Weathered
by Bud

Comment by L1:
Nice find! I love the rough texture of the wood and the sand. I'd suggest some contrast and saturation boosts, as well as perhaps taking the shot from a kneeling position and from a bit farther back, so as to capture the whole mast.

Weathered
by Bud

Comment by posthumous:
I like the darkness that everyone else is complaining to you about. I think it sets a somber mood, appropriate to your subject. It's also pleasant to look at, more soothing than high contrast. 7

Dawn's Child
by Bud

Comment by jaysonmc:
I like the contrast, lighting and pose. However, I am not sure what the Landscape format gives you but dead space...

Weathered
by Bud

Comment by cools98:
This is a really nice photo, but the contrast seems a bit dull. I think this photo could be a ribboner if there was more contrast and vibrant colors. Not something I am too good at, but it seems that those high contrast/vibrant colors are taking the top numbers recently.

Weathered
by Bud

Comment by Patmania:
Would make an amazing HDR Subject.

Weathered
by Bud

Comment by PapaBob:
I love the boat and the colors are great... Having the top of the mast may have helped but still a beautiful image.

Morning Light
by Bud

Comment by albc28:
Very nice silhoutted photo.

The Window of the Soul
by Bud

Comment by xianart:
a lovely portrait. super composition and exposure. my one quibble is the eyes. the USM has made strange little sparkly things in the eyes, like they're filled with shiny dust.

i was getting tired of usm doing that to me, so i took what i'd read somewhere inthe forums and applied it to my work:

duplicate your background layer
do a high pass filter at around 10 pixels (or more, it's up to you)
blend option that layer to soft light
alt+click on the mask icon to create a complete mask of the layer
paint in just the eyes.

this will sharpen them nicely

duplicate background layer again
blend option screen
alt+click layer mask
paint in eyes
adjust opacity until don't look freaky.

this gives the eyes a little more light and oomph.

This way keeps the appearance of the real texture of the eyes.

this is only legal in advanced

an example:

Message edited by author 2006-10-08 08:30:33.

The Window of the Soul
by Bud

Comment by Elliottjms:
Nice Exposure and Use of Bounce. Great Shot.

The Window of the Soul
by Bud

Comment by h2:
what happened to his eyes, look overprocessed as well as right bottom corner and dark area at top. might still look good in black and white