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Archive 2012 · Need some feedback and CC.

  
 
jschoen
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Need some feedback and CC.


Hello, first time posting here and fairly new to photography and editing. All 3 of these were taken in the same evening with a e-pl1 and edited in LR. Really looking for comments about what I did wrong or right with these pictures.







Sep 20, 2012 at 12:21 AM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Need some feedback and CC.


The log is a large principle object, but not appealing of interesting. The skies are good, especially the second and third. The longer exposure renders the water in the third much better than the water is rendered in the first two. Compositions are good, but unfortunately the bulk of the images isn't especially interesting.


Sep 20, 2012 at 04:47 AM
RustyBug
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Need some feedback and CC.


Welcome to FM !!!

FM ROCKS !!!

I like the color play of the gold vs. blue in the last one, as it is picking up the color from the sky. I don't like the blue cast on the log, so you might consider selectively adjusting the color balance @ the log to either neutralize it a bit, or even take it to a warmer tone. I realize that it was picking up the tones form the blue sky, but the golds are strong enough that it might work nicely warmed up also.

I like the composition of the first one with the interplay of nature and industry. As usual for me, I'm not diggin' the blue tones in the neutrals (i.e. blue smoke, etc.). The lower the sun gets in the sky, the stronger the blues come out to play. Some people dig it, some not so much. I find that as a subject the blues are interesting, but as the source of illumination for other subjects it bothers me more than most.

The second one is my least favorite of the set. I get the colors in the sky as being really nice to experience in person, but for some reason they don't translate as well here ... might have to think about this one a bit. The composition, doesn't offer a lot ... similar to the third one, but the third one has more dominant color play. The second one's color play isn't quite enough to "carry the scene".

Like Karen said, the water is nicer in the last one ... I'd like to have seen a blend of the first one's compostion with the style of the last one's water. Also, I might consider a vertical/portrait orientation @ the first one.

Anyway ... looking forward to seeing more of your work.

Welcome to FM !!!
FM ROCKS !!!



Sep 20, 2012 at 06:41 AM
sbeme
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Need some feedback and CC.


AuntiPode wrote:
The log is a large principle object, but not appealing of interesting. The skies are good, especially the second and third. The longer exposure renders the water in the third much better than the water is rendered in the first two. Compositions are good, but unfortunately the bulk of the images isn't especially interesting.


+1
And Welcome! Keep posting!
Scott



Sep 20, 2012 at 01:54 PM
Camperjim
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Need some feedback and CC.


Maybe the colors are a bit over the top in the last image, but I like it. The composition is also better than the other two images. For the other two the log directs the viewer's vision out of the frame. I am not sure I find that the log adds much interest. I would suggest cropping out about half of the log in the 3rd image. That would put the horizon line near center. That is supposed to be a composition no-no, but I think it works for this image.


Sep 20, 2012 at 03:27 PM
RustyBug
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Need some feedback and CC.


Took a stab at it.







Sep 20, 2012 at 04:07 PM
jschoen
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Need some feedback and CC.


Thanks guys, all of your comments have helped a lot.

I agree the log is a bit boring, but it's about all I had for any foreground at the location I was at. Would the pics have worked with just water in the foreground?

Rusty can I ask what exactly you did to that pic? I agree it was on the cold side, and the blue-ish log kinda bothered me too.



Sep 20, 2012 at 11:08 PM
RustyBug
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Need some feedback and CC.


First I try to "read" the lighting to understand the orientation of the light source(s).

Unlike others that try to find a correct WB for the overall scene, I try to understand which parts of the scene are being illuminated by direct sunlight (warm) vs. those being illuminated by indirect overhead skylight (cool).

The blue's come from the overhead sky provides the dominant amount of illumination and the pinks and reds come from the sun providing dominant illumination. The purples come from where the two are blending at relatively equal amounts.

I first try to find two or three areas that should be relatively neutral and compare the amount of rgb values in them. Then I move to color balance layer (PS) and adjust the individual rgb values until I get them close to the same in the highlights, repeat for the shadows. This gives me a baseline for seeing how it changes the overall scene.

In your scene, even after doing that, the shadow area of the log was still intense blue (i.e. no sunlight getting in there). So, I moved into saturation and reduced the saturation of cyans & blues even further. I tried to find a balance between the colors in the water vs. sky vs. log shadows. I typically will need to paint on a mask to have some areas effected by the changes, and others not. The lower the sun gets, the lesser it's EV value becomes. As the intensity of the sun's EV value drops ... it "reveals" the overhead skylight as it no longer "overpowers" it like it does when the sun is higher in the sky with a stronger and more omnipresent/parallel orientation.

The lighting in your scene is like putting a red light on the left of your subject and a blue light above your subject. Because you are shooting with perpendicular (vs. parallel) light sources there will be areas of overlap and gradient transition from one color to the other. As such, picking a "correct" WB is going to be a compromise of each. Rather, I strive to separate the scene (via mask painting) between colors of lighting.

If that makes any sense.



Sep 21, 2012 at 09:26 AM





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