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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 97 |
Oct 20 |
Reply |
Hi Steve! Thanks for your feedback! Don't worry about running off on tangents, I'll be right beside you!
Thanks for the wide-angle tip. As a new user of such a wide lens (10-24mm APS-C is roughly 15-36mm on a full-frame camera) and I'm still getting used to the way the distortion works and how to use it to my benefit. I think the suggestion for a foreground "anchor" is a good one. Do you mostly try to limit the overall distortion in the image or do you ever purposefully tilt the lens with respect to your subject to create distortion effects in your images?
I appreciate your comments on the focal point of the image. Does the subject seem vague because the background is there at all? or because of the amount of frame devoted to the rock? Would it seem more defined as a "rock photo" if there was more rock in the picture? or if the background was less distinct? Or is it just that the rock itself doesn't have enough interest to be a solid subject?
What do you (or anyone else too!) think?
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Oct 19th |
| 97 |
Oct 20 |
Reply |
Hi Sophia! Thanks for your comments. It's helpful for me to understand how you all would tackle the same composition, so I'm happy to take any and all feedback! |
Oct 19th |
| 97 |
Oct 20 |
Comment |
Hi Stanley. I'm super-jealous that you had the opportunity to shoot animals like this in Belize! The birds and their coloration are really wonderful and make for an interesting composition. I agree that the image would be better if the details were a bit sharper, but I can appreciate how difficult it can be to notice that slight softness "in the moment" and be able to get tack-sharp images of moving creatures.
The only way I can think of to draw out more detail in the feathers would be to try to use luminosity masks in photoshop to preferentially darken and lighten the tones in the feathers to help define where one stops and the next begins. |
Oct 15th |
| 97 |
Oct 20 |
Comment |
Hi Matthias. I love this image and can only imagine what it must look like in full autumn when the leaves have changed! I like that you put the horizon line on the mid-point of the photo so we can appreciate the reflections. I also like that you didn't place the arch dead-center in the image. I think the brightness of stone and the reflections in the water leads the eye to it wonderfully well. My only comment is that, at first, it seemed almost too sharp with an almost-HDR look that is really bold; although I can tell from the original image that you didn't edit it to be that way! I'd be interested to try de-saturating the image a little or maybe reducing the sharpening a bit to smooth out some of the sharp dark to light transitions. This also might make an interesting B&W image with all of the great texture and detail in the leaves, rocks and trees. |
Oct 15th |
| 97 |
Oct 20 |
Comment |
Hi Sophia.
What a wonderful action photo! I think your original exposure looks good, and your edits are very well done and subtle so that the final shot looks very sharp and natural. I really like the textures in the image and the way you've adjusted the contrast and color to bring out the highlights in the fur. I don't think I could make any recommendation other than perhaps widening the composition somewhat to show more of the animals themselves. I think that might also lessen the effect of the left animal's leg appearing to come out of its head! I know there isn't anything you can do about that but, at first glance it's a bit odd to see (until you realize what it is). |
Oct 15th |
| 97 |
Oct 20 |
Comment |
Hi Steve,
I love that you were able to capture a dragonfly in flight at 400+ mm! I've chased those little guys around before and they're shifty fliers for sure.
I like the crop definitely; I think you're right that it gives the subject "space" to breathe. Your edit is super-crisp and I really like the detail in the image as well as the color in the creature. I agree with Thorro that a side-view or head-on view would be great to see; just to marvel at all the details that you can capture in their head.
The only thing that I might have tried to do differently would have been to try to include some context around the subject, maybe an out-of-focus background or perhaps some clouds with structure or differences in highlight and shadow. I like seeing the creature in some kind of way that gives me a sense of the environment and it gives the composition additional complexity.
How long did it take to "land" this guy? Do you think it would be possible to track it in flight and get some motion blur in the background? I think it would impart a cool feeling of speed and motion to the image if you could keep it sharp while panning so that the background takes on a linear blur...
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Oct 5th |
| 97 |
Oct 20 |
Comment |
Hi Thorro!
I love the sharpness of your photo. Those cliff faces really pop out of the screen! Did you use a polarizer on your lens in this photo? With some patches of wide blue sky I wonder if you could have brought more color to the sky and texture to the clouds...although, I suspect using a polarizer on a wide-angle lens might produce some odd effects.
I don't have much to offer critically; I like the composition. It feels anchored by the tree on the left, El Capitan, Half-Dome and the rest of that gorgeous vista.
Did you do anything special with your exposure? I expect you were at a quite small aperture to get so much depth in your image. Were you hand-holding or on a tripod? I'm wondering if you have hands of steel to keep it so steady! If you were at a high ISO, I can't tell because the image is so clean.
The only thing I might have tried would be to see how close I could crop in on the valley before it felt I went too close, and then back out. The sea of green trees could maybe be trimmed a bit. Do you play around with other aspect ratios for your photos? I find myself liking more "panoramic-friendly" crops like 16:9 and 16:10, unless I'm printing my image. Still, it's a wonderfully sharp image of a classic perspective down the valley and makes me wish I was in the scene.
Cheers,
Matt |
Oct 4th |
| 97 |
Oct 20 |
Reply |
Hi Thorro! Thanks for your feedback! I have a few questions related to your comments, but I'd also like to know what you might have done in the same situation. I'm really excited about picking everyone's brains on this, so I hope you don't mind me asking a boatload of questions:
- When I was shooting this photo, the sky was very bright, but the cloud cover was also very uniform and this resulted in a very flat and diffuse light. I found it difficult to get an exposure in camera that felt "right". Everything seemed too "contrasty" and I really struggled to keep from blowing out the highlights or blacks. What could I do to limit this in camera? Since I shoot RAW, I was hoping that I could dial things back in Lightroom, but this has some effects on the clouds that I didn't like. I'd really like to get it as close to "right" in camera if I can...
- When I was composing (and later when cropping) the image I had to decide how much "rock" was appropriate in the frame. Too little and you end up with an uncertain focal point, too much and you end up with a one-note composition that is mostly just texture. I settled on what you see in order to anchor the photo as a "picture of a rock" as opposed to "picture of island with foreground rock". How do you like to balance your photos between subject and environment? I felt like I needed to give the rock some empty space in order to balance the "heavy" lower right corner. Should I maybe have made a 50/50 frame by moving the rock further right and down? Maybe make it less than 50% of the frame?
- I really like your color adjustments and crop. I agree that the image looks better without the clouds and the warmer, brighter sunlight is more welcoming. Do you think I should pump up the warm tones in the shadows?
Thanks for your thoughts! I'm really eager to hear what everyone thinks, with my Engineering background I thrive on good feedback and I have no ego tied up in this image, so don't feel like you'll hurt my feelings with constructive suggestions! Fire away! |
Oct 3rd |
5 comments - 3 replies for Group 97
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5 comments - 3 replies Total
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