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Rhossili Wreck - critique please

timbo
Posted 24/11/2009 - 20:59 Link
Hi All, I'm looking for comments and ways to improve this image.
e.g. would you clone out the house on the hillside? and what about general tone.
I will be cleaning up all the light pebbles on the beach
This will be printed for an open camera club competition.
Thanks in advance.
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davex
Posted 24/11/2009 - 21:22 Link
Hi Tim,
This is a realy good image, the odd thing is because I am used to Photoshop it looks as if it is slightly oversharpened, or just to sharp?. I think the house adds a usefull sence of perspective, anyway I would be very pleased to have taken this. Well done.

Davex.
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timbo
Posted 24/11/2009 - 21:26 Link
Gareth - thanks for your comments, I also took on board your comments on my last portrait and it improved it significantly.

Dave - not been sharpened, but it will probably look less sharp when printed.

1-1 for and against the house
Hyram
Posted 24/11/2009 - 21:54 Link
I quite like the house but the water has a strange oily quality :
Hyram

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davex
Posted 24/11/2009 - 21:56 Link
Think what I mean is the sharpness of the close foreground detracts atention from the midground. if you know what i mean. Sorry, not the most concise C&C

Davex.
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Please feel free to play with any images I post.
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timbo
Posted 24/11/2009 - 21:57 Link
It was a very windy day - as it usually is in Wales - and the water was very choppy. I used an ND filter to get a long shutter speed, which flattens the water like magic.
jackitec
Posted 24/11/2009 - 22:16 Link
Had a play with it but I don't think you can improve on it, it is pretty good as it is,

Jack.

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George Lazarette
Posted 24/11/2009 - 23:24 Link
I think it is fine as is, and wouldn't dream of cloning out the house.

In fact, I think it's a great picture. My only (very) slight criticism is that it seems a bit too wide in relation to the height.

But that's a quibble.

G
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Dr. Mhuni
Posted 25/11/2009 - 04:37 Link
It's a really nice photo, Timbo. One that anyone could be proud of, but when I look at it two things are nagging at me, and while I know these are probably highly personal, I might as well share them:

First, I find the way the high land ends abruptly on one side of the large piece of timber(?) sticking up, with nothing emerging at the other side apart from distant shore and cloud, detracts slightly from the shot. Nothing you could have done about this without spoiling your composition, of course, but optically I find it odd.

Second, and this is more a reflection than a critique of this shot... The sky is very moody. Have you selectively worked on this to get the contrast out? If so, you've done a good job, not overdoing it. Though I wonder if it would be OTT if the picture was in colour? I'm kind of tired of these dramatic, enhanced (almost HDR) skies in landscape shots. Are they becoming a photo-cliche - the aerial, background equivalent of the misty water (through long exposure) in the foreground (not referring to your water here by the way)?

Re. the house, as this is a record of place and it's an integral part of this place, I wouldn't clone it out.
Mhuni

500px
Edited by Dr. Mhuni: 25/11/2009 - 04:55
timbo
Posted 25/11/2009 - 07:54 Link
Thanks for all the comments.

Jack - I would be interested in exactly what you did, as you seem to have bought out more detail in the wood.

George - The full size image is a lot wider and taller, and I may re-crop.

Dr Mhuni - I see what you mean about the land abruptly stopping. The light on the day was rather flat on the day, and all I did in the sky was bring in a 2nd darker RAW exposure for the sky into PS, and then spent 1 hour hiding the join as I got a bit of a bright line where the 2 exposures joined, and then emphasised the sky in the mono conversion.
I agree that in colour it would bt over the top.
Also prints always look a bit flatter than digital images.

Davex - I may do some 'false' depth of field to blur the background a bit, I shall see what I think.

The house - well I may have to flip a coin

My images always do better in competitions after having been on this forum, its a great weay of learning.
Prieni
Posted 25/11/2009 - 08:02 Link
I also think it is a fine picture. I would leave the house in.
I would work on the reflection of the sky, though, as after working on the sky the reflection now is much lighter than the sky itself.
Also there is a slight halo around some of the timbers.

Prieni
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thoughton
Posted 25/11/2009 - 08:29 Link
A great photo, like it a lot

The house doesn't bother me. It adds a sense of scale at least!

My only criticism would be the noticeable halo around the large timber which Prieni mentioned. I would try to get rid of it. I get these stupid halos all the time after reducing highlights. I haven't figured out what to do about them other than selecting the sky around the halo-ed object and cloning it out.
Tim
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sananjana
Posted 25/11/2009 - 10:39 Link
timbo wrote:
Hi All, I'm looking for comments and ways to improve this image.
e.g. would you clone out the house on the hillside? and what about general tone.
I will be cleaning up all the light pebbles on the beach
This will be printed for an open camera club competition.
Thanks in advance.
Comment Image

hi dear
relay very nice image
like it

ok thanks
timbo
Posted 25/11/2009 - 12:37 Link
I think I will do whatever Jack has done to the larger post (when I find out what he did!) as I think it adds impact.
Aiki
Posted 25/11/2009 - 17:49 Link
I would keep the house ! For sure.

Jack has done sth interesting, but I start to wonder, what it is....and I am not interested in the photo itself (entirety, composition) any more.
I wouldn't go that way.
Aiki

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