|
| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 31 |
Jun 21 |
Comment |
Thank you Paul, Ella, and John for you thoughtful comments. I appreciate them all. |
Jun 17th |
| 31 |
Jun 21 |
Reply |
Enjoy the clouds minus the heat. I'm somewhat envious of your cooler location in the UK. Current temperature in Utah is over 40 degrees celsius. |
Jun 15th |
| 31 |
Jun 21 |
Reply |
I agree Ed, the mid-afternoon storm clouds of central Florida are amazing and arrive at a predictable time to allow for relatively easy setup prior to their arrival. The intensity of the thunderstorms and the amount of rainfall can be intimidating to those not familiar with the area. The same can be said for the rain inside the caldera of Mount Waialeale on Kauai in Hawaii. |
Jun 15th |
| 31 |
Jun 21 |
Reply |
Thanks Ian, I really appreciate the compliments.
Look at the "Equivalents" by Alfred Stieglitz from the past. Stieglitz worked with a large format camera with classic B&W film and earned a lot of praise in his time. I do what I can with a converted digital camera. The location of this image is adjacent to a large alpine lake where these clouds form almost every afternoon in the late summer (when it is HOT) due to evaporation and adiabatic cooling in the upper atmosphere. Once the weather is right, I have lots of opportunities as I live one valley farther west of the lake. |
Jun 14th |
| 31 |
Jun 21 |
Reply |
Thank you Peter. I agree with your suggestions to make the image better. |
Jun 14th |
| 31 |
Jun 21 |
Comment |
Technically and esthetically superb Ella. My attempts a still life photography pales in comparison to yours. Keep up the excellent work. |
Jun 13th |
| 31 |
Jun 21 |
Comment |
Excellent portrait Paul. The texture of the skin and light gradient across the face reveal much about the subject. |
Jun 13th |
| 31 |
Jun 21 |
Comment |
Very well done Ed. It reminds me of the work done by Ansel Adams and his friends early in the days of the F64 photographers. The palm frond really dominates the image. |
Jun 13th |
| 31 |
Jun 21 |
Comment |
An interesting image Ian. Foul weather does present some challenges but your image is clean and to the point. My personal taste prefers a darker background where the containers and cranes are located. I used NIK SEP2 to brush in just those areas. Just a thought for you to consider. It does reveal a halo around the persons head though (I rushed the brushwork). As my father spent 20 years in the navy, this reminds me of many views of the ships in port during bad weather. Well done. |
Jun 13th |
 |
| 31 |
Jun 21 |
Comment |
Well done Peter, I really like the quality of the light emanating from the waterfall. It balances the larger dark areas of the image very effectively. |
Jun 13th |
| 31 |
Jun 21 |
Comment |
Well done John. I like the interplay between the light and dark areas. |
Jun 13th |
7 comments - 4 replies for Group 31
|
| 93 |
Jun 21 |
Reply |
More often than not, especially during this last year, it has been boredom at being unable to do much during the pandemic and my imagination takes off while I am at the computer. I enjoy straight photography much as proscribed by Ansel Adams and the Group 64 photographers of the past but at the same time I enjoy the more creative freedom of just exploring what these programs (plugins, filters, special effects, whatever) can do and whether or not I can create something that appeals to other people. Salvidor Dali is most famous for his surrealistic paintings but if you examine his life's work, his expertise at photorealism is phenomenal. I enjoy the work of Monet, Cezanne, and others but have no interest in Jackson Pollack's work. It's not that much different than the arguments against the Pictorialists by the Modernists at the turn of the prior century. In my opinion, each of us gravitates towards what we appreciate the most and there are times when I just want to have fun modifying a photo versus just printing it as is (which is what I do 99% of the time).
|
Jun 22nd |
| 93 |
Jun 21 |
Reply |
The second is to the flower only. Everyone is welcome to choose which of the 3 images meets their preferred criteria. Everyone should have fun and I look forward to the diversity of honest opinions. |
Jun 17th |
 |
| 93 |
Jun 21 |
Reply |
Thanks for the compliments and critique. I appreciate them both.
As for technique, I use a layer approach as described in books by Harold Davis (primarily "The Photographers Black & White Handbook" followed by "Monochromatic HDR Photography"). Surprisingly Harold Davis works initially in color and makes several adjustments (in separate layers) to adjust the levels and curves in conjunction with various layer masks (to each adjustment layer) PRIOR to conversion to a black and white image. Attached are modified images (layer masks only) to the butterfly image. The first is a mask to reveal only the butterfly. |
Jun 17th |
 |
| 93 |
Jun 21 |
Reply |
The largest source of the smoke are coal powered electrical plants that are "uphill" from the grand canyon. The terrain combined with the west to east weather pattern allows the smoke to flow downhill into the lowest elevation (the canyon) where it lingers until the prevailing winds move the air farther east. The second largest source will soon be the wild fires occurring in the southwest. |
Jun 15th |
| 93 |
Jun 21 |
Comment |
Interesting image and history Jerry. Well done considering you captured this from a moving train. Reminds me of the "pine barrens" along the eat coast and parts of Yellowstone within the caldera. Mother nature is not always kind to her subjects. |
Jun 14th |
| 93 |
Jun 21 |
Comment |
Well done Darcy. Having the major objects (the person, 2 boulders, and bridge deck) spaced around the perimeter give the image a sense of balance and proportion that is pleasing to my eye. |
Jun 14th |
| 93 |
Jun 21 |
Comment |
This image is nicely balanced between the flowers in sharp focus in the foreground to one side and the out of focus flowers behind and to the opposite side. Well done Ed. |
Jun 14th |
| 93 |
Jun 21 |
Comment |
Very well done Paul. Getting the focus right must have been a lot of fun but the results are definitely worth it. Interesting that you also got a dark background while looking towards the sky. Any explanation on your exposure? |
Jun 14th |
| 93 |
Jun 21 |
Comment |
Excellent final image Mark, your post processing skills are superb. I am curious as to how you avoided the smoke that usually fills the gorge (almost always visible from the north rim). |
Jun 14th |
5 comments - 4 replies for Group 93
|
12 comments - 8 replies Total
|
