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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 32 |
Mar 19 |
Comment |
I, too, think I prefer the original. I played a bit with the brightness prior to converting to monochrome with Nik Silver Effects Pro, as I wanted to try a conversion without the posterization treatment. I'm not sure what you have in mind as far as "improvements" to the monochrome. I've just selected out a couple of the rectangles and increased brightness and contrast here. If you're going to try that, you may want to reduce noise in the ceiling area, as my version is rather noisy there, it seems. Do you have any of the Topaz Adjust filters? I played with some toning effects that were interesting to me, but some would argue that makes the image no longer monochrome, depending on which definition of monochrome is used.
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Mar 20th |
 |
| 32 |
Mar 19 |
Comment |
Like Diana, I like the details in the close-up of the daisy. Focus across the full depth of field in single shot macro images is so incredibly difficult for me, so I'm impressed you were able to get most of the image so sharp. I was a bit distracted by the slight blur on the petals in the back row on the right side, however. I wondered if a more intentional blur there would work, but I'm not certain about that. Diana's suggestion to crop even tighter to further emphasize the details seems like the better idea than mine here. |
Mar 20th |
| 32 |
Mar 19 |
Reply |
I see you are on the confirmation list. Thanks so much for the entries. I'm scrambling trying to get the files put away and the office ready for the judging this weekend. Good luck in the exhibition.
|
Mar 20th |
| 32 |
Mar 19 |
Comment |
My first reaction to seeing this image was, "He looks familiar!" I, too, was in Washington, D.C last April and took a couple photos of a ranger in his yellow jacket at the Vietnam Memorial. My photos there are not nearly as compelling as this one, however. I, too, like how you captured the reflection, and although the yellow jacket is photogenic, I feel the monochrome image is the better of the two. Yes, the overall image is a bit dark. I tried adjusting the shadows/highlights a bit and thought that worked well. However, I understand that for many, this war was a dark time, too, so in some ways, the darkness is fitting for your subject matter. |
Mar 5th |
| 32 |
Mar 19 |
Comment |
The row house architecture on the East Coast is so interesting to me. We don't have much of anything like it in Texas or out West. I like the reflections of the late afternoon light on the windows and shutters. I know you like dark shadows, so you may not want to follow my suggestion about bringing up the shadows here, but part of what I really like about this image is the incredible texture in the brickwork of the buildings and the cobblestones on the street. It seemed to me that the brighter shadows better emphasized all that texture, especially when I eliminated the window on the lower left. I also added a touch of Topaz detail extractor. What do you think? |
Mar 5th |
 |
| 32 |
Mar 19 |
Comment |
No doubt you needed a bit of a break from the medical facility now and then. My family and I are convinced that few things make one as tired as sitting in hospitals, even though it doesn't seem that sitting should be so exhausting. I hope Brian is continuing to have a speedy recovery.
Just looking at this image makes me cold! The conversion to black and white and your cropping helped minimize the strong shadows and other distracting elements in the original image (although I found the pattern on the wall interesting). You are correct about exposure situations like this one being particularly challenging. The blacks in the monochrome conversion look very good on my monitor, but it is showing the highlight areas of the whites as still being a bit too bright to hold the details. If you do decide to use this for competition, you may want to try a detail extractor or otherwise adjust the highlight brightness a little more if possible. Of course, the challenge then becomes to keep from losing too much contrast. Ironically, I have a photo of bikes covered in snow that I took at a train station in central Sweden several years ago. Although I like it, the image never did get score very well in the few competitions in which I entered it. I never tried a conversion to monochrome, though, so I cannot say whether that would have been any more effective.
On a side note, the exhibition my PSA Council sponsors is closing in not quite two weeks, on March 16. Entry information is at www.sjvccc.org under the SJV Inter. Ex. 2019 link on the upper right. Unfortunately, we don't have a monochrome division yet (although I am lobbying hard for one to be added), but I would love to see some entries from our group if anyone is so inclined. |
Mar 5th |
5 comments - 1 reply for Group 32
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5 comments - 1 reply Total
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