Five in a Row - my eclectic mix

Beef up the colour version slightly and this would be the better version for me.
David

PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout

Thanks for the comments comparing the B&W and colour versions. I'll go back to the original RAW file and work it up as a colour image, rather than starting up with B&W in mind as I did before.

I'll post it up at some point as a colour image

Phil

#4 - Storm Coming




Taken in August this year near Newark Priory in Surrey waiting for the London-Surrey Classic cycle race to come through. A few minutes after this was taken it poured down, and yes I did get wet, but fortunately the Pentax weather resistance held true.

K-5iis and DA18-135 at 31mm, f20 and 1/125.

Phil

I love the third image and find it works better for me in B+W than it does in colour. I think the high contrast mono makes more of the shapes and textures than the colour one does.

I'm not so taken with the fourth shot, it seems to lack a little impact and drama. It also looks a little soft, not sure if this is the lens that has caused this effect? Not a bad image by any means but not in the same league as the first three shots.

Regards
David

I agree with David here, I can see why you took it but it just lacks that 'wow' factor for me.
Having said that I'm struggling to see how it could be improved

Could the aperture used, f20, have taken this into diffraction territory? Could that explain the softness David referred to? I have never shot an aps-c digital image at a smaller aperture than f16, and even that has been only for a 150mm focal length. For wide angle shots with very close foreground I hadn't ventured below f13. Does this sound reasonable?

Phil, I really like the strong contrast between the deep rain filled sky and brightly lit yellows on the ground.

I'd like to see a fully edited colour version of shot #3, but for now still prefer the mono alternative.

I'm with David and Michael on #4: the contrast between storm cloud and sunshine is pleasing to the eye, but doesn't necessarily make for a punchy image. It might have been lifted had there been an extra splash of colour in the foreground (some poppies, perhaps), but nature isn't always as obliging as it might be.

A couple of things - firstly on #4 there's a c***-up with the meta data (not sure how, but suspect human error!) but it's actually f4.5 at 1/1250. Does this explain the problem?

Here's a B&W version, but I think that the bush is the foreground is a bit dark, as are the background trees. However, it might be worth a bit more work.




Simon - I agree, some poppies in the foreground would have been great - perhaps I should have done some gardening! I will post a worked up version of #3 and put it on the gallery, hopefully before the end of the weekend.

Phil

i too prefer the mono on #3, on 4 as already said a nice picture but just needs something more in it, take a photo of an old barn or something and drop it in there, artistic licence

With #4 I think it's the lack of drama in the sky, so I hope you don't mind. I had a play with the graduated filter in LR.

Barrie

Feel free to play away. That strengthens the sky, but I think that the majority have it right - it needs some more foreground interest.

Phil

If the aim is to portray the real scene then, for me, the sky should not have a blue colour cast. I think that the colours, brightness and contrast of everything below the sky are as I would expect to see them. In my view, blending a more dramatic B&W conversion of the sky with the rest of the original colour version, gives a more realistic image.

Cheers.
Philip

#5 - Spitfire




Finally something completely different. A Spitfire MkIXB at the Wings & Wheels Festival at Dunsfold in August on a low level, high speed run. Not a terribly inspiring shot, but a memory of a great day - I also happen to like the fact that the pilot is pretty much looking straight down the lens.

K-5iis, HD DA 55-300 at 260mm; f16 at 1/400 (double checked this time); camera on monopod.

Phil

You can't beat a bit of well taken nostalgia

Well at least we know the plane was moving as you've caught the propellors just right and that the pilot is looking towards us also adds an extra element

A tighter crop putting the plane in the top left 'Third' would improve this in my opinion