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03/31/2005 01:22:49 AM · #1 |
I'm debating whether or not I like the way my later sunset pictures have been coming out. I personally like this one, except for the phone lines and visible headlights. Any comments? Suggestions on cleaning it up?
//home.earthlink.net/~joecool2007/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/darksunset.jpg
Message edited by ClubJuggle - Changed large image to link. |
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03/31/2005 01:38:45 AM · #2 |
I think that you could clone those headlights. Leave the telephone poles, as they accentuate the depth of the image. Also, a different crop of it that reduces the amount of black would be better. I played some with it (hope you don't mind) and here it is. (limited effort as I was dealing with a 15KB downloaded image)
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03/31/2005 01:49:15 AM · #3 |
I don't mind at all, and appreciate the help!
Yea, I'll clone out the headlights easy enough before finalizing the image. I hadn't looked at the poles from that aspect, I suppose that does make sense.
Did you change the color? It seemed a bit different in your edit.
Thanks! |
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03/31/2005 02:00:26 AM · #4 |
I cropped a bit from the bottom to achieve approx. three thirds - black ground, lighter above the horizon and darker sky on top.
I played with levels and hue a bit. I ran it through a virtual photographer PS plugin to enhance the redness in the horizon. That brought us these colors.
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03/31/2005 09:08:40 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by Joe_Cool:
I'm debating whether or not I like the way my later sunset pictures have been coming out. I personally like this one, except for the phone lines and visible headlights. Any comments? Suggestions on cleaning it up? |
Some images we capture are better for teaching us than they are for trying to save. Your image may be in that first category.
srdanz's suggestions and efforts are correct and laudable but the simple truth is there isn't enough to work with here. Most of the real estate (and therefore pixels) in this image is wasted on uninteresting details like black foreground and top clouds already past their sunset prime.
It is best to compose a late sunset with the best remaining light. In this case about 60-75% of the image is wasted space. If you could have zoomed in to frame the best lighting and most interesting objects it would have improved this composition dramatically.
When out shooting I often have a specific objective. But unlike a studio where the photographer has 100% control of the environment you must be flexible and take what nature provides for outdoor photography. More often than not nature gives better than you are looking for but different from what you expect.
In your image is the seed of a great photograph.
For a late sunset like this the car headlights could have added greatly to the composition, if only you had been closer and featured them as a major component. The trees and telephone poles (especially the telephone poles) are the only interesting objects on the horizon and making them a much bigger part of the composition would have added a lot more interest. Doing this in conjunction with zooming in to include only the best of the remaining light on the left side would have made this a wonderful photograph.
Late sunset conveys a strong sense of the end of a long day or the beginning of a fun evening. Including the headlights as a significant part of the composition would make the viewer ponder about who was behind the wheel and what they are doing. Could it be a farmer going home after a long day from a distant field or perhaps a businessman driving through the night to their next appointment; or, just someone going out to enjoy nightlife. The late sunset provides the setting to ponder such things and therefore makes for an interesting photograph.
That probably would not have been what you expected when you went out to shoot but it is the opportunity nature provided for you to capture.
Because of the wide range of lighting conditions sunsets are among the most challenging but most rewarding things to photograph.
I'm a big fan of sunsets myself:
//www.pbase.com/azleader/sunset
Message edited by author 2005-03-31 09:11:43.
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04/02/2005 12:03:11 AM · #6 |
Here's the same picture after I did some editing with hue, contrast and the like. Better, worse, or disrespectful to the original?
Wait, broken image, I'll get it up in a minute!
Message edited by author 2005-04-02 00:04:16. |
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04/05/2005 07:56:33 PM · #7 |
OK, here's the picture I've been trying to get up. This is the edit. Better, worse, or disrespectful to original?
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04/05/2005 08:01:28 PM · #8 |
Much better. And I'm not just saying that because we share a last name :-)
Robt. Ward
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