|
| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 36 |
Jul 24 |
Reply |
I hear you. I have a neighbor who is in real estate and over the years I have photographed some homes for her. It is a great deal of work to do right and the compensation is low. I'd hate to do it on a regular basis. |
Jul 23rd |
| 36 |
Jul 24 |
Reply |
I do appreciate your comment. I made a great many trips to the Isles to get these photos. I tried really hard to get each of the homes in the best possible conditions for that home. I even photographed one under storm clouds and some at dawn, dusk, mist and fog. Each one I wanted to be different. Good to hear a "pro" like you approves of this one. |
Jul 23rd |
| 36 |
Jul 24 |
Reply |
Thanks Arne. In the summer, unless there is rain or approaching storms just after sunset we get a short period is dead calm with almost no breeze. I planed to be there to photograph this house in that calm. Thanks for the thought about increasing the brightness of the building and trees. I tried a number of versions with more or less light, never could make up my mind..
|
Jul 23rd |
| 36 |
Jul 24 |
Reply |
You got it right Michael. Unless someone purchased a double lot most of these homes are on fairly deep but quite narrow lots. Some corner lots are triangular. I struggled in regard to the amount of water to keep at the bottom. I included more water to make the composition taller rather than take on a pano look and liked the vertical lines in the water to move the up upward. Still I could crop out half the water at the bottom. |
Jul 23rd |
| 36 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
OK, Let's see what we have here. Are there any strong points?
1. Strong interesting subject well separated from the background, CHECK
2. Good use of lighting CHECK
3. Use of limited color palette using analogous colors. CHECK
4. Interesting use of natural framing. CHECK
5. Strong composition with a well defined foreground, midground and background. CHECK
6. Unique composition using weather conditions. CHECK
7. Technically strong showing correct exposure and sharpness. CHECK
8. Good use of diagonal lines. CHECK
Any visible negatives?
1. Oh my gosh!! What are those horrible distracting white things in the trees on the left? Totally unacceptable! :-)
All in all, a really good job! Well Done!! This looks like a place I would love to see appear in front of me after a long day's hike. I can almost smell a home cooked meal on the hearth. I'll have to pickup the pace so I won't miss supper.
|
Jul 23rd |
| 36 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
I think the line of the river draws me into the depths of the forest. The image is sharp and correctly exposed. Still for me the entire scene feel too bright. After decades of meandering through deep forest I've found them simply to be not this bright. Even the name Black Water evokes a feeling of moody and dark forests. For me a considerable amount of burning to tone down the forest would make this more appealing. I don't mind the bright area in the distance -- sort of a light at the end of the tunnel feeling, but the forest needs to be darker. I would also remove that bright water at the bottom on the lower left as it draws me away from the forest.
That is my penny's worth of advice, but what the heck do I know? |
Jul 9th |
| 36 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
I think the added touch of warmth makes this stand out. It was a nice editing touch. Did you create this by changing white balance or just by adding color? This has a feeling of vastness and at the same time being desolate. I really like the line of the river and how it is picked up by the valley between to two mountains. even though the scene is a bit warm,the river creates a touch of coolness, almost like a breeze wafting through the valley.
Since the cows are trying very hard to hide I feel this is mis titles. I'd prefer "A River Runs Through It." |
Jul 9th |
| 36 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
Submitting this in monochrome is genius. It just seems to fit perfectly in monochrome. The curved leading line make a grand entry to the scene and the love the nonde clouds with what seems to be a blur. The position of the lighthouse fence so it does not break the above the treeline is well thought out. The brightness of the lighthouse really draws the eye and is a most dominant and impactful subject. |
Jul 9th |
| 36 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
I'm a sucker for these minimal style images. I really like the simplicity of this. I like the diagonal line of the tree and how you so carefully kept all the root from breaking over the horizon line created by the sea. I'm even more excited about how the tones of the tree are mirrored in both the water and the sky as this sort of ties everything together. This belongs on the white wall of an office or bank. Really eye catching and lots of impact. The pastels are wonderful.
My only negative comment is that I wish the bright wave in the lower left corner was not there. But I'll completely overlook it since the image is so nice. |
Jul 9th |
5 comments - 4 replies for Group 36
|
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Reply |
Polarizers are about the "direction" of the light. So in theory even it the subject is in shade the over all direction would still matter---however the e3ffect will be weakened. |
Jul 27th |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Reply |
Start watching Nigel Danson on Youtube. He is a great landscape photographer. He has a new video every Sunday. |
Jul 19th |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
You could use the select object option in Lightroom. then duplicate and invert. Then you could really blur the background. Just sayin' :-) |
Jul 19th |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
Glad you made peace with Photoshop. Your crop removes the reed that I did liked the most. That would be the brown one in front. You did nice work on the plant behind the "salad". See PS can be useful.
You have come such a long way from where you started. |
Jul 19th |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
No need for the reflection. This is all about those extra legs. If the reflection were included the legs would be less noticeable. You got this one just perfect. |
Jul 19th |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
Glad you like the little ones. All the rookeries are not close by. This one required a short paddle in my kayak. Told you I was a peeper. :-)
Now I wish I had your beaver wetland that would really be a treat. Hae you any images of the beaver? |
Jul 19th |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Reply |
Thanks so much Michael. I also really love this image. I fully agree, all images are not captured for competition. Some your capture just because they make your heart sing and satisfy the soul. This sends me to my happy place. |
Jul 19th |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Reply |
Thanks David
These little guys are only about 7 days old and they constantly together. The never separate. The image below shows they chicks at 8 weeks. They are still very attached to each other. I've years that usually there is a dominate chick either in behavior or in size. But these two appeared to be evenly matched. |
Jul 15th |
 |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
I think the unique markings left by the glaciers provide a great deal of character for the rocks and the waters with their unique colors just look more spectacular in color so I would opt for the color rather than mono.
I also feel that the extra horizontal line at the bottom of the frame creates one of those image blockers. This I would suggest the crop like the one I used below to get rid of the extra line, |
Jul 12th |
 |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
The new Lightroom tool that allows the removal of such things a branches world quite well here and certainly makes he image look better. Just remember that doing so prohibits entering the image into PSA competition as nature is a reality category. But as far has using the tool for a personal image I think what you did here is remarkable. The i mage is sharp and well exposed and best of all you caught a singular moment that is interesting. Nicely done. |
Jul 12th |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
Lovely image, it almost looks like fine art. I think this has a strong nature story. I love how the adults gather all the little ones underneath their bodies. I also like your crop. The birds and so crisp and sharp, the background is really lovely but the reflections on the water and those bright highlight I find to be really distracting and annoying. In the past I've been corrected so many times about reflections needing to be darker than anything else in an image that I feel compelled to mention it here. I wonder if a polarizer would make a difference here. You mention that you have differing DOF usage for shots like this. It would be interesting to see this with a sharper background, But in the end, I doubt anything would look better than this. This is one of my favorite birds to photograph---love those "bubble-gum" colored legs. |
Jul 12th |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Reply |
This rookery stays pretty clean. The nests sit on mangroves and the community garbage service cleans up anything that spills out of the nest. The garbage service is managed by a guy named Al Gator and his crew. Believe me they clean uo everything!
The clarity of this image makes it one of my favorite nest shots. |
Jul 10th |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Reply |
To each his/her own. I've been shooting wildlife for decades and almost always shoot manual and auto ISO. The newer cameras can handle high ISO and I do get to set just how high I will let it go. Shooting manual I almost always shoot wildlife with the lens wide open, which for me is f4 or f5.6. I like that for my backgrounds. If my subjects requires a greater DOF for save large wing spans for example, then a quick rightward drag of my finger on the aperture dial will make the adjustment and the auto ISO will kick in to fix the exposure. My shutter speed is what I prefer not what the camera decides.
For me this works, proof is in my results. Still each of us has to use what system works for them. My recommendation is that you use what works for you. Make your own creative choices. Just practice what you decide on until it becomes second nature. You should be able to make adjustments with out ever taking you eye away from the viewfinder. Sometimes you do have the luxury of being able to look at the dials. Use what makes you happy. I'll never tell you that your are wrong. What eer gets you your shot--go for it! |
Jul 10th |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
Nothing screwy with your ISO. I will venture the guess that yoou were not shooting in manual mode. Quite often when the camera is in an automode (A or S) or when shooting with Auto ISO the camera will create its own ISO to obtain accurate exposure. It is really nothing to work about.
Now what I really want to know is just what is a Night Heron doing roaming around in the daylight?? Florida Night Herons know where they belong. Hardly even see them after the sun is up or before it is setting.
I think you have a really interesting shot, can't recall ever seen a Night Heron being a vegetarian so that alone makes it really interesting.
Personally I'm not a fan of this type of crop. The chopped off long body just does not appeal to me (my bias) I would have preferred a more square crop and one that was tight on the head. Perhaps starting the crop right behind the long ed feathers.
As for Photoshop, just keep gingerly playing with it. Once you get a grip on it you will realize it can do amazing things. Masks and brushes are miracle workers. I'm proud of your for starting.
|
Jul 9th |
| 67 |
Jul 24 |
Comment |
When they are in their full breeding colors I always think the cattle egret looks for formal and dignified. I really like how he stands out so boldly from the background to provide some impact to the scene. The impact and story are enhanced by the size of the frog. In the original there is so much of the doughnut blur created by the use of a long lens that I think the crop really worked well to create a more pleasing composition. My only suggestion, is not really a suggestion but more of a wish. Personally I like more of a profile or front view than the view of the subject receding as it travels away from the camera. |
Jul 9th |
9 comments - 6 replies for Group 67
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14 comments - 10 replies Total
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