statue also have many deep crevices that are really blackholes that trying to bring light into those areas was a real pain. I made the statue as bright as I could. |
Jul 17th |
| 36 |
Jul 22 |
Reply |
Thanks Arne. Actually while there I did a vertical of Iron Mike as you suggested. I just have it in full frame. I also took several shots from the side and any other angle I could think of. |
Jul 17th |
| 36 |
Jul 22 |
Reply |
Thank you very much Barbara
i believe in showing my thanks to servicemen anytime I get the opportunity. If you feel your nephew would like a copy of this I would be happy to send you the file. It would be my pleasure. |
Jul 17th |
| 36 |
Jul 22 |
Comment |
Quite an amazing transformation. First, I never knew that the water texture existed. Congrats to you for finding it and especially for such a great job of applying it. As Arne noted there is a bit of an issue with columns that are not straight. Any time I have an image with lots of vertical lines that is something I immediately check for. It is an easy fix in Photoshop.
Hope your contest entry does well. Is this a local competition or something sponsored by PSA? |
Jul 10th |
| 36 |
Jul 22 |
Comment |
Looks like a fine place to cool off on a hot summer day. The "s" curve of the waterway makes a fine leading line to lead the eye into the scene. I like the way you positioned the water in the lower left corner having some moving up the left side and also running across the bottom. The polorizer also worked well. It looks like the top two falls had brighter light striking them and thus they appear to be a bit blown out. May I suggest that in such situations you expose for the upper, brighter falls to keep them from being burned out and then recovering from shadow the lower falls that be be dark since it receives less light. You could also crop a bit of the dark leaves from the right edge just to keep them from being a massed dark area on the right edge (there is no detail in them--so no loss)
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Jul 6th |
| 36 |
Jul 22 |
Comment |
Well Done! You captured this in the only possible way. The resulting blue hour photo is quite moody and captivating. I do have question about your technique and two minor suggestions. First, the moon is naturally moving quite quickly and is quite bright as you mentioned. So you ended up two two i mages, one exposed for the moon and one for the foreground. Since both were taken from your tripod position how did you manage to cover the bright white blob moon with the properly exposed moon so perfectly s9ince the moon would move in the time it takes to change settings and take a second shot. I'm just wondering what technique you used for the cover up.
My two simple suggestions are that personally I would prefer a bit more space at the bottom and a bit less sky at the top since all that blank sky at the top really does not contribute to the image. One tiny nit--if you used a very slightly lower camera position you could have gained some separation of tree branch and horizon. One branch in the center just touches the water line. |
Jul 6th |
| 36 |
Jul 22 |
Reply |
Maybe this will work. I really didn't like the tinted clouds, they just look phony (at least to me) I did change the crop which eliminated the bright wall on the left and then to get a better control of the image I converted to B/W |
Jul 4th |
 |
| 36 |
Jul 22 |
Reply |
Thanks. I'll play with those clouds---they were really inky black---that was why I drove to the monument that night. They were terrifying. I later heard there was a tornado further to the west. There were some serious spotlights on the center portions of the wall. Especially to the right of Mike's head. The lights on left wall---are you referring to the far left wall? I might be able to dull that a bit more. I already took out a bright spotlight just above those white blocks. I thought about B/W---let's see what the others say. Posted: 07/03/2022 14:59:59
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Jul 3rd |
| 36 |
Jul 22 |
Comment |
I like the Photoshop work and the elimination of the electrical pole, it immediately gives the image a much more natural look. However, while you were removing things why not remove the two poles hiding in the mountain on the right? I'm not very familiar with Luminar but it does create a very different look. I fell the leading line created by the water and leading and ending with the single pine on the horizon helps move the viewer through the scene. Still for me the image lacks impact.
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Jul 3rd |
| 36 |
Jul 22 |
Comment |
The first thing I notice about this image is the composition. I find it to be especially delightful. For me it is the truck in the foreground that makes all the difference. In a very simplistic image it sets the stage and draws the eye. placing it in the center creates a strong line from the truck to the highest point in the building. I find the extended line (truck and building) work together to hold my attention. Additionally I find the monochrome works quite well for this image.
I can't decide if I like the dark sky portion of the image, or if it would be better without it and just cropped lower. I've looked at if for a couple of days now and still can't decide. But I think I'm leaning toward eliminating it |
Jul 3rd |
5 comments - 6 replies for Group 36
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| 67 |
Jul 22 |
Reply |
Thanks Bud. However there is a difference between staying out and trying to get back to my car and a dry place. I was just hustling back and taking advantage of an opportunity.
Just one of the advantages of having a lenscoat raincoat for the camera. I never worry about getting my gear wet, no matter what the weather.
As for gator lunch---ducks were on his menu on this trip |
Jul 13th |
| 67 |
Jul 22 |
Reply |
Thanks Frank for the other side of the story. Your description is similar to others I've heard before. I am often reminded of David Yaro a British photographer who says if he gets 6 great images a year he is happy. I know I've struggled for years to get a particular type of shot the way I want it. Wildlife photograph is humbling. so many things can go wrong. But that is what keeps us going back over and over again to get that one shot. But when you get it. . . |
Jul 12th |
| 67 |
Jul 22 |
Comment |
Speaking as a PSA competition judge I find this image a bit refreshing. I have seen countless images of this event and just about all of them are capturing the herd coming down the hill, and thrashing their way through the water. If the "s" line of the herd is nicely done and a good composition put together and the action in the water visible a couple have earned Honorable Mention. But most are just a mess.
This is a completely different approach--the attempt at originality is much appreciated. I feel you have captured some of the frenzy of the event. I also feel there is a future for a shot such as this. To move this to the awards I would offer a couple of things that as a judge would make me excited.
FirstI really do not like the big hump back in the lower left. to me it is a great distraction, I wish there was a head instead. I also wish the beast on the lower right had a bit of a face---especially an eye. I realize neither of these issues are really your fault and you have to take what you get but if those were fixed I would like the image better.
Next. Awarded wildlife images most often have one characteristic in common. That is getting the eye. For me, if there were several of the wildebeests with wild crazed eyes show some of the panic (especially if they were in the front) that likely would be more impactful.
Another image angle that I have not seen with this species that is often done with the waterbuffalo races and with horses is a lower angle shot capturing the flailing hooves and wild eye with splashing water coming right down the barrel of the lens. Low angles impart drama and power and I think that would score well because it has not been done.
I only mention these possibilities because you say you are looking for other images. This is a really nice and unique images. But great wildlife images are hard to come by and little things can make a big difference. I do applaud you doing something different. But can you make it go over the top and be awesome? If you could, I would love to see it. |
Jul 10th |
| 67 |
Jul 22 |
Comment |
I have no complaint on your camera settings. If you can use it, the faster the shutter the better of you are with animals, especially bird. 1/4000 will really keep the kid still!!
Something that often reduces the score of an image in competition is when you have that long lens "donut" look with the immediate foreground blurred, then the subject sharp and finally the background blurred. I would suggest cropped a bit off the foreground. Crop just enough to get to the textured,sharp sand on the right. It will have the feel of making the entire image look just a bit sharper.
Otherwise, this is a well crafted image. |
Jul 10th |
| 67 |
Jul 22 |
Reply |
just a thought. When I shoot panos like this I position the camera in the vertical position, I overlap about a third of the frame. I also back off just a bit Thus when the images are merged each new frame doesn't have that much new material which helps to avoid the "bowl" shape. Also because I have lots of pixels at top and bottom when the images are merged I get a strange kind curved top and bottom which can be easily cropped into a rectangle that has less distortion.
If you want a "top of the world" look, from that parking lot, angle the lens somewhat down into hole. With a fairly wide angle lens it will make you look higher and over looking the deep valley |
Jul 8th |
| 67 |
Jul 22 |
Reply |
I really came to about the same conclusion. I've been able to get what I want by just cropping with my feet. I've got 550mm with my 200-400 plus tc1.4. It doesn't always get me what I want but 90% of the time it does. I've gotten great eagles,owls and hawks both in flight and on a stick by just being patient. Plus I can afford a steak dinner on my way home. :-) |
Jul 3rd |
| 67 |
Jul 22 |
Comment |
I'm glad to see you managed to get more images from your rental of that 800mm lens. As a life long Nikon user I often thought of taking the plunge and renting that lens. Never pulled the trigger though. It is interesting to see that the lens retains its sharpness even with the gigantic crop you applied. While the eagle looks good, at least for me, the gull almost seems to be plastic That may be a product of the preset you created.
I hope you have some additional shots you captured with that lens. |
Jul 3rd |
| 67 |
Jul 22 |
Comment |
My oh my, what a pudgy bear you are! Someone is getting more than 3 square meals per day!! You did nicely grabbing this image of chubby chilling out in the local swimming hope. I don't know just how close you ended up---but if I can get close to gators then you have do the bears. It is a fine nature image and I think the pano format helps to focus attention on the bear.
Just a thought---the grasses in the background may be a bit overexposed. If you decide to darken the grass just remember that the water should be slightly darker than the grass. |
Jul 3rd |
| 67 |
Jul 22 |
Comment |
Over the course of many years I have stood in this same parking lot (and hiked the trail to the lookout tower) many times. Your pano creates a whole new appearance to the scene. I feel you made apple pie a la mode out of apple sauce. There is not really much there to work with and the sunset didn't really help you, but the image came out quite unique.
My only suggestion leads to what comes down to a maker's choice. I feel the wide angle lens and the process of rotating the tripod head has created a "bowl" like appearance to the scenes which is not actually there. I keep looking for reality and when it is not there in a location I know I somehow feel cheated.
Still you created a very interesting image and if it were any other location I would find the image amazing. So as I stated previously, if you as the maker like it---then it is perfect. |
Jul 3rd |
| 67 |
Jul 22 |
Reply |
THANKS Isaac. I do have the entire jaw. I do not know why it is chopped off. I've replaced that image right now! |
Jul 1st |
5 comments - 5 replies for Group 67
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10 comments - 11 replies Total
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