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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 15 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
After looking at the image I'll agree with Gerhard that the back of the bird is slightly over exposed.. However if you open the image in Lightroom, first try using Dehaze and that might bring it back. If not then using masks select the bird, then add texture and reduce the highlights. Good Luck
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Feb 18th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 15
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| 36 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Adi
I use the 24 mm end of my 24-70mm lens and if I only use only 1 or 2 of my filers I do not get the vignetting along the edges. I use the ultra thin filters made by Breakthrough Technologies that attach with screw on If I jusrt want to use one filter (usually my ND filters) then I use a magnetic ring that screws onto the lens the the ND just clings to it. The ultra thin design works, regular thick filters produce the vignette. |
Feb 28th |
| 36 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Thanks for the thought. Your help with composition is always appreciated. |
Feb 20th |
| 36 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Wow Michael. What a wise guru you are! You should be sitting on top of a mountain offering words of wisdom!
I think you idea is so simple it is magical. The idea of turning of wooden farm building that are photographed in full daylight into monochrome is so simple I wish I had hear it before. But your are right. Monochrome is about shape, structure and line. Stripping the image of color will bring out those elements. I'm going to go back through some of my older images and experiment with this. Thanks |
Feb 15th |
| 36 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
When I first viewed the image what struck me is that the greens are really over-saturated and thus the image takes on an artificial appearance. Once I got over that, I found that overall I mostly liked the composition. What does feel awkward is how the stair case is cut off on the left. I would suggest either backing up several steps or perhaps moving a bit to the left. Finally there is the people issue that Michael brought up. Over the years I've come up with a philosophy that works for me. If I'm photographing a landscape then the people have to go. If the image is for Photo Travel or Photo journalism then I need to include people,usually with their face toward the camera. That just my two cents worth. It comes down to a maker's choice. |
Feb 15th |
| 36 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Just a personal thing. Unless specific size is required I crop so the image looks its best. I had more trees on the left but thought it just was too many trees.
I'm partly color blind so sometimes it gets to be a problem. In this case I just opened the shadows until it looked like the bank above it.
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Feb 12th |
| 36 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Thanks Michael
That lower corner was a real problem. Originally is was close to black and that black hole really bothered me. I opened the shadows and tried to match the tones to the grassy bank just above it. Maybe it still needs work |
Feb 12th |
| 36 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Thanks. I agree that the biggest plus was no mosquitoes. |
Feb 12th |
| 36 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
I feel you achieved your goal of showing the salt formations. I think the salt formations are what makes this unique. Personally I wish you had used a wider angle lens as that along with getting close would make the salt formation bigger and more detailed. Overall this is a quite dramatic view of the Dead Sea. The more I look the more I think I can see a bit of a red tint. Thanks for educating me about that. |
Feb 10th |
| 36 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
So glad to hear of someone else who loves shooting in stormy weather. Having the photos makes the adventure all the more memorable. I have to know, so please answer--is that a person and a child out on the rocks in the lower left corner??? I feel the spray and the crashing waves add plenty of drama, but I'm not a fan of the seagull, it is just too small. |
Feb 10th |
| 36 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Lovely, wish I was there. Naturally the ice makes the shots but the diagonal lines really add a great deal. I'm really impressed with the forethought of placing that background structure between two of those towers. They make an interesting frame for the structure. I'm a real sucker for this kind of ice shot since there is not ice in Florida (other than in my tea glass). I love the way the ice cracks and piles up creating frozen moments in time. I look forward to seeing more of your frozen lighthouses. |
Feb 10th |
| 36 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
I'm with you on this one. Last fall in mid day I passed a couple of old barns that were lovely and begged my camera's attention. I couldn't wait for better and, you know the rest of the story. I do like the barn and can see why you stopped. Golden light on that grass and that building would be wonderful. I agree with the vertical format, what else could it be (?) but for me that tree just over powers the building. Interesting to note your tried the substitute a sky and add birds approach to save the image. The sky looks appropriate but I don't think the birds help as for me they make the image feel unbalanced. I wish you better light on your next back roads adventure. |
Feb 10th |
6 comments - 5 replies for Group 36
|
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
I've been reading all the comments over and over throughout much of the afternoon and then looking over the image multiple times. I've come to some sort of a conclusion,just remember this is just my opinion, and what do I know?
Reflections are supposed to be darker than reality. If you carefully look at the left hand plant the reflection is just about as bright as the actual plant. This leaves two bright areas in the image, the plant and the bird. Perhaps the greatest attention is given to the bird, probably because it is white. But the plant is still a serious competitor. If you add space to the bottom you simply increase the competition between the bird and the plant. Since the bird is the most important part my suggestion is to just darken the total reflection slightly. This will have the effect of making the actual bird brighter and thus even more dominate in the total image. |
Feb 23rd |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Thanks David. Got to give credit to my monopod it helps with sharpness. I look for the stories. Knowing the species and their behavior help to spot situations where a story may develop. Then you just have to wait it out until the action starts.
Thanks for commenting |
Feb 20th |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Thanks Michael. Everytime I get a sharp eye like that I thank my Nikon Lens. It never lets me down when the pressure is on. You are so right, I just love the stately grace of the BGH |
Feb 20th |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Thanks Cindy Used to feel sorry for them when they were on the endangered list several decades now, not so much. I've seen them gang up on and just plain murder other species who are just sitting on a nest. When the woodies start snapping their jaws together it should like a gun shot. Glad you like this shot, I think it will likely make my Best of the Year list. |
Feb 20th |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Matt K is Matt Kloskowski he is a magician/wizard with Lightroom and Photoshop and has a vast collection of Youtube videos that will help anyone learn editing.
The link below will take you to his video on masking and getting rid of halos quick and easy. It is worth watching. The link is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CgBBWG2yzw
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Feb 9th |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
First I think your little crop on the left was a great idea. I do not mind not showing the whole mountain. It is really all about the composition. So this scene showing all the textures and the shadows works well. You were left with a challenging sky and opted for heavy editing to add some drama to the sky. Well, you added the drama but the aggressive editing resulted in a fairly visible halo on the high part of the mountain on the right.
Matt K, on his Youtube channel has an easy to follow video on removing this type of flaw. I think it is under masking. |
Feb 8th |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
I'm going to agree that the nicely blurred background does make the bird stand out from the background. I feel that your processing technique as left the first a bit on the soft side. Part of this may be due to the heavy crop and the fact that the bird's body seems a bit underexposed texture. Maybe adding texture along with the sharpening would help.
Most often when I'm birding I have my camera set on AUTO-ISO with the lens wide open and shooting in manual mode. When I point my lens everything is dialed in and if I need more exposure the AUTO-ISO solves the problem straightaway. I can thumb the dial for shutter speed, in this case may slow slow it down a bit and the camera guarantees my exposure. Just something you might try out. |
Feb 8th |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
I'm convinced that Snowy Egrets are just born with a chip on their shoulder and spend their lives in a cantankerous mood. Having spent a lot of time photographing these birds the first thing I thought of when I saw the title was Got to be a Snowy!
With snowies I like this sort of back lit approach as it adds drama to the shot and is a quite different approach. I think the lighting and the hunched back make this and original and impactful image. |
Feb 8th |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Michael
The visual impact as compared to the original is quite stunning. But WOW is that a deep crop. I didn't even know this species existed so you have a rare catch for sure.
As you note there is something that bothers you and I'm guessing (hoping) it is the sky. For me it just looks like the bird is pasted into the image. There are several areas where the blue of the sky is bleeding of sky does not work. First on the bird's back. Then there is the fork in the tail feathers where it there is a white spot, and there is a scond spot directly behind the leg.. Finally the perch has no blending and so looks just pasted in,
Matt K on Youtube has a really good and easy to use video on removing these white areas that is quite easy to follow. |
Feb 8th |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Glad you got it fixed. I still love mine even if it is costly. The images it produces just make me smile.
Hope yours is producing images you love. |
Feb 7th |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Susan is not giving herself the credit she deserves. She has made amazing progress since she joined the group. She works hard at her craft. |
Feb 7th |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
It is all about keeping the image clearn. Ideally you would want a rising sanddune behind the plant. It it you can't have that then eliminate distractions. |
Feb 6th |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
SOOOOO Kool! I absolutely LOVE the snow shot!! You just validate my point-- Bad Weather makes for Good Images!! I'm really thrilled you posted this. For a touch of humor ZI also like the idea of the sign for the hawk to sit upon. PLEASE< PLEASE tell me you also got a shot with the hawk on the sign with the entire sign showing!!!!! This think of the potential captions and the possible humor.
I'm afraid I've got to go along with Butch and question the background. There are some pretty "funky" things going on in the background. Were you shooting through a window? It almost looks like some ghosting. Any thoughts? |
Feb 5th |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Having been in the Nature Study Group before it disbanded I am excited about this entry. As you know, PSA Nature image must have a readily recognized story or they have no chance at getting an award. In the Study Group I saw so many good images get positively panned because the landscape "did not show a strong Nature story". Over the years I made it a personal challenge to post a landscape at least 3 times and usually when RICK CLORAN was critiquing just to prove it could be done.
So, when I saw this image I was delighted because not only is than an interesting minimalistic image but it has a good story. I really like the texture in the sand and the shadows caused the directional light. For me that is the part that steals the show. The strength of the image is the plant in the sand. The struggle of survival in a hostile environment. I think that story works. I think this is a strong image as it stands. but I'll still offer a few random thoughts. First, I'm not thrilled about the diagonal horizon. I know it starts from the warm blush in the sky on the left and points down toward the plant (leading line?) But I think it takes interest away from the plant. Ideally I would prefer no sky and no horizon just the plant in the sand. It would make the image even more minimal, strengthen the story and it would have absolutely no distractions.
Thanks for posting this
And Welcome to the group |
Feb 5th |
| 67 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Thanks Butch
I pretty much agree about the interaction between species, but interaction among the same species can get pretty feisty. What I like about the composition is the GBH running! It was the leg action that seems so unusual.
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Feb 5th |
8 comments - 7 replies for Group 67
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15 comments - 12 replies Total
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