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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 36 |
Sep 24 |
Reply |
Thanks Barbara water
One major problem I have shooting at night in Florida is the awful humidity. It hangs like a wet blanket just above the water and almost looks like soft fog. I do long for the those crisp clear skies of the west. I see tremendous differences between my Florida shots and those I took in the west. I did o o run this image through Topaz to try and reduce the noisy look. Maybe I should try it again. I really wanted to hear what folks thought of the vertical format. It reduced the amount of sky where the meteors could appear but I have not seen many images that are vertical. So for the sake of being different I gave it a try. I loved the colors, an added bonus, and I saw two fireballs during the night, but sadly not in front of my camera position. Those are almost frightening they are so bright and big. |
Sep 10th |
| 36 |
Sep 24 |
Comment |
I really like the use of the various tones throughout the image The use of the long exposure helps to create a serene mood that I find engaging, The manner in which you used the bridge to create two frames, one for the building and the other for the main part of the city adds a great deal of interest and yes, you have the perfect light for this shot. It is a really well planned and executed image. |
Sep 8th |
| 36 |
Sep 24 |
Comment |
I feel like the pano format makes the city appear quite large and your composition features numerous layers working from the foreground all the way to Mt. Olympus so there is a lot of depth. The red rooftops add to the feeling of it being a Greek city. But for me the Roman is sort of difficult to see mostly due to the angle as it runs away from the camera and the fact that the wall is in such great shadow. It seems like all the eye grabbing impact is with the white buildings and red rooftops on the right. |
Sep 8th |
| 36 |
Sep 24 |
Comment |
I think you did a great job with this. I like the use of the house as a focal point. While the meteors are great, the inclusion of the aurora really is a special touch. I didn't know you could see the aurora from the Blue Ridge and having a chilly night really cuts down on the humidity Your very clear sky works well also. I found your approach to putting this together interesting as well. Congratulations this one is a winner. |
Sep 8th |
| 36 |
Sep 24 |
Comment |
I've seen similar scenes in the Smokies and on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I love the multiple layers and depth created by the many ridges of the mountains and hills.
For me the clouds, especially the bright white one on the left area distraction. I cannot recall ever seeing clouds like those that mirror each other so perfectly (well nearly perfectly) |
Sep 4th |
| 36 |
Sep 24 |
Reply |
Thanks Michael. I struggled with this composition. I had more sky but there were very few meteors higher up and I didn't like the nearly empty black sky. I though about cropping from the bottom, but then didn't like where the rock line ended.
Does this work better? |
Sep 1st |
 |
| 36 |
Sep 24 |
Comment |
Yep, you got it right. This is exactly how this town look in the cold weather. I really l9ke the "stacked" houses. My only thought is I wish you could have used a higher camera angle. Had it been possible to elevate the camera you might have been able to get some separation between the boats and the shoreline. |
Sep 1st |
5 comments - 2 replies for Group 36
|
| 67 |
Sep 24 |
Reply |
Thanks Richard
At this stage in my photographic journey I'm looking to challenge myself. I know I can capture a landscape but what else? I try to learn new things and techniques when ever possible. This is just something I've wanted to try for a long time.
I'm working on using Photo[pills to capture moonshots. d Time will tell. |
Sep 30th |
| 67 |
Sep 24 |
Reply |
Thanks for looking. Glad to show something most people will never see. |
Sep 27th |
| 67 |
Sep 24 |
Reply |
No Gator spray on the market that I know of. But this night I spent most of my night in the car.
Shooting the night sky is addictive, once you start and have some success you just want more of it. It is peaceful, quiet and you are alone with only your thoughts and a camera. Moonlight creates really interesting shadows. If your exposure is long enough, you can make night into day. The shot below was taken by moon light on the Atlantic coast.
Please post your kite photos. I'm looking forward to seeing them. |
Sep 27th |
 |
| 67 |
Sep 24 |
Reply |
Thanks David.
I tried all sorts of level of brightness for the foreground. The trouble is this is a dark picture. If I make the foreground more "natural" (darker) then the image becomes just too dark. Remember the only natural light is the stars. everything in this image is a trade off and I have no idea what to do with it. B ut thanks for the suggestion. |
Sep 27th |
| 67 |
Sep 24 |
Reply |
Thanks. I envy your you clear skies! |
Sep 27th |
| 67 |
Sep 24 |
Reply |
Thanks Bud. I've wanted this image for several years, but weather (clouds) have not been in my favor. I love nighttime photography and do it all the time. I can sleep when I'm dead (more preferably when I get home after the shoot) I'm usually out several nights each month. You can get some great shots just by moonlight. |
Sep 27th |
| 67 |
Sep 24 |
Comment |
First, even if winter up in your region is a barren wasteland there will still be birds in the area. The trick is to get them where you can photograph them. If you stock up on peanuts (shelled) and that suet you can get at Lowes, and some animal feed stores and the search your yard or nearby woodlands for tree branches about 3 feet long and roughly 2 inched thick you are all set. use eight wire or cord tied to each end of the branch with enough slack to let the branch hang about 2 feet down. Then take a drill with a spade bit and drill several holes on the back side of the branch so they do not show from your camera position. Stuff the hold with suet and or peanuts. Hang the branch someplace where you will have a clean neutral background and with in range of your long lens. You can get plenty of bird shots all winter long with this set up. Just keep it stocked with tasty bird treats so they get used to finding food when it get cold. I get blue jays and cedar wax wings to show up about 8:30 each morning becasue that is when I stock the feeder. This gives you a natural setting
Now about this months image. You have an image with a excellent sharpness and exposure. I'm not thrill about the background as it is just too plain and boring. Bud's crop is better because the bird does not look so broken. Really tight crops,, such as yours make the image more of a portrait and that is frowned upon. If I had to choose between a better background or the tight crop, I'd go for the better background. Unless the action is so stunning the white backgrounds just don't work. Personally, I consider the background just as important as the subject. Just my opinion, |
Sep 13th |
| 67 |
Sep 24 |
Comment |
I think you made the right choice to convert this to monochrome. Doing so helps to make the large tree on the left stand out as visual anchor for the image. While the extreme contrast between black and white provides some impact I find that the excessive amount of dense black shadow ares and are really void of detail makes the image much weaker. Even the RAW file lacks detail so I doubt there is much you can do to bring out some detail and create more interest. |
Sep 4th |
| 67 |
Sep 24 |
Comment |
Don't you just love it when the feather brained birds just can't get the act together? I'm sure to talked to them quite a bit about having then all "look this way please".
I do like the line of birds and the diagonal of the Palm (?) branch. I'm sure you tried a number of angles and compositions as I know you to work hard on your photography.
Not being a fan of empty blue skies I think I would have tried to crop more of the empty sky But then you end up with a centered group of birds so in the end it is a maker's choice. |
Sep 4th |
| 67 |
Sep 24 |
Comment |
Even with the background in focus you have achieved a remarkable separation of the subjects from the background which in turn makes this a unique environmental portrait. The exposure looks to be right on and the sharpness is spot on . |
Sep 4th |
| 67 |
Sep 24 |
Reply |
Thanks Isaac
I've wanted to do this for quite a while but cloudy nights have shut things down. I tried Markham Park years ago and got the same shutdown as you. Mosquitoes are a real summer problem in south Florida. em off that I was so over dressed to keep them at bay that I could wring water out of my clothes when I finished. I envy those who had parties and lay on blankets to watch the event. Still, I wanted this shot-- so one must endure. |
Sep 4th |
| 67 |
Sep 24 |
Comment |
Nice capture of this "ghost" of the forest. I like that you framed this vertically and left room at the top for him to "live" in the forest. I also like that you kept the detail in the forest behind the owl. This is so much better than having the owl against a black featureless background. You have the same problem I faced this month---when you are shooting at night, just how much do you lighten the image. The owl looks a bit like it is artificially lit but if you make him bright like this you can see him. If you tone him down, then he is too dark. There is a line somewhere, but I do not know where. But I do know this would look good on a wall. It is worth the years odf waiting to get this type of shot. |
Sep 1st |
| 67 |
Sep 24 |
Comment |
Ah yes. I know that Rock Cut area well. Always pike and marmots available there for photos. However, you got the gold ring with the capture. The Marten is a tough one to capture. His face is to sharp it is hard to figure why the body seems a bit soft. Shooting at 560mm you should have more DOF than what shows. Have you tried making a selection of the Marten's body slightly boosting contrast and resharpening? I also like how the rock lines repeat the shape (line) of the marten's body. Personally I'm not a fan pof cropping little bits of body off, so for me (since you have more content on the RAW file I'd add just a bit to the bottom so the rock in the foreground hides the fact that the marten's body was cropped.
Still if you do nothing to this it is a rare sight and a great image to bring home. (hope yopu got some Pika shots also) |
Sep 1st |
6 comments - 7 replies for Group 67
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11 comments - 9 replies Total
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