Finally managed a walk along the Embankment of the River Nene hoping to find subjects I could practise HRD on.
My sister had Finlay on the lead and just kept walking so all my shots were a bit hurried. Lesson to learn don't go out for your photos with a non-photographer!! LOL!!
Many thanks for your great comments on yesterday's shots which appreared briefly on the Trending page.
@taffy@rachel@sullivar@newbank@kmrtn6 For critique please.
This is 3 shots combined in photomatix which I have recently bought. I am still working out what to do. Landscapes is an area where I struggle. I have not cropped but was undecided if I should crop out the fence on the far side of the river. Not sure if we had started or not so don't worry if I have jumped the gun!! I would be interested in your comments.
My 2 cents worth is that you nicely used a light hand in blending the images...something I failed to do at the outset! You got a beautifully tranquil scene, and oh, my dear photographer friend, I feel your pain about going out with an impatient non-photographer! Though "what I do" is appreciated by many, I've been chewed up and spit out by a couple of people who don't get it... 365 is my refuge!
@pamknowler Hi, Pam! I really like the placement of the boat, the leading lines created by the dock ties (please forgive my lack of nautical knowledge if they're called something else), and how you've really given a sense of its setting. I think that the color of the fence and its reflection distracts from the serenity caused by the green reflections and the trees. Some of the highlights on the dock ties look like they might have blown out so I would recommend reducing the highlight level a little bit. The sky also doesn't fit to me, the solid gray looks unnatural (even though it very well could be natural) and detracts from the rest of the image. All in all though, I think that the photo has great structure and that you've really captured the essence of the location!
I like this in color, but I like it in the sepia, too! The sepia reminds me of a picture post card, and this looks like something I'd find in a travel magazine. It just looks so pretty and peaceful!
@888rachel@sullivar@newbank@kmrtn6 (Pam, note that Rachel is 888Rachel) I like the image a lot -- the reflection of the boat works, the details, the greens are all in nice balance. I would crop out the fence as the gold tones to me distract as they draw my eye away from the boat and the greens. The contrasting color makes me think that I'm supposed to look over there. I might also up the mid-contrast just a teeny bit to sharpen the tones just a little.
@taffy thanks Taffy. I will crop out the fence - my eye kept going to it but wasn't sure. Can I ask where do I up the mid contrast? I have only ever adjusted contrast I think.
@taffy@sullivar@newbank@kmrtn6 I agree with Taffy, in that I would crop out the fence. My eye is drawn there first. Taffy - does sharpening the mid-tones make the white on the top of the boat sharper?
@taffy My problem is I don't have Aperture. I edit in Lightroom and Photoshop for any cloning and that's about it. I have Nik Efex pro 2 and recently Photomatix which I am trying to learn for HDR. I wil check LR for the contrast details.
@888rachel@sullivar@newbank@kmrtn6 Have you tried boosting the saturation levels a tiny bit in photoshop? Not sure if that will achieve what Taffy is suggesting. On a complete other direction....try converting it to b and w, maybe that will help the boat as the central feature of the photo to stand out. I feel it may give it just a different feel altogether. I do like the image a lot, it looks very peaceful and tranquil.
@888rachel@sullivar@newbank@kmrtn6 Oh cool, Pam -- I'm going to learn LR this summer and you can guide me!! That said, somewhere in your lightroom slider set there has to be something about mid-tones, or mid-level contrast or something like that. Maybe even up the black point -- I think it's very minor, but just needs a little 'oomph'. I also like Ruth's idea of trying it in b&w. The composition is so strong that this would be an image well worth playing with some more. Do you have Silver Efex? That's the one program I absolutely would recommend as a plug in for lightroom or aperture or anything. I've learned more about contrast, structure, brightness, etc from that editing program than anything else (except maybe the HDR ones -- but if I had to pick only one plug-in, it would be Silver Efex in the Nik Suite package. Google owns it now, I think.)
This is 3 shots combined in photomatix which I have recently bought. I am still working out what to do. Landscapes is an area where I struggle. I have not cropped but was undecided if I should crop out the fence on the far side of the river. Not sure if we had started or not so don't worry if I have jumped the gun!! I would be interested in your comments.