Zion cliff & pool

Tango

C&C needed on treatment choices and photography skill in general please....

give it to me straight please. somewhat WP style. also, ignore the stupid watermark.



Soul

darkdragon

I like everything except the lower right. It is just too dark to me and draws my eye away. Maybe if there were some sort of detail I could make out, it wouldn't be as bad.

I really like the color you chose and the composition itself.

wfeller

I like it. Other than that I got nothing- I still figure it's your expression of what you saw and felt, and that's fine by me. What do you think? What's the first thing that hits you in the gut? Did Lisa get it right?

pathfinder

I think the composition is excellent, Aaron. The shadow detail seems fine to my eye. The vignette works well.

The sun star with its companion in the reflection is very well rendered. Did you really see it that well at the time of shooting?

The tone I am not as big a fan of, I think because I know the color of the rock in Zion. I feel a redder, warmer tone might work better, or maybe a duotone with the warmer highlights, and cooler bluer shadow tones. Sorry about not supporting this tone displayed - my opinion only.

dlplumer

I like the treatment, and I love the reflection. On a personal note I grow tired of the sun stars (which you do very well) and would like to see some different trade marks from you. Having said all that, it is an excellent image in my view

Dan

Tango

darkdragon wrote:

I like everything except the lower right. It is just too dark to me and draws my eye away. Maybe if there were some sort of detail I could make out, it wouldn't be as bad.

I really like the color you chose and the composition itself.

i can certainly bring out some detail back out, (vignette darken it a bit eh?)
thank you so much for the c&c!

Tango

wfeller wrote:

I like it. Other than that I got nothing- I still figure it's your expression of what you saw and felt, and that's fine by me. What do you think? What's the first thing that hits you in the gut? Did Lisa get it right?

my gut says the scale is missing a bit...sometimes its good to have people around....(but not really haha )

Tango

pathfinder wrote:

I think the composition is excellent, Aaron. The shadow detail seems fine to my eye. The vignette works well.

The sun star with its companion in the reflection is very well rendered. Did you really see it that well at the time of shooting?

The tone I am not as big a fan of, I think because I know the color of the rock in Zion. I feel a redder, warmer tone might work better, or maybe a duotone with the warmer highlights, and cooler bluer shadow tones. Sorry about not supporting this tone displayed - my opinion only.

here is the orig.
thank you for the c&c greatly!
i think i went with the treatment was because the orig was so soft and the sky was so bare and hazy....

what do you think of this? :

Tango

dlplumer wrote:

I like the treatment, and I love the reflection. On a personal note I grow tired of the sun stars (which you do very well) and would like to see some different trade marks from you. Having said all that, it is an excellent image in my view

Dan

thanks Dan, i have nothing else....im lucky to get out when i do...haha

i am guilty of sunstars.... i make sure to do them every op i have....

i dont like the trade off having to use f22 to get good ones....

anyway, i might have some new work next month.... wish me luck on getting out somewhere!

anwmn1

:whip


Aaron-

I like the composition and both the star and the reflected star are very nice but as Dan somewhat mentioned the stars get old. I think a very important thing to remember which was mentioned in the "post your muench star thread" is that the star should be an enhancement to the photo and not be the photo. If you take out one or both of the stars there is really nothing left to look at. As you yourself said the color version is soft, bare, and hazy. So while doing stars is great it is a matter of using them to enhance an already good photo that you should be striving for. Put this shot up against your Bryce Hoodoo shot and you will see exactly what I mean.

Tango

anwmn1 wrote:

:whip


Aaron-

I like the composition and both the star and the reflected star are very nice but as Dan somewhat mentioned the stars get old. I think a very important thing to remember which was mentioned in the "post your muench star thread" is that the star should be an enhancement to the photo and not be the photo. If you take out one or both of the stars there is really nothing left to look at. As you yourself said the color version is soft, bare, and hazy. So while doing stars is great it is a matter of using them to enhance an already good photo that you should be striving for. Put this shot up against your Bryce Hoodoo shot and you will see exactly what I mean.

thanks very much! i do agree...except in this one case i meant to have the stars as the subjects, i try so hard to get a new perspective in "over photographed locations" ... i will however keep it in my mind of what you said about using them to enhance...(i never read that before...dang it, i missed an op to argue in another thread...!)
(why am i the only one that never tires of stars:D )

speaking of Hoodoos in Bryce.... that should be my next trip....

dlplumer

AaronNelson wrote:

:

i dont like the trade off having to use f22 to get good ones....

What do you mean Aaron

Nikolai

anwmn1 wrote:

Aaron-

I like the composition and both the star and the reflected star are very nice but as Dan somewhat mentioned the stars get old. I think a very important thing to remember which was mentioned in the "post your muench star thread" is that the star should be an enhancement to the photo and not be the photo. If you take out one or both of the stars there is really nothing left to look at. As you yourself said the color version is soft, bare, and hazy. So while doing stars is great it is a matter of using them to enhance an already good photo that you should be striving for. Put this shot up against your Bryce Hoodoo shot and you will see exactly what I mean.

+1
Listen to Iso, he knows this stuff!

Tango

Nikolai wrote:

+1
Listen to Iso, he knows this stuff!

but Aperture is my hero...:D

i always listen to ISO..., i just dont follow it all the time...:D
he is a good guy under all that ruff isnt he...:D

Tango

dlplumer wrote:

What do you mean Aaron

im just say'n the stars are usually better defined when using f22....but the trade off is the horrible softness of everything else... i do have some stars at f16 where softness is not so bad....

dlplumer

AaronNelson wrote:

im just say'n the stars are usually better defined when using f22....but the trade off is the horrible softness of everything else... i do have some stars at f16 where softness is not so bad....

Gotcha! Thanks.

anwmn1

AaronNelson wrote:

im just say'n the stars are usually better defined when using f22....but the trade off is the horrible softness of everything else... i do have some stars at f16 where softness is not so bad....

I think the softness issue may have to do more with where your focus point is, the current lighting, and distance between focul points more than F22.

The other difficulty is getting good light in the image while still getting a star as the must be a significant amount of light being bounced back in the direction the sun is. Which leads me to believe the best ones are not done in camera with one shot but rather a lot of PS involved.

Tango

many variables indeed!

this was handheld no IS, one expo only...focus was unknown...haha i was in a slightly awkward spot and just trying something new...when i go back i will do it better...

yes getting the very best is doing exactly that with PS and using two expos... one with a great star, and the other have everything else perfect...
it does take alot of time....but worth it IMO....
ive discovered that i need to start doing this more so i dont have issues like this....i just try not to mention to much....

Tango

over all, from the C&C i know i should persue doing this composition again.
treatment is a hit and miss with each person...personally i like expressing differently from what i saw just as much as i love perfect relection of "what i saw"...and im glad you all let me know your opinions to help gauge a view....

thanks everyone, and more C&C is welcome...

CWSkopec

Aaron,
Great photo! I typically try for a sun star at least once everytime I'm out with the camera and often don't come close to the results you get!

2 thoughts:

• Maybe lower the opacity of the toning to make it more of a black & white with just a hint of color to it. I think the color you chose, I just think it's a little too intense.
• There's an odd streak of darker sky in the upper right corner that keep attracting my eye. It appears to be an effect of the star and resulting flare, but maybe you could clone in some of the lighter, more dominant sky color to cover that up.

Those aside... Nice work!!

Nikolai

AaronNelson wrote:

yes getting the very best is doing exactly that with PS and using two expos... one with a great star, and the other have everything else perfect...

Yup, that's the way to do it

anwmn1

Nikolai wrote:

Yup, that's the way to do it

Cheaters!!

Nikolai

anwmn1 wrote:

Cheaters!!

No - power users!

Tango

anwmn1 wrote:

Cheaters!!

ummm.... last i checked a certain someone just got CS4 & LRII both.....

Tango

btw, A. Newman.... welcome to the Darkside....

anwmn1

AaronNelson wrote:

ummm.... last i checked a certain someone just got CS4 & LRII both.....

got them.............yes

know how to use them.....