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Archive 2014 · Patterns two

  
 
ben egbert
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Patterns two


I see now my first patterns shot did not qualify as a pattern. I think this one does. It may be pretty static.

I had this in mind before left home. There must be thousands of aspens up in these hills, but it was not easy to find three in a row that were fairly straight and uncluttered. I planned to shot one head on and another at an angle. But the angle shot was not possible. The straight on shot required balancing on top of brush.

I shot from f2.8 to f8 with the idea of shallow dof but all three sharp. But even f2.8 had too much dof so I had to blur the background to get the effect I was after. I avoided other processing on the background and only processed the trees.

This is a training exercise nothing else. Please let me know if this is worth doing and how you would have approached it if it is.

If I continue, I will try for cloudy days to get more even lighting on the trees and will try to find a way to control dof and also get more interesting angles.








Jun 09, 2014 at 10:09 AM
ben egbert
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Patterns two


Here is a sooc. I see my blur brushwork was pretty sloppy.







Jun 09, 2014 at 10:26 AM
Bob Jarman
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Patterns two


Ben,

I applaud your effort. You've already identified some of the majors issues re DOF. Here I see six areas: 4 major with the interior two being further generally divided in half by the OOF trees. This repetition is often referred to as 'rhythm', most frequently observed in fence lines, patterns created by wind-blown sand, etc...

Curious what you might create with a BW conversion and manipulating the color filter sliders to add some pop (not contrast only) to trees.

Bob



Jun 09, 2014 at 10:34 AM
ben egbert
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Patterns two


Bob Jarman wrote:
Ben,

I applaud your effort. You've already identified some of the majors issues re DOF. Here I see six areas: 4 major with the interior two being further generally divided in half by the OOF trees. This repetition is often referred to as 'rhythm', most frequently observed in fence lines, patterns created by wind-blown sand, etc...

Curious what you might create with a BW conversion and manipulating the color filter sliders to add some pop (not contrast only) to trees.

Bob


The only way I can reduce dof is to get further back and shoot at a longer FL. Maybe 70,, f2.8? Not sure there is a place to stand but next time I will try it here or find another place.

I saw the interior patterns and inner group at the left have a sort of twist that is reversed on the right side. My B&W conversions are too horrible for words.

Here ya go, told you I was no good at B&w. No idea what you meant to do with color filters. I did not attempt to blur this.









Jun 09, 2014 at 10:52 AM
Healey
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Patterns two


Maybe this is more the effect you are searching for? I am trying to feel out what you mean by pattern.









Jun 09, 2014 at 04:56 PM
ben egbert
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Patterns two


Hi Healey, I am the one who is searching for meaning in this sort of image. By putting up my own, I am sort of asking, is this it? I guess what I am calling patterns here is the vertical series of aspens.

The main difference I see with your last is a larger presentation and a tighter crop. Did you start with my SOOC? How did you do your BW conversion. For mine, I simply desaturated it. This is about my 10th bw in 30 years. It was an attempt to follow Bob's advice.




Jun 09, 2014 at 05:07 PM
Mister Bean
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Patterns two


Simply desaturating a color image generally will not result in a nice looking black and white photo. It will tend to be grayish and not have much contrast (this is why it's best to shoot in color and then convert later instead of letting the camera do the conversion). By manipulating the brightness of the different colors that make up the image, you can completely change the look of the photo. Here are a couple quick examples using your image.

In this one, the blues are boosted, and the greens are pulled out. So you get some bright sky, and then because there's a lot of green light on everything behind the main trunks in the front, that all becomes quite dark. So the bright white of the trees in the foreground jumps out. It has kind of a moody look to it.
http://www.myrealnameismatt.com/Misc/Miranda/aspens_greens_gone.jpg

In this one, the reverse was done. Blues were pulled out so the sky becomes darker, and greens were boosted so the foliage in the background becomes brighter, and the trunks stand out less. This one has a brighter mid-day sort of appearance.
http://www.myrealnameismatt.com/Misc/Miranda/aspens_with_greens.jpg

I normally do my work in LIghtroom, and don't have access to the computer with that software. So I can't provide instructions on how to do it in there. And my PS skills have subsided greatly since I started using LR. The tool I used was Image > Adjustments > Black and White.

You may already be aware of this, but Ansel Adams took some similar photos of Aspens. It might be worth looking at them to see how he constructed his images. http://photojournalistjournal.blogspot.com/2011/08/ansel-adams-aspens.html

Actually, now that I think about it. This could potentially help with your color photography because it might help you see what parts of the spectrum are contributing to your image, and how.



Jun 10, 2014 at 12:23 AM
ben egbert
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Patterns two


Thanks and a great demonstration of the effect of various channels. How would you boost or reduce colors? I am thinking hue/saturation.

I generally walk past aspen shots in a gallery unless they are part of a full size landscape. I think tight shots are sort of claustrophobic to me.

Edit:

Ok, I found a PS drop down (I don't have LR) for B&W that allows individual boosting of colors. I had never used this before as I have no interest in B&W. Hue Sat was obviously the wrong one to use. But the idea of learning how colors effect the image (the relative strength of each color) is a good thing to know.

On another post Kent put me onto using color channel masks. Once I figured out how to make a mask I was amazed at the possibilities and went back and reworked several images.

On yet another post, I learned the value of a much darker exposure to make alpine glow work. This tied in great with the red channel mask.

The B&W drop down has lots of colors not just RGB. But I don't think I can use that to boost colors in a color image. Also color channels are limited to RGB. Figuring out how to modify the non RGB colors other than in HUE/SAT would be great.

Edit 2. Actually the B&W drop down can be used to adjust individual colors in a color image. All that is required is to set the mode to luminance. Another trick I have learned while asking another question.



Edited on Jun 10, 2014 at 10:36 AM · View previous versions



Jun 10, 2014 at 08:49 AM
FarmerJohn
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Patterns two


Ben, I like the patterns of your SOOC non-blurred image. I see the three foreground trees in focus, and then additional groups of 3 trees in the background. The left side group is clearer than the right side group though.

I like the discussion on patterns. I was using the patterns I was working on to give a different view on a common subject. I also wanted a bit of an artistic challenge to consider since I have been travelling and unable to get some mountain landscapes. I think your image is a good closeup to get a different view of the classic aspens image.



Jun 10, 2014 at 09:55 AM
ben egbert
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Patterns two


Examples of Aspens.

These are not artistic, but I am showing them to help understand what I see and how I respond to various conditions. I have a low tolerance to fences from my school days where fences represented imprisonment. I was a good fence climber.

The first is ok, the treeline represents a fence, a wall of foliage but the grass leaves an escape route left and right.

The second appears to be open enough to provide escape.

The last is going to be tough because of the undergrowth.

















Jun 10, 2014 at 10:02 AM
ben egbert
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Patterns two


FarmerJohn wrote:
Ben, I like the patterns of your SOOC non-blurred image. I see the three foreground trees in focus, and then additional groups of 3 trees in the background. The left side group is clearer than the right side group though.

I like the discussion on patterns. I was using the patterns I was working on to give a different view on a common subject. I also wanted a bit of an artistic challenge to consider since I have been travelling and unable to get some mountain landscapes. I think your image is a good closeup to get a different view of
...Show more

I agree, the non blurred sooc cropped like my first might be my favorite. Need to get rid of the right side tree and the brightest bit of cloud. I shot at several apertures from the minimum of f2.8 up to f8. F2.8 still has too much DOF, but not enough to make all three front trees critically sharp. I normally work hard to make everything sharp so its a new discipline for me.



Jun 10, 2014 at 10:09 AM
Healey
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Patterns two


OK for pattern this is main the pattern I see. It is a weak pattern. There is a smaller pattern in the bark that is replicated in the foreground. Removing the darker areas of the bark at the bottom removes the part of the photo that I see as not being part of the pattern.

Your Aspens are not very vertical, not clustered in any clear pattern. I would consider this not a good example of a strong pattern. I would say the same for photos #2 and #3 that you posted later. Fine for photographs, but what pattern?

#1 shows a very clear pattern of horizontal curved layers stacked upon each other, and zones of white vertical lines. I like that one, it has good flow.

So maybe what I define as a pattern is different from how others are using it, but that is what I see,

Oh the B&W I made was simply the B&W adjustment layer. Lightened the blues, darkened the greens. Just a quickie, not a finished B&W conversion by any measure. Just to draw your eye more to the white bark.







Jun 10, 2014 at 05:01 PM
ben egbert
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Patterns two


Yes, the patterns you outline are the ones I had in mind. In fact I had pre visualized just the three front aspens, the back trees are a bonus. But then I am not sure how regular they must be to make a pattern.

Most of the things I see posted here are man made and might not even be patterns (as a photo category). I made that term up for this post. Examples I saw recently are the lamp with its shadow, Kents rails, Farmer Johns Shadows and textures, the green and white door. Man made stuff can be more regular.

The later aspen images I show were taken as ordinary landscapes last year and I had no idea to make pattern shots of them. When I do landscapes, I go for the big picture. Typically I have no particular subject but rather I crop what I don't want and everything else is the subject.

I suspect this big picture concept is what gets me in trouble all the time so I am attempting to do something alien to my nature.

This approach may seem less than sincere. This is just a hobby for me. I take pictures just for my own pleasure which can have any composition I choose. But in the meantime, I can try to learn stuff from this valuable resource.

Whatever sticks will pass the sniff test of time and when it seems to be part of my nature, it will be. What does not will never become part of my nature, but a learned thing. Like using vowels.



Jun 10, 2014 at 06:59 PM





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