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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 36 |
Sep 23 |
Comment |
OK, I KNOW Mount Hood is a volcano! Everybody is a comic! :-)
You do have the perfect sky for this shot. The semi rim lighting makes the mountain glow while the snow adds interest. The exceptional sky keeps the entire scene in a limited color pallet and adds simplicity to the entire scene. You have not tried to bring in too much and thus the mountain is the uncontested star of the show. There is balance between the mountain (actually it is a volcano) and the tree and bright area of the sky. You might tone down those reds on the mountain just a bit. |
Sep 23rd |
| 36 |
Sep 23 |
Comment |
Sorry about the delay in making my comment. I'm traveling and my camera is taking up my time.
Some grand even in the sky never really carries an image, we human, bound to the earth as we are, crave a grounding. T he multiple layers of grass, fencing, dried grass, shadowed brush and trees really add a feeling of great depth and make this image work. I especially like how the light of the rainbow seems to be lighting the distant trees. I do feel the sky could be cropped at least down to the middle of the clouds |
Sep 23rd |
| 36 |
Sep 23 |
Reply |
Barbara
Several years ago I did a shot of the Milky Way in the everglades. The shot was 12 frames taken in two rows of 6 shots. I did six horizontal frames of the sky moving from left to right and than tilted the camera a bit lower and took six more shots of the water moving from right to left. It took forever to process but I stitched them all in Lightroom and it came out just fine.
The only advice I can offer to another photographer is let your imagination run. Push your photo gear to its limits and try things. Everything will not work, but you learn from mistakes. If you can dream it,you can make it happen. |
Sep 17th |
| 36 |
Sep 23 |
Reply |
Thanks Barbara
I was working against a clock because I had to get out due to the security guard. I started from the right because those were the clouds I was working on for my test shots so I just continued and went right to left. I wanted a second set in case the first did not come out and since I was on the let side, I just took a black frame and then did the set from left to right since I was already on that side. The finished pano was just 7 shots.
Maybe I should be concerned about ratio but in this case I was not I knew what I wanted for a starting point and then just finished the bridge. After they were stitched then I cropped to get the best looking shot.
I do not get hung up on certain sizes unless a client what a set side. I crop to make the image look like I want and then if it is to be frames I use a custom frame
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Sep 11th |
| 36 |
Sep 23 |
Comment |
Oh WOW! Looks like a volcano with flowing lava. Nice shot! |
Sep 8th |
| 36 |
Sep 23 |
Reply |
Interesting observation about the star bursts. There were larger and I reduced highlights to bring them down a bit. When they were larger I felt they dominated the scene too much and thus reduced them.
Need to calm things down as I'm getting older. :-) |
Sep 6th |
| 36 |
Sep 23 |
Comment |
Been thinking about this series of images and now I'm just dying to9 know. Were all the images of this series taken on the same day? If not, over what t9me period? |
Sep 6th |
| 36 |
Sep 23 |
Reply |
I fully understand. I looked at it several times. Asking myself---leave it in or take it out. There is an argument to be made both ways. Personally, I just like thing clean and neat. |
Sep 6th |
| 36 |
Sep 23 |
Reply |
Aha! This makes you not only a "fine" photographer but also a creator of "fine" art as well. A good modern photographer marches to his own beat.
Your masks work quite well.
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Sep 6th |
| 36 |
Sep 23 |
Comment |
Oh brother, I've spent the last 15 minutes going back and reviewing the previous image of this local and just enjoying the series. So much impact, mood and simplicity. I feel awed, chilled and at peace all at the same time.
I love the ray of light filtering through the sky and striking the face of the rock. Almost like it is bouncing off the flat of the left rock and illuminating the rock on the right. Did you apply a graduated filter to the water so that it lighten as it reaches the rocks?
Hate to play with perfection, but maybe that little rock on the far left could be cropped off. I keep looking at it and I do not want to.
Thanks for this series--- it is the most joy I've had looking at a series of photos all year.
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Sep 5th |
| 36 |
Sep 23 |
Comment |
I never tire of seeing your images of the Palouse so you can keep the coming. I really like the composition and the depth you created. The placement of the two elements creates wonderful visual balance. The subdued colors also work well. I appreciate the the colors do not slap me in the face and the mood is quite relaxing. To go along with your Italian theme, this feels like it belongs on the wall of my favorite Italian restaurant.
I'm likely wrong but I would crop off the dark grass in the front. I know it is a foreground, but so is the golden flowered area just behind it. Personally I fell like the dark grass creaes a horizontal visual blocker. There are so many wonderful diagonals that lead me up and into the image that I do not feel the dark grass is neessary. |
Sep 5th |
6 comments - 5 replies for Group 36
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| 67 |
Sep 23 |
Reply |
Thanks Michael
That extra space thing seems to generate lots of discussion. There was a bit more but the image was not perfectly straight and when I tilted it to get the wings level I lost the extra space. Visually most of the feather tips are dark and the one feather that is bright has a bit of extra space maybe that was all the judges saw. I really cropped this tight because I wanted all the attention on the bird's shoulders and that piece of lumber. But I'lln keep in mind you extra space request. |
Sep 24th |
| 67 |
Sep 23 |
Reply |
I would have liked a bit more space on the right but since the judges didn't notice why should I? :-)
I have reduced the luminance so that may be a question of monitor calibration. Greens are always hard they just seem to want to GLOW. |
Sep 24th |
| 67 |
Sep 23 |
Reply |
Thanks Bud
I find I get better results when I shoot with intent rather than just hoping something works out. This doesn't mean if something catches my eye I won't take that shot, rather that I focus my efforts getting something meaningful. |
Sep 24th |
| 67 |
Sep 23 |
Reply |
WOO HOO!!!!!!!! Way to go!!!!! That is a well deserved honor!!
Thanks for sharing the news. |
Sep 13th |
| 67 |
Sep 23 |
Reply |
Thanks Cindy
Initially I was ticked about not having more space on the right. as you can see he is approaching slightly angled from the right and is coming toward the camera position. While I was tracking and shooting things started to happen fast. I was really worried about wing position, and stick position and I waited just a bit longer than I should have to trip the shutter. I don't think the judges worried about the right edge because the background is pretty dark there and the story is about the bright bird with a well lit belly, top of wings and the piece of lumber. I think the story ties the viewer to the bird and the stick that I think really stands out and you never see sticks that large.
I've always been a planner but teaching for the PSA has turned me into a more thoughtful planner. I think I shoot with more intent than I used to (landscapes included) and I think I'm getting more high quality images than I used to |
Sep 12th |
| 67 |
Sep 23 |
Reply |
Visually I like your adjustment to the image and you did a good job. Honestly I never thought about removing it. The line is actually a low water mark and shows when things are a bit dry. I made sure the background was partly visible to show the environment in which the bird lived and gathered nesting furnishing. I was concerned with showing the size of the stick and the effort of the bird in carrying so much lumber. This image was entered in a PSA contest and received a Bronze medal, much better than I expected. The only comment I received stated that the crop and capture angle clearly showed the effort the bird was putting in to retrieve the stick and the images provided a strong nature story as well as being visually pleasing.
I was a bit worried about the nearness to the edge of the right wing, but nothing is clipped and I guess the judges liked the story. I was just hoping for an acceptance. |
Sep 10th |
| 67 |
Sep 23 |
Comment |
I fully agree about doing the conversion to bring out the textures and the structure. That was a good choice. So was making this into a pano and getting rid of the excess sky.
The great amount of dark area at the bottom is adding little to the frame since I can't see anything in the darkness. My suggestion would be to crop off about half of it and then work the tonal values to bring a variety of gray tones into the frame for interest. As it is the two white areas just seem to be floating in a void. |
Sep 10th |
| 67 |
Sep 23 |
Comment |
This hawk is beautiful Just for a portrait the iron plant support is not a problem. The hawk is well separated from the background and really pops. The background is just perfect and the fact that it is dark really helps make the hawk stand out.
If this were mine, I'd clone out the raindrops. The background is so nice and the hawk stands out so well, why keep the distractions. |
Sep 10th |
| 67 |
Sep 23 |
Comment |
This is wonderful. It is something I just want to sit back and enjoy. The colors are so soft and comforting. The bee is one of the best photos of a bee I've seen in quite a while. It is delightfully sharp, and the slight blur to the wings just adds motion. This is the perfect plant for this as it add purpose for the bee and does not detract. It just fits the scene. Just do one little thing to this.Clone off that detached piece of pant on the bottom edge to the left of the main plant. Then frame this. |
Sep 10th |
| 67 |
Sep 23 |
Comment |
What Impact!!! The black and white plus the eyes are amazing. I even like the leaf at the bottom acting like a stand for the tree. The eye really steal the show.
I wish you luck with that dappled sunlight--when the area is blown out you can't bring back what is not there. Sometimes you can use the color grading panel in Lightroom and add a tint to the area and that will get rid of the pure white or the strange gray that appears when you start editing.
If this were mine I would approach this issue first by cropping, you can lose some area off the top and try to limit as much as possible that way. The alternative would be that since as a nature image it will not score high due to the lack of a nature story then I would just clone it out and not say a word to anyone. This is an image that I know you will treasure as it is so captivating. Everything does not have to be entered in competition so make it look good for yourself.
I really like this as it brings a smile to my face. |
Sep 10th |
| 67 |
Sep 23 |
Comment |
That is really a pretty bird. The white glary brightness is light reflecting off the water that is on the top of the branch. Depending on the angle the light is coming from a po0arizer can help to solve this problem. It is also the reason for the appearance on the top of the bird's head. The tight crop is responsible for the lack of sharness.
If you are going to continue going to wet regions to shoot birds then I strongly suggest you check out the link below. The company makes camera raincoats that are unbelievable as far as keeping your gear dry. I use them on .the beach to keep salt spray off the camera and when shooting in snow. I've shot professional sports games in a deluge with puddles of water on the ground and the camera remains safe and dry. Watch the video
https://www.lenscoat.com/lenscoat%ef%bf%bd-raincoat-p-1506.html |
Sep 10th |
| 67 |
Sep 23 |
Comment |
I have to be some sort of geek but I looked at this and then went to y Photopills app to work it all out. I put in your distance to subject, lens focal length, 1.4TC and your aperture. According to Photopills you have just a fraction over 1 meter of DOF however 1/3 of that is in front of your focus point and 2/3 are behind your focus point. Since this bird is flying toward you you have just about 12 inches of sharpness to work with and this is constantly reducing as the bird moves toward you. That is a real challenge to maintain sharpness. I used to run into this problem when shooting eagles. I found that the trick to keeping the subject sharp was to focus on the bird/branch and then back up a full step without changing focus. That moves the in Ifocus area more to the front of the branch and includes ore of the area where the bird is flying. It really helps.
I do like the color palette, and the frantic action of the wings. I agree with david about the branch on the left it is just too bright. Good effort with this shot. getting the little guys flying toward you is really hard.
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Sep 10th |
6 comments - 6 replies for Group 67
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12 comments - 11 replies Total
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