too dark? Really? - DPChallenge Forums

Tamron AF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical for Canon

06/28/2006 12:51:20 AM · #1

I don't care about the votes... but most people seemed to think that this was too dark in my comments...

I thought that it was fairly obvious that it was going for EARLY morning, with a bit of a hint of glinting sunrise with regards the feel of the pic...

I was trying to create this feeling even though the pic was not taken at that time... Could have been if it were a few hours north of where I used to live, but that's beside the point...

I understand that there is a difference between the opinions of voters and the opinions of individuals, but I would really like to have some more information about the mistakes I made in this picture...

I could have made it brighter, but made the DECISION to make it this dark.

Feel free to be harsh and strongly worded. I won't be offended... I want to learn from this pic.

thanks. will return comments as best I can.

klstover

Panasonic DMC-FZ8

06/28/2006 12:54:01 AM · #2

Two people said it was too dark and one person said "beautiful light".

KGregory

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

06/28/2006 12:54:37 AM · #3

Maybe its not too dark, but could use some more contrast? I enjoy the color cast, but think you could pull the boat out from the background.

idnic

Canon EOS-60D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

06/28/2006 12:57:17 AM · #4

Looks great on my screen. Lovely image.

SamDoe1

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

06/28/2006 01:00:30 AM · #5

It's not really too dark, the lighting is great. The only thing is that it's kind of flat, as someone mentioned in their comment.

Brad

Olympus OM-D E-M1

Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko

06/28/2006 01:03:00 AM · #6

My first impression is that it is too dark and/or lacking contrast.
It may very well have been exactly as you saw it, or wanted to represent it, but as it is depicted, with that kind of light, makes it look muddy.
There is a certain solemn mood set by it, but overall has no punch or wow factor so needed on this site in terms of mass appeal.
This is the kind of image that will really move a few, but to the masses, says dull.

Gatorguy

Nikon D700

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED

06/28/2006 01:05:37 AM · #7

I thought it was a pretty good shot and gave it a 7. I agree that it is a little flat, but not too dark. I absolutely disagree with all the ones and twos.

faidoi

Pentax K10D

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

06/28/2006 01:06:53 AM · #8

A bit dark, but not too dark.

faidoi

Pentax K10D

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

06/28/2006 01:08:04 AM · #9

Possiblly a good HDR experimental shot especially if you shot in RAW.

yanko

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Carl Zeiss 50mm ZE f/1.4 Planar T for Canon

06/28/2006 01:09:26 AM · #10

I think it's missing a dead body hanging out of it, if you ask me. :P Seriously the lighting looks fine for that image.

Message edited by author 2006-06-28 01:09:54.

Tim

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G

06/28/2006 05:16:20 AM · #11

I stand by my comment - beautiful light

goc

Apple iPhone 4

06/28/2006 05:23:00 AM · #12

LOL yea ... mine is also too dark

but hey ... it was almost 23hrs :-) where do i get some "light" at that hour ?
okay okay ... just wanted to be funny :-)

peace

Falc

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

06/28/2006 06:23:02 AM · #13

Well, to me the shadows have lost a little detail. It might have been nice to see something in those shadowy areas below the boat. So in that respect maybe it is a little dark, just a tad.

The feel of the image is ok, but I don't get a really strong feeling of anything leading me into the image, or anything really to hold my gaze.

It does need something to bring it 'up' a little in my opinion.

Leok

Pentax K10D

Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 EX DG for Pentax

06/28/2006 06:58:29 AM · #14

I was curious so had a little play with it in photoshop. Lightening the image just brings the rather distracting backdrop into view and doesn't help IMHO. However increasing the saturation gives it a different, less washed out feel - perhaps this is more what you were after?

dsidwell

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

06/28/2006 07:56:11 AM · #15

Rather than saying "too dark", I love the light here. Perhaps because there are no real "light" spots, it is taken for too dark?

deapee

Kodak V803

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

06/28/2006 07:59:31 AM · #16

It's definately too dark. Even in a 'dark' photo, there still needs to be those highlights, or something that is showing that you are intentionally creating a dark photograph...this one just doesn't have that.

MattO

Nikon D4

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

06/28/2006 09:01:11 AM · #17

Left comment.

MattO

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, S21 Ultra

06/28/2006 12:56:19 PM · #18

WOW, nice response! Thanks so much to all who took the time to post your thoughts!!! I'm just wondering if maybe not so many people spend a lot of time outdoors in the early twilight hours... That muddiness as some have called it is pretty typical of like a 4:30 am morning as I remember it in my janitorial days... I find that kind of light exciting and beautiful...

Originally posted by klstover:

Two people said it was too dark and one person said "beautiful light".

Yes, I did notice that... what do you feel about it? would you agree more with the two or the one? I don't believe that the briefly stated opinion of three people is really enough to make a clear call on a picture...

Originally posted by kgregory:

Maybe its not too dark, but could use some more contrast? I enjoy the color cast, but think you could pull the boat out from the background.

Do you mean physically or photographically? Physically? No way... not my boat, and it sat on some extremely disgusting mud that was very soft, very slippery, EXTREMELY offensive in smell (I wretched four times in the space of 15 minutes to set up and take 6 frames), and quite possibly toxic... Photographically, I think that this is the key to making that shot work... I don't think there's anything that can be done in basic though... I might be corrected.

Faidoi... I did shoot in RAW. Are you suggesting a mulitple processing, with a dual layer merging of some description? I'm pretty sure that this isn't legal in basic... I'm much less sure that this pic would be worth the time :)

Yanko thanks... it's funny that you should say that... The exact same thought crossed my mind as I sat there and smelled what made the smell of death seem like a bed of roses... (yeah, I've smelled death... and worse! This was almost as bad as the 'worse'!) The thought occurred to me that it wouldn't be all that surprising if there actually were some cadavers lurking around that weird bit of land...

Falc, Hear ya loud and clear!

Leok, Greatly appreciate the 'photoshop fiddle'... Actually, that's a bit more like what the pic looked like originally (the light was a bit more brown, but I did see something very similar as I worked with it).

To be honest, a more saturated look wasn't what I was looking for... I wanted the sky flat grey with gentle detail and lines, the background soft yellow and the reflection on the boat to look like reflected early sunlight... The background did indeed suck and was actually a factor in the darkness of the BG... Now, having said that your version isn't what I was trying for, the issue here is more that my vision of the pic is not what others are seeing... And the others apparently are including a number of guys who really know what they are talking about... A better question might be does anyone else think that your version looks better?

I really appreciate the comments about 'flatness' I will look into that more, and research it... I didn't personally see this as a really flat image, but it's also not really all that deep... With most of the light being ambient, that's hardly surprising... Learning how to overcome that with this type of shot is going to be interesting.

Here's an outtake taken earlier that evening

and another

Any better?

Please forgive my slowness in returning comments. I WILL get to them though...

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

06/28/2006 01:15:56 PM · #19

It's a good pix.

You shot in RAW which gave you greater lattitude in adjusting your blacks and whites.

As a general rule of thumb, it doesn't matter if you shoot in color, the blacks and whites still need their tonal values.

IMO, your pix is good, but the blacks are a bit deep, and your whites are not there. I think the word I am looking for is "contrasty". Artificial light would of helped.

Leok made a nice attempt, but again, the whites are not there, plus it's a bit warm.

Message edited by author 2006-06-28 13:16:40.

Bear_Music

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

06/28/2006 01:44:03 PM · #20

I'm not surprised this didn't do especially well, since no matter how you manipulate it, it does not really seem to tackle the "idea" of long exposure very directly, despite that it was taken at 30 seconds. Add to this the fact that it's a dreary, dismal subject (and a lot of people don't like that) and, as entered, a fairly lackluster composition, and it was fairly well doomed.

Is it "too dark"? Some people have opined that it is too limited in tonality more than it is too dark, and there's some truth in that. But you don't HAVE to have a full range of tones to have a satisfying image... Terje's "Me, Myself, and I" ribboned in "Take Two" with a very down-key palette, for example.

I took your image into Photoshop to see what was there, and I discovered considerable visual interest that you have totally eliminated in your version. I'm referring to the foreground junk, which to me seems to resemble bones, as in an animal graveyard, you know? I find the image much more interesting if the "bones" are brought into play, it begins to whisper "death" to me... It may look "less 30-secondish" this way, but no matter how you present it the image isn't going to shout "long exposure!"... The version below could be improved further with no editing restrictions, but for this basic challenge I'd have personally leaned towards something like:

Robt.

justamistere

Nikon D3s

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

06/28/2006 02:50:51 PM · #21

Sorry, but I think it shouts desolation.
I like to add props, maybe a black rubber rat.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, S21 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

06/28/2006 02:53:04 PM · #22

Originally posted by justamistere:

Sorry, but I think it shouts desolation.
I like to add props, maybe a black rubber rat.

Uhhuh, but the challenge was not "desolation", it was "30 Seconds or More"...

R.

SamDoe1

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

06/28/2006 03:00:23 PM · #23

I would have to agree with Bear on this one. His version of the image brings out so many more details and tones than the original does, and that's what will appeal to many more people. It has more color and contrast which makes it pop out more and not look as bland anymore. Also in Bear's version, the light hitting the front of the boat makes it look more like a sunrise and adds a sense of depth to the image that the original lacks. Not meant to be harsh, but just my 2 cents on this.

06/29/2006 01:25:08 AM · #24

Thank you VERY much Bear! I've been somewhat lax on keeping up with your lighting tutorial, so I'm a few pages back of the end of it, but I've found it to be very helpful so far...

Your editing preserves most of what I had tried to present...

I was really hoping that this one might have caught your eye... Glad to know that you didn't like it much... From the standpoint of learning of course :).

Sam, not taken to be harsh, besides, there's a 'harsh' waiver in my OP... It's all good...

Learning the subtle differences that make up 'flatness' and 'depth' is a big goal of mine...

Thanks again all!