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DPChallenge Forums >> Individual Photograph Discussion >> Look at these and give advice please
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Showing posts 1 - 12 of 12, (reverse)
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 11/20/2004 07:31:16 PM · #1
I went out taking pictures today even though it was not a good day for it. Cool, overcast and windy. I tried to keep the sky out of the shots but did not succeed. I love the colors in this photos but which looks better [with or without the sky]. And is the blurry feeling because of the wind? There is something about these photos but I can’t put my finger on it. What’s wrong? BTW there is no saturation done here.


11/20/2004 07:46:12 PM · #2
Brilliant colours. Personally I wouldn't crop so much off the top. Just enough to remove the sky, if that's your intent.
 11/20/2004 07:48:33 PM · #3
Hi Scott,

You've got some great colors here. I think the second photo is cropped just a tad too much. The colors stand out more when they are in contrast to the green of the trees behind it, so while cropping was a good idea IMO including a little more of the green but still excluding the sky a little bit might work the best. You do have blur issue - was the original shot looking sharp but then lost something in the compression? If not, my best guess is camera shake. You didn't mention if you were using a tripod. When I take a landscape shot, I find it works best if I set the focus to "Infinity" or whatever the equivalent might be on your camera. You've got a great reflection in the lower left corner of the panoramic shot. Thanks for posting!
 11/20/2004 07:51:39 PM · #4
Great colors! I think they are nice shots! A bit soft on my monitor also??
 11/20/2004 08:23:46 PM · #5
Thanks for all the comments. A1275, it was a bit sharper before converting to jpg but it still had blur. I made a mistake and didn’t use a tripod, even though I had it with me. The 1/15th SS caused camera shake. Amateur mistake I guess, I may go back there tomorrow and see if I can get a crisp picture with the colors. I’m going to continue to work on original and see if I can get a better crop as everyone has suggested. Again thanks to everyone that has took the time to comment.
Scott

11/20/2004 08:25:00 PM · #6
If you go back, you might try showing even more reflection. Awesome colors, good eye!
 11/20/2004 08:29:04 PM · #7
On a cloudy day such as this one, you might want to try going into the woods and taking some shots of the bright red and green underbrush while there are no harsh shadows that you would have on a bright sunny day. The lighting comes out nice and even.

Also, I would avoid taking any shots at all with the sky on a blandly overcast day like this one. Just include the sky when it's blue or lightly cloudy, or when the clouds are darks and dramatic. And even though it's a bit of a cheat, I have a few pictures of beautiful blue skies that I keep set aside for cloudy day shots like this when I want to include the sky. I take the shot as normal, then when I get home, I replace the bland gray sky with a mask of the blue sky from my previous shot. Even though the combined images look pretty good, I've only made this kind of replacement 2 or 3 times since it's almost always better to just take advantage of whatever outdoor lighting situations are occurring naturally.

Thanks for sharing your shots and happy shooting!
 11/20/2004 08:36:27 PM · #8
Originally posted by PhilipDyer:
...And even though it's a bit of a cheat, I have a few pictures of beautiful blue skies that I keep set aside for cloudy day shots like this when I want to include the sky. I take the shot as normal, then when I get home, I replace the bland gray sky with a mask of the blue sky from my previous shot. Even though the combined images look pretty good, I've only made this kind of replacement 2 or 3 times since it's almost always better to just take advantage of whatever outdoor lighting situations are occurring naturally.

Thanks for sharing your shots and happy shooting!


I wish I knew how to replace the sky by maskingâ€Â¦

Message edited by author 2004-11-20 20:37:34.
 11/20/2004 08:47:14 PM · #9
The tutorial for masking here (//www.gimpguru.org/Tutorials/ReplaceBackground/) is similar to masking for the sky.
 11/20/2004 09:13:30 PM · #10
i woulden't nock that much off the top infact i don't even mind the gray ("ugly") skyjust take out the big gap way up at the top and leave it come through the trees.

_brando_
 11/20/2004 09:52:28 PM · #11
How about this one, is it a better crop? It’s not the same picture but I was able to get the sky out of the shot.


11/20/2004 10:13:25 PM · #12
you should probably use a polarizer.

Then, bring the white high point in a bit in levels to increase contrast, then darken the gama to .90 or .80.

I pushed up the red only gamma, then dropped the green only gamma and it really increased the saturation.



Message edited by author 2004-11-20 22:19:34.
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