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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 35 |
Aug 18 |
Comment |
Now we know the rest of the story (as the famous radio personality used to say). Debbie, you are so creative and I love the way you are willing to experiment to get unique images. Everytime I see one from you I try to replicate your effects on one or more of my images, so I guess you have become something of a muse for me. I think I like the second version better than the first. The slight crop at the bottom is a plus. I do think that the foregound should be darkened though, including the pots, to make my eye travel along the path rather than staying with the elements to the front. I have been messing around with various kinds of glow in OnOne and I think this image would be a good candidate for that kind of treatment. |
Aug 18th |
| 35 |
Aug 18 |
Comment |
I absolutely love the texture in this image. It is "dreamy" in my opinion. I feel like I could walk right into this image. To me the way all the lines converge on the structure draws me in and keeps me right there. In my opinion the effect on the sky is especially nice. I love Topaz Impression and have been using it a lot on my IR images. I also like the "glow" filters in OnOne. I was orginally drawn to IR because I wanted to create images that are different but still artistic. I think you are a master at doing that. To me this is a lovely image. |
Aug 18th |
| 35 |
Aug 18 |
Comment |
There is quite a story behind this image. The fact that you shared it makes the image more interesting to me. So, I could image this image appearing in a travel book along with text to explain what is going on. I do think you should crop on the left to eliminate the foal for which we see only the back end. It is not easy to think of all these things when shooting, especially if it is an action shot. However, I am of the opinion that while not all memorable images are absolutley technically perfect, they are all well-composed. I think this image is a keeper, but if it were mine I would sacrifice the pixels however every painful it is. |
Aug 18th |
| 35 |
Aug 18 |
Comment |
This is an interesting light house and quite different from the ones I am used to seeing in the U.S. The pathway leads my eye to the subject but then the bright areas at the sides and bottom keep me from coming to rest on it. I would suggest toning down the foliage on the left and right edges and darkening the foreground a bit. |
Aug 18th |
| 35 |
Aug 18 |
Comment |
Good job stopping the action which gives me the feeling of the power of that wave. I think you made a good decision to tone down the foliage. My only suggestion would be to bump up the contrast a bit. |
Aug 18th |
5 comments - 0 replies for Group 35
|
| 52 |
Aug 18 |
Reply |
Thanks, Mike. Unfortunately, f/6.3 is the best I can do with that lens. I would love to have a 600mm prime, but every time I pick my husband's up I realize it is way too heavy for me. Oh well. |
Aug 23rd |
| 52 |
Aug 18 |
Reply |
I don't know if it is best or not...merely a suggestion to try. The water seems so luminous to me that at sort of pulls my eye away from that awesome bird.
|
Aug 19th |
| 52 |
Aug 18 |
Comment |
I think I mentioned before that your buddy Don took me to this beach to shoot a sunrise. Now I am eating my heart out that I did not do it with a fisheye lens which I had in my gear - never even thought of it! We have all seen many beautiful sunrises over beaches but you have found a way to show us something different. In my opinion this image is well composed and has great natural colors. I would not change anything about it. |
Aug 18th |
| 52 |
Aug 18 |
Comment |
They do indeed appear to be dancing, and they are both sharp at the head, which is the important part. I like the diagonal formed by the two bodies and think it is a strong compositional element. The colors in this image really work for me and feel very natural. My only suggestion would be to clone out the bright white spots in the background as they tend to draw my eye away from your terriffic subjects. |
Aug 18th |
| 52 |
Aug 18 |
Comment |
I love Reddish Egrets. To me they have more personality than almost any other shore bird. The 1/4000 sec. shutter speed really worked for you as you have stopped the action in mid-dance. The wing position tells the story and everything about the bird is tack sharp in my opinion. Normally, I do not care for ripples on the water as they are usually a distraction, but in this case the straight parallel lines seem to aadd interest for me. My only suggestion would be to try to reduce blue luminance a bit. Try it and see what you think. |
Aug 18th |
| 52 |
Aug 18 |
Comment |
I love the wing position you captured in this image and the open beak, both of which add interest for me. I have tired to figure out the direction of the light and finally decided this must be coming from the front and rather low. If that is the case, I would suggest lightening the breast of the bird somewhat. Another thought is to try to create a little light in the eye which would give the heron a more life-like appearance.I have had pretty good luck doing that with a radial filter in LR. In a nature photographer workshop I attended this spring the presenter suggestion adding a little half moon of light around the bottom of the eye (a portrait photographer told me that this is also done in portraiture). My final suggestion would be a tighter crop if you have the pixels to make that work. |
Aug 18th |
| 52 |
Aug 18 |
Comment |
A two for one - how lucky can a photographer get! You got both of the butterflies sharp which I think it quite a trick. As for the background, if you are not thinking of entering this in a nature competition, I would clone out the distracting foliage as much as possible, especially in the top corners and on the right side. If you decide to go with more blur, I would try the vignette blur in Color Efex Pro. Use the sliders to get the size and intensity to your taste. As for making the background black, it is my experience that nature judges do not like black backgrounds but prefer to see some of the context or environment. This image is, in my opinion, a "keeper" and how you handle the background should depend on your intended audience. |
Aug 18th |
| 52 |
Aug 18 |
Comment |
The first thing I noticed in this image was the shapes. The loupe created by the insects' bodies sort of repeats the loupe to which they are attached. These shapes feel very natural and organic to me, which seem just the right feel for this subject. For me, the color is also a very pleasing factor. I love the faces of dragonflies and always feel like they are almost human and are looking at me. The softness of the wings does not bother me except for the places on the upper insect where the wing overlaps to body making it so soft. However, in my opinion if you did anything to get more clarity in those areas is would look unnatural. We have to take what nature gives us. You have the important parts - the faces sharp, so it works for me. This is a really interesting nature image. It definitely captures my attention and I could spend a lot of time looking at it. |
Aug 18th |
6 comments - 2 replies for Group 52
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11 comments - 2 replies Total
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