|
| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 63 |
May 23 |
Reply |
Small :)
|
May 31st |
| 63 |
May 23 |
Reply |
Not a problem (or a big one). Moving can be ever so stressful. Looking forward to your next submission. |
May 13th |
| 63 |
May 23 |
Comment |
What a fun image. As noted above, great composition, sharpness and exposure. As for the color, one does not need to settle for what is right out of the camera. Try adding just a bit more to enhance you presentation. One might bump up the golds a bit with the leaf as well as increasing the contrast to show more texture. Also adding a touch of blue to the body of the bug might add a bit more depth here (both with minor tweaks with the curves adjustment layer). Might I also suggest darkening the upper side of the critter to obtain a little more separation between the top and side of this critter and darkening the eye to make is more distinguishable from the body. These are all potential creative suggestions which might address your desire to see more color in this image. |
May 11th |
 |
| 63 |
May 23 |
Comment |
I am really enjoying how you have taken this common place item and made its presentation special. You have successfully isolated this hardware, and provided it is a clean and simple image. The texture of the wood augments the image considerably as well. I might tend to increase the contrast a bit, but that is more of a personal choice, rather than a suggested improvement. Nice Job ! |
May 11th |
| 63 |
May 23 |
Reply |
Great. My offer was not intended to be a statement upon your abilities. |
May 10th |
| 63 |
May 23 |
Comment |
This is a quite a dramatic and artful image of this stairwell. Lots of detail, and drama captured in an imaginative manner. That being said, I am not sure that this image is appropriate for our Close-up / Macro study group. Generally speaking, a macro short is one where the subject is roughly the size of a postage stamp, and a Close-up shot is roughly the size of a loaf of bread (no larger). Your subject in obviously larger than the later definition. This is a great shot, but perhaps not for this specific study group. |
May 8th |
| 63 |
May 23 |
Comment |
I am really enjoying this presentation. This resting bird is cleanly displayed in its native environment. Your depth-of-field is spot on, sharply defining the duck while allowing the background to transition into a pleasing soft setting. Capturing the beaded water drops of the duck body also adds a lot to the image. I might suggest bringing up the detail in the dark areas of the duck's head some to show the eye in a bit more detail. Also, in the dark areas below the folded wing, allowing for more the detail (and water drops) to be seen as well. These last points are minor though. Nice job! |
May 8th |
| 63 |
May 23 |
Comment |
What a fun shot. I hope that you are enjoying your new macro lens, although with this subject a macro lens may not have been required. This item was nicely captured in a clean format, and is as sharp as is required. I especially am enjoying the background and the vignette that you applied to this image. To my eye the actual box appears a bit washed out. Applying a bit of contrast should bring out a bit more of the native colors that you liked so much. The image does have a bit of a flat feel to it, although the reflection at the base added a bit of dimension to the presentation. I am wondering if one might add a bit of side lighting to the scene this might help a bit. Something to consider. |
May 8th |
| 63 |
May 23 |
Comment |
There is an art to using a flash to illuminate a scene. Striking the balance between the intensity of the light, the harshness or softness of the light, the coverage and the positioning is always a challenge that just takes time and experience to master. I don't do it enough to say that I am overly accomplished in using this technique.
In this specific image we have an interesting image of these carnations emerging from the darkness. The scene is illuminated such that brightest blooms and the lighter green/yellow parts of the stem are clearly lit while other parts are barely visible. As presented this image appears a bit on the dark side with much of the subject hidden. I would like to see a bit more of the stems, and a bit more balance between the shadowed and bright areas of the blooms. In doing so I believe that the scene could be provided in a more balanced presentation. Fortunately, all of this can be accomplished in post processing (in Lightroom, Elements and/or Photoshop). It's important here to note that we don't always have to live with images right out-of-the-camera, and if fact few accomplished photographers do. Here I have included a version where I have done to illustrate my thoughts. If you would like to see how I did this, I would be happy to show you in a quick Zoom session. |
May 8th |
 |
6 comments - 3 replies for Group 63
|
| 75 |
May 23 |
Comment |
What a colorful collection of blooms and petals. I love the simplicity of this image with the effective black background and pinstripe border. The blooms themselves are very clear and sharp. The general tones of both blooms are very similar, and as such the blooms seem to merge together. As such, we lose some of the native depth in the image. May I suggest that you darken slightly the larger bloom on the upper right, to attain a bit more separation between the two blooms I tried this o illustrate my thinking, and as I did this, I also left the more central portion of the larger bloom a bit brighter than the rest. To my eye these modifications add a bit of depth to the image and makes it even easier to appreciate the subjects that you have given us. See what you think … |
May 8th |
 |
| 75 |
May 23 |
Reply |
Although it appears here as a strong vignette, I actually added a slight glow behind the bloom to give this effect. It's a bit dramatic, but I liked the final effect. |
May 8th |
| 75 |
May 23 |
Comment |
You certainly have provided us with a wash of color and form. These are how these flowers grow, and here you have given us a feel as to the mass of color that we find in these locations. If that is your intent, then you have succeeded. However, I find it difficult to take in this image as these is so much going on that it's difficult to focus upon a few blooms. I find I get lost in the wash of color and form. This is a general problem when we collect this type images. In order to help here I might select a few blooms to make different from the others to aid in the viewer's eye. Here I might select four or five blooms and increase the contrast some, while darkening the remaining blooms. This will attract our eye to a few blooms at the expense of others. To my eye that makes the image much easier to view and to appreciate. If though, you really don't want to diminish some blooms over others, then this might not be your best option, but as presented there is a lot going on here. |
May 8th |
 |
| 75 |
May 23 |
Comment |
I appreciate your efforts to shown us several stages of the life-cycle of this flower. Showing both the open bloom as well as the bud tells this story. It is unfortunate that you cut off a bit of the bloom on the left-hand side. The bud is also present in this shot, but with the aperture used (f/5.6 resulting in a rather shallow depth-of-field), the detail of this bud is lost and it's role in the story diminished. I find that the crop of this image includes a lot of area at the top that adds little to the image. Here I would crop down from the top, add more space on the felt hand side and clone in background element to fill the newly added area (also moving the edge of the bloom away from the edge). The bloom itself is a bit overexposed (yellow is a tough color not to overexpose slightly), and I might suggest adding a bit of contrast to bring out the native color and detail. I have included a version of this image which demonstrates my thinking. See what you think. |
May 8th |
 |
| 75 |
May 23 |
Comment |
This image does have a rather soft and dreamy feel to it. I am wondering if that was your intent, or the effect of blurring the background, which also blurring the tips of the flower petals as well. If the bloom itself is not cut out from the background layer, this often occurs when the background layer is blurred. I wonder if that was your creative intent, or an effect that you decided to live with? I don't disagree with the comments regarding the crop (loosing part of the bloom on the left). Again, if your creative intent was to crop out parts of the bloom to emphasize the inner portions (a notable intent), perhaps cropping out a bit more of the bloom might be effective. As shown here, the image straddles the middle ground (intentional or not) which adds tension that competes with the overall feel of the image. |
May 8th |
| 75 |
May 23 |
Comment |
Great image of the emerging Crocus blooms. Shooting is the snow offers its challenges, and I think you did quite well is dealing with these issues. There is sufficient detail in the snow to carry the day that the blooms are nicely shown. I do feel that the blooms are slightly overexposed (most likely due to light reflecting off of the snow) and the leaves are a bit dark. I would suggest using a curves layer to bring out a bit more of the native color and detail in the leaves and blooms that you strove so hard to capture here. I agree with the earlier comments that the background is a bit busy and distracts the viewer's eyer from the blooms to some extent. Cropping and some selective clones could address these distractions some. Overall thought, and nice effort ! |
May 8th |
 |
| 75 |
May 23 |
Comment |
This image is both classic and unique and I am enjoying how your vision is growing in your images. You have taken a classically presented view of the trees and sky and made it your own. The trees are presented as silhouettes, with the exception of the area around the sun flare, and this adds a bit of uniqueness to the image. I agree with what Murphy has noted, but respectively disagree with Dan as to the ease of removing some of the light artifacts in this image. I do appreciate where Judy is going with her suggestions, but to my eye it only makes the image different, and not necessarily improved. She also noted that she had no issues in removing the light artifacts, but her edits add many more artifacts as well. Nice Job Vincent ! |
May 8th |
6 comments - 1 reply for Group 75
|
12 comments - 4 replies Total
|
