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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 3 |
May 23 |
Reply |
Hi LuAnn
First, let me say thank you for taking time to give me your frank critique of this image and also for taking me at my word when I gave you permission to do so. This is exactly why I'm here.
These are my observations about the original image and my thought process for my edit:
1. To my eye, the dark foreground looks flat, but it also does lead my eye straight into the valley.
2. Then my eye gets pulled away to the bright red spot of the person's jacket which I found to be a distraction. I would like to understand why you don't see it as such, especially since you mention calling attention to the people causes the tension you feel in my edit. Can the red jacket in the original actually be a landing spot for the eye before continuing on into the valley? Sometimes I have trouble distinguishing between what is a distraction vs what is a focal point. Can you help clarify this for me?
I've not understood the word "tension" as it relates to an image, but by your comments I'm assuming it references competing focal points in a composition? Is this correct? Please elaborate more on this.
3. My choice to illuminate the foreground elements was an attempt to A) bring out some detail in the shadows, B) to enhance the existing leading lines of the bridge, river and right side mountain, and C) to add some interest. I did so partly due to your comments about a previous image of mine where you felt the shadows lacked detail, so I'm confused. (If you recall, there were back-lit trees and my intent was to portray them as I saw them in silhouette.)
4. I know that by SELECTIVE dodging and burning, one could enhance depth in an image - which was my intent here... but again, you remind me of my tendency to over-process. (...guess I've been watching too many Serge Raminelli videos on YouTube!)
Anyway, thanks again for your mentorship. I ALWAYS find your comments / suggestions helpful.
|
May 18th |
| 3 |
May 23 |
Comment |
Hi Kieu-Hanh. Nice portrait of this Bird Of Paradise. The image appears sharp and well-exposed and the lighting is pleasant. I like how you isolated the flower and set it against a black background. Good choice. |
May 14th |
| 3 |
May 23 |
Comment |
Hi Joan. In beautiful landscapes most people forget to look down or focus close. In narrowing the field of view you have captured a lovely abstract and it is only when one looks closely that one sees that the abstract forms are really rocks, weeds, grass and lichens.
I normally like supersaturated colors, but in this instance I feel the greens at the bottom are looking garish and artificial. Curious how this might look in monochrome where you could turn the bright green into a dark tone which would allow the eye to concentrate on the shapes rather than being distracted by the color. Lastly, I think a white stroke would set your image off better than the green one shown. All in all, a creative composition. |
May 14th |
| 3 |
May 23 |
Comment |
Ruth, this is a stunning image, IMO, and one of the very best flowers-in-a-block-of-ice images I've seen. So many of the ones I've seen are just meh. Your composition and treatment in post are really well done. I'm imagining a large metallic print of this on your wall. Absolutely lovely. |
May 14th |
| 3 |
May 23 |
Reply |
Hi Ruth. I really like your image for all the reasons the others have mentioned. It has such a sense of depth and it invites me in. So much to appreciate about it! Tourist sites are wonderful to visit….. except for the tourists! Such an annoyance! I think the only way to get a shot like this without people would be to set your tripod up in the middle of the walkway, slap a 15 stop ND filter on and get a five minute + exposure. (And I'm certain the other tourists would totally appreciate having a rude photographer blocking the walkway!). In any event, nicely done. |
May 14th |
| 3 |
May 23 |
Reply |
Kieu-Hanh, thank you for your kind comments. Good eye that you noticed that I changed the color of the clothing!! To answer your question, as I was evaluating the image, my eye kept being distracted by the bright jackets. I believe it was the correct choice, as I wanted the viewer to follow the line of the bridge and on into the valley without interruption. |
May 14th |
| 3 |
May 23 |
Reply |
Thank you, Ruth. We were, indeed, fortunate with the lighting and weather. As we were approaching the car park on the way back, the weather socked in and the light went completely flat. |
May 14th |
| 3 |
May 23 |
Comment |
LuAnn, to call it "captivating" is putting it mildly. Surreal and otherworldly are other words that comes to mind when I view your image. They look as if they could be back-lit, delicate glass sculptures. I particularly like the glowing, golden color which is offset by the completely black background. Are these jellyfish bioluminescent? If not, from which direction were they illuminated?
I find the vertical panoramic crop to be both unusual and appropriate. You have done an excellent job with this image! On my monitor, however, the subject looks ever so slightly soft and I'm curious if you did any sharpening? Stunning image! |
May 1st |
4 comments - 4 replies for Group 3
|
| 83 |
May 23 |
Comment |
Hello Margaret. Nice to virtually meet you!
I applaud your creativity that is displayed in your image. I wish other camera manufacturers would include some of the novel creative features that are enjoyed by OM System users.
From an artistic perspective, I concur with Lance and Adi in their comments and I encourage you to pursue a series of images as Lance suggests. |
May 28th |
| 83 |
May 23 |
Comment |
Adi, thanks for the reply. I am a member of Group 3 - General Photography and have just switched from Group 99 to join you here in Group 83. |
May 28th |
| 83 |
May 23 |
Comment |
Hello, Mark. Nice to virtually meet you!
You have captured a lovely, peaceful winter scene. I think it very well captures your intent as you described in your reply to Lance. If I were to suggest anything, it would be to crop in from the right side, as I feel the right-most tree creates a bit of heaviness that throws the composition off-balance. I would not, however crop as severely as Debasish suggests. I like the wider panorama. The tonal range of the image seems appropriate for the light and weather conditions during the shoot. |
May 27th |
| 83 |
May 23 |
Comment |
Hello, Jon. Nice to virtually meet you!
I like how you told us what your image is ABOUT and not just what it IS (a picture of a bridge). Your intention comes out successfully, loud and clear. I echo Mark's comments about the bulk of vegetation on the left of the frame being too heavy. I think his crop is an improvement.
While I am generally drawn to monochrome images that display a greater tonal range, in your case I don't think going in that direction would work for your subject. I like it just as-is. As for the sky…that is definitely an issue and I would love to see you take Lance's advice and show us a re-edited version with his suggested edits. |
May 27th |
| 83 |
May 23 |
Comment |
Hi Adi, nice to virtually meet you!
I'm home, recuperating from a minor foot surgery and just finished watching the film THE FABLEMANS - a semi-autobiography of Steven Spielberg. In the final scene, Sam (Steven) is in the office of the famous director John Ford. Ford tells Sam to look at two paintings and asks him to note where the horizon is in each painting. His advice to Sam is thus: "Horizon at the bottom: Interesting. Horizon at the top: Interesting. Horizon in the middle BORING!"
I love your bottom horizon which is beautifully proportioned against the expansive, streaky sky. I, personally don't find the sky to be at odds with the rest of the composition. Quite the contrary. It speaks to me of the constant motion found in nature juxtaposed against the static man made-ness of the lighthouse.
Lance's comments are a "ditto" for me. It is a beautiful image, save for the white ghosting / halo. I am occasionally plagued by this in my images and I notice it most when I have a dark foreground subject set against an "enhanced" sky. I've talked to others about this and the consensus is it is a (sometimes) unavoidable artifact of our modern digital workflow. Forgive me if you already know this Photoshop fix, but if you set the clone stamp tool to "darker color" and use a soft brush with a diameter just slightly wider than the anomaly, you can easily eliminate the halo completely. Thank you for sharing your beautiful image.
|
May 27th |
| 83 |
May 23 |
Comment |
Hi Debasish,
What strikes me most about your image is the wonderful play of light and shadow, all fading into the distant fog. The strong, dark silhouettes on the right are balanced by the illuminated waves on the left. The middle of the image forms an inviting (but maybe a bit mysterious) pathway that dares me to follow the footsteps into the foggy unknown. What will I find there? My imagination runs wild. Nicely done. |
May 27th |
| 83 |
May 23 |
Reply |
Hi Lance
Of the three variations here, this one calls to me the most. In the first iteration, I found the strength of the sun rays and "artifacts" to be overpowering and they washed out some of the details in the rest of the image.
I found I preferred the subtlety of the second iteration. It retains the character of the first one (sun rays and artifacts) while presenting the lovely detail in the tree trunk and rest of the foreground.
Lovely composition! |
May 27th |
6 comments - 1 reply for Group 83
|
| 99 |
May 23 |
Reply |
Thank you, Linda. Please see my reply to Gerard. |
May 15th |
| 99 |
May 23 |
Reply |
Gerard, thanks for your comments. You and Linda are absolutely right about the crop. When I cropped the image, I was thinking including the wider view would enhance the perception of depth in the image….but now I see it is actually distracting. |
May 15th |
| 99 |
May 23 |
Reply |
thanks, Kathleen. Mystery was what I was going for. Glad it came through! |
May 14th |
| 99 |
May 23 |
Reply |
Thank you, Linda, for your perspective and visual feedback. |
May 14th |
| 99 |
May 23 |
Reply |
Thanks, Peter. As to the high ISO… I wanted as much DOF as I could get, so with the low light situation and ISO 1,000, I was able to shoot at f/16. I rarely worry about high ISO, as the apps I use do a remarkable job of cleaning up noise. |
May 14th |
0 comments - 5 replies for Group 99
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10 comments - 10 replies Total
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