Night shot (alternative entry)

Here is what would have been my alternative entry. Taken from about the same position as the one I submitted but this one was taken with the Sigma 70-300.
[IMG]http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t5/Prieni/_PRI5914pu.jpg[/IMG]

The red/white/red light trails are from a dredger that was working in the harbour entrance to get the waterway back to design depth (the sand from the beach and wind and wave action are shoaling the waterway over time).

For me it was a close call between the two...

Prieni

Wow - this is great (I even said "wow" out loud when I saw it). Love the colours.

The green light reflecting on the water is what I like the most.

Great shot - I love the light trails on this one and actually prefer it to the competition entry (which I also liked a lot)

Sorry Ralf,
I have mixed feelings about this one. If you had shot this in landscape mode leaving out all of the sea and thereby giving the green star a bit more room to breath, it would have balanced the picture a bit more. In this scenario the water and green reflection doesn't add to much.
The stillness of the water, as perfectly captured in your competition entrie, doesn't show here. Everything left and right to the green reflection seems a bit noisy and broken up. Sorry.

Martin.

Martin,

no need to be sorry. I think this one is weaker than my submission.
It was a try, first I thought, "oh no, this digger will be in the frame, now I have to wait 2 minutes". Then I thought better of it and gave it a try.

And I also have mixed feelings about it. As it turns out the light trails are a nice feature but the composition could have been better. And that's why I chose the other one...

I did take another one concentrating on the 'star'. It may have a little too much room on the left, but it goes to show that the reflection in the water, nice feature as it is, does not need to be in the frame.
[IMG]http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t5/Prieni/16812062.jpg[/IMG]

Prieni

Im not a fan of the first one you posted, im seeing some strange colour bands.
The 2nd one however has potential.
I did 10 seconds of PP on it and it now looks quite stunning although i noticed you have Copyright so i wont post my PP version without your permission first.

Craig, no problem with that. Go ahead!

Prieni

P.S.: Whether with or without any watermarks, the copyright always is with the originator unless it is sold on.
I have done PP on some posted pics, usually with the understanding that it is ok to post and to take it down again on request. That hasn't happened so far (or at least I have not seen the request:blush

I'm not going to say anything about the pics Ralf (will save that for the judging). I just wish there were more 'alternative' entries to judge in this fortnight's comp!

It's not over, yet. There is still a night to go... And maybe tonight's the night.

Prieni

I have an idea but it is weather dependent

Here is the 2 variations i done.
Nothing difficult PP wise. Pretty much just click Neutral for one effect and Click Black for the other.
Both Done in Bibble Pro with some sharpening and Noise Ninja also.
You can see in the 2nd a little blockiness in the blues but it was a small picture and it was only to show.

[IMG]http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj132/CraigF1969/private/lighthouse2.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj132/CraigF1969/private/lighthouse.jpg[/IMG]

Looking at the weather, we have here at the moment, I strongly doubt that.
If nothing else enters........

On the other hand....we are all winners than.

Martin.

Apologies, I haven't posted.
We are decorating at home at the moment and I haven't had a moment.
Can't even remember where my camera is, as it has been put safely away
I must remedy that soon.

Thanks Craig for having a go at this.
While I probably can see a point in doing the first one, the second one is awful. The colour is just off (this is a starbord light, it's green, not blue) and I don't see what you tried to achieve.
The first one is easily done by using curves and pulling the shadows into clipping (in the process losing all the hazy atmosphere and the wall in the lower right corner). You can see that by looking at the histogram of the original and your variation.
The gradient from the light outer wall of the lighthouse to the door looks much harsher in your version, too.
Is the original version too bright for you? Could it be that your monitor is set too bright (or mine too dark)?
It also seems that you have gone a tad more blue than the original.

I can see your point about noise, especially when I brighten up my original (if I leave it as is I don't see the noise, but it certainly is there).

So, while I appreciate your effort I'm not convinced that either one is a step in the right direction. Luckily tastes are different (would be boring otherwise) and I would be interested to learn what you like better in your variations.

Prieni