Baleful
by Abra

Comment:
Superb! And very creepy too.

Pebbles
by P-A-U-L

Comment:

Originally posted by Neat: ha I was right hey?

Oh yes. It was at Sidmouth in Devon during the Sidmouth Folk Festival. It was actually not too bad a day though it did rain a few times - the norm this summer:)

Look at me and listen close
by Mike

Comment:
Wow well done Mike

Miserable cow
by P-A-U-L

Comment:
Sorry I completely forgot the challenge required a song or other connection. Also realise I didn't quite make the mark in terms of the image effect required. Quite like it though:)

Thanks for great comments:)

Bubbles
by P-A-U-L

Comment:

Originally posted by dtremain: FWIW - There is a very strong line of interest that runs through the picture that draws the eye away from the girl. It goes from the girl's head, up the middle finger of land, and ends in the upper right corner. I agree with tanguera that cropping the right side would help, at least partially because the line of the hill no longer ends in the upper right corner, weakening its visual pull. The second thing I'd suggest is to end the middle finger of land - by cloning in ocean - almost directly under the small bubble above it - maybe using the dark spots as the edge of the rock or maybe angling down starting just to the right of the red/white object. I think I'd crop the right side just to the left of the far bubble, since the bubble currently acts as a visual anchor for the right side of the line.

Thank you dtremain for the great advice. You have a good set of eyes. I have had a quick play taking your suggestions on board on the original unprocessed image and here is the result.



Obviously needs a bit of processing but would be interested to know if what I have done is what you imagined.

Young girl... violins... center of her own attention
by rathomas

Comment:
Would have been nicer without the item of clothing in the top left and the bottom of the stool

Quintessentially English
by P-A-U-L

Comment:

Originally posted by bassbone: very nicely composed - i almost wish there was a subject on the street to make the scene more alive.

Yeah it does feel like it is missing something. A nice vintage car or horse and cart would do it though more likely to be a caravan or motorhome passing by:)

Quintessentially English
by P-A-U-L

Comment:

Originally posted by Mond: Morthoe? Delighted to see it if it is, many a happy hour spnet here.

Well spotted! Yes a fantastic location. We have just discovered a superb campsite here so have spent several weekends under canvas here. 500 yards to the beach from the tent and amazing sunsets too:)

Bubbles
by P-A-U-L

Comment:

Originally posted by tanguera: Although I agree with most of the observations, I'm in agreement most with Mike and feel it is the pp'g which doesn't match the delicacy of the scene. I even love that the bubble obscures her face, but captured her laughter. I think you could crop this square and take out an inch on the right without losing anything compositionally. Then start over with the pp'g, going the opposite direction, softening up the entire scene, maybe adding a bit of blur to the bg. MAYBE even try some glamour glow, if you have it.

Thank you tanguera. I like the idea of trying a square crop - I think it would work well. I can't remember what processing I did - usually just a Topaz adjust preset and a few tweaks:) The glamour glow sounds interesting - never heard of that. I will google it.

Many thanks for the feedback. It is really helpful to get advice like this.

Bubbles
by P-A-U-L

Comment:

Originally posted by mike_311: i feel the choice of processing inst right for this image. the oversauration enhances parts of the image which should be left as background and pulls the focus away from your subject. i'd prefer to see a more subdued color set, while still slightly pushing the reds (but not much) to drive the focus to the girl. when you post process you have the ability to control where my eye goes and right now it goes right to the hill and stays there.

Thanks Mike - I totally agree and was not happy with the processing though it was better than some of my other Topaz preset attempts:) And you are spot on about the lack of focus of attention. I recall attempting to add a vignette to try and focus more on the subject but it looked terrible and my arsenal of post processing tricks is quite minimal:)