Landscape and Nature photographers looking for c&c

Dwayne Oakes

Beginners welcomed, I will c&c your work for you and repost your tweaked photo
and a list of the tweaks I made so you can pick up some tips. One photo
per photographer and a 25 photo limit to this thread only, no links please.

PS Please note your watermarks might be cropped do to composition tweaks.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

R.Jay

Hi Dwayne, I'd like to be the first to take you up on your offer. Attached is a 3 shot pano (straight out of the camera) of Ullswater in the English Lake District. I use Photoshop Elements 6 and Lightroom 2 and am having a bit of difficulty in getting some like into the clouds - any advice would be much appreciated.




Many thanks,
Richard.

Dwayne Oakes

good

-great comp (sky to land balance, 1/3 rule)
-beautiful place
-overall exposure is about right even know sky is clipped
-good DOF

nit

-photo lacks contrast
-photo lacks color vibrance
-sky is clipped
-rock in the bottom right corner a bit of a distraction

Here are the tweaks

-added some contrast
-added some color saturation
-darken the sky a tad to hide some of the clipping
-healed out the rock and some dark grass clumps in the FG

(I enhanced these single items) dodge, meaning I lightened those areas

-the shoreline reflection on the left bank
-the red bushes in the FG (foreground)
-the bush through the hole in the forest on the left side of the photo

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

R.Jay

Hi Dwayne, you have certainly produced a better picture. My next step will be to try to emulate your tweaks and arrive at the same end point. Thanks for taking the time to explain things - much appreciated.
Cheers, Richard.

BeaKeR

I'll give it a shot. I've done a fair bit of work on this one already, but I'm interested to get your thoughts and suggestions on it.





Clickthrough for larger version if you want.

chrisdg

Thanks Dwayne - your thoughts on this one please:

jandrewnelson

What can I do to improve?

Dwayne Oakes wrote:

Beginners welcomed, I will c&c your work for you and repost your tweaked photo
and a list of the tweaks I made so you can pick up some tips. One photo
per photographer and a 25 photo limit to this thread only, no links please.

PS Please note your watermarks might be cropped do to composition tweaks.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Dwayne Oakes

BeaKeR wrote:

I'll give it a shot. I've done a fair bit of work on this one already, but I'm interested to get your thoughts and suggestions on it.





Clickthrough for larger version if you want.

good

-very nice comp, path leads the eye nicely
-good contrast and detail
-good DOF

nit

-FG seems a tad overcooked (saturation)
-FG seems a tad dark

tweaks

- I toned down the saturation in the FG but left the saturation as is in
the trees

-lightened the FG a tad to give the photo a better exposure look

-healed out the little orange flower on the left in the FG and also
the green tree top in the top center of the photo

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Dwayne Oakes

chrisdg wrote:

Thanks Dwayne - your thoughts on this one please:

good

-technically flawless photo

nit

-none

PS This photo is perfect, even know this photo is a tad soft, using
any USM here would ruin the atmosphere and should be left as is.
Great job a wallhanger for sure !

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Doug Solis

This is good stuff, I'm enjoying and learning just watching your tweaks. Thanks for taking the time..

Dwayne Oakes

jandrewnelson wrote:

good

-exposure is close even know the clouds are clipped (tricky lighting)

nit

-comp, photo looks like a typical snap shot
-sumdge on the left side of photo ?
-photo is a bit flat (lacks contrast, do to the harsh light)
-photo is a tad noisy (sky)

tweaks

-cropped photo so worker is at 1/3 rule
-added some contrast boost
-enhanced (dodge) clouds in the window reflection
-put photo through NR software

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

BeaKeR

Dwayne Oakes wrote:

good

-very nice comp, path leads the eye nicely
-good contrast and detail
-good DOF

nit

-FG seems a tad overcooked (saturation)
-FG seems a tad dark

tweaks

- I toned down the saturation in the FG but left the saturation as is in
the trees

-lightened the FG a tad to give the photo a better exposure look

-healed out the little orange flower on the left in the FG and also
the green tree top in the top center of the photo

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Thanks for the comments, you noticed a few things I overlooked. Thanks for taking the time!

manda

I'm having a terrible job with haze in all my Bhutan photos, any suggestions would be gratefully received.

SOOC.

Thanks

jandrewnelson

Thanks for the help and the tips!

Jerry
www.JourneyAmerica.org

DavidTO

Not too bad Dwayne, especially considering the fact that just 5 months ago you were posting images in the WP with no processing at all! You've come a long way.

It's great to see people helping people.

Don't forget folks that we've got a forum dedicated to critique, The Whipping Post, and also that we are so honored to have Artist-In-Residence Marc Muench available to critique your work in Muench University. If you don't know Marc, you should get to know him. He's a 3rd generation landscape photographer, is an incredibly friendly and patient instructor, and has more knowledge, talent and experience in his little pinky than most of us could hope to gain in a lifetime.

Dwayne Oakes

manda wrote:

I'm having a terrible job with haze in all my Bhutan photos, any suggestions would be gratefully received.

SOOC.

Thanks

good

-great wide angle comp
-beautiful place
-very good detail
-good DOF

nit

-photo lacks color vibrance
-photo lacks contrast
-photo is a tad overexposed +1/3

tweaks

-used midtone slider (levels) to darken the photo (helps with reducing haze
and adds color boost)

-added global contrast boost to overall photo (helps with reducing haze
and adds color boost)

-enhanced (dodge) the 5 main grass flats

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Dwayne Oakes

DavidTO wrote:

Not too bad Dwayne, especially considering the fact that just 5 months ago you were posting images in the WP with no processing at all! You've come a long way.

It's great to see people helping people.

Don't forget folks that we've got a forum dedicated to critique, The Whipping Post, and also that we are so honored to have Artist-In-Residence Marc Muench available to critique your work in Muench University. If you don't know Marc, you should get to know him. He's a 3rd generation landscape photographer, is an incredibly friendly and patient instructor, and has more knowledge, talent and experience in his little pinky than most of us could hope to gain in a lifetime.

Thanks for the comments Dave, I appreciate it ! Well I hope with my
20 years of field experience at this craft I can give something
back that I have learned along the way.

Not just moving sliders around but at "the art of seeing".
Thanks again.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

whiterice

This is such a fun thread to read.

Dwayne

Dwayne Oakes

whiterice wrote:

This is such a fun thread to read.

Dwayne

Thank you, I am glad I can help !

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

CapoGreg

I tried experimenting with longer exposures at night, and this is what I ended up with. It was a 30 second shutter time and there was a snow squall moving in from the other side of the lake.



I'd like some feedback as to what I could do to improve in the future.

Thanks,
Greg

Dwayne Oakes

CapoGreg wrote:

I tried experimenting with longer exposures at night, and this is what I ended up with. It was a 30 second shutter time and there was a snow squall moving in from the other side of the lake.



I'd like some feedback as to what I could do to improve in the future.

Thanks,
Greg

good

-very cool backdrop
-exposure is about right in the lit areas
-good colors

nit

-photo is a tad busy
-photo has alot of dark shadows (light fall off)
-some of the tower lights are a bit of a distraction
-photo is noisy

tweak

-cropped the photo to get rid of some clutter
-enhanced these areas (dodge) lightened

1-top window on the house on the right
2-side of the house on the right
3-lit window with blind in center right
4-lit tree branches in the left of the photo

-healed out some of the tower lights
-put photo through NR software

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

manda

Thanks so much. I found your exposure judgment really helpful, I tried a completely new approach on this holiday after reading Michael Freeman's book and I wonder if I over exposed a lot of my images. I'll see if I can replicate your results.

Mandy

BlueHoseJacket

Show me what you can do for this one

Dwayne Oakes

BlueHoseJacket wrote:

Show me what you can do for this one

good

-amazing light
-good placement of the tree off center and to the right
-exposure is right on

nit

-the comp is good but a tad busy at the top of photo (branches)
also not a 4X6 crop format
-photo seems a tad soft (use a tripod and self timer)
-photo is noisy

tweak

-cropped a little off the top to get rid of some branch clutter and
to make a 4X6 crop format

-added a tad of contrast boost

-enhanced these aeras (dodge) lightened
1-the right side of the photo were the little space is between the tree
2-blew out the sky's hot spots more, intentionally to add more light drama
to the photo

-did not use any USM as it can only do so much and it is better
to get your sharpness in the field using a (tripod and self timer)

-put photo through NR software

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

eMOJO

G'day Dwayne, my parents would really like this one printed for their wall but I know idea how to bring it up, so if you could have a look please...



Cheers
E

Dwayne Oakes

eMOJO wrote:

G'day Dwayne, my parents would really like this one printed for their wall but I know idea how to bring it up, so if you could have a look please...



Cheers
E

good

-great comp
-another amazing place
-good detail (sharp)
-good DOF

nit

-sides of photo to dark (do to meter being tricked by the bright sky and MG
-photo is tad flat (lacks contrast)
-photo lacks color vibrance
-clouds are clipped
-railing is a bit of a distraction

tweak

-lightened these areas (dodge)
1-the right and left sides of the photo
2-the tips of the tress on the right and some on the left

-added a tad of contrast boost
-added a tad of saturation boost
-toned down the clipped clouds a bit
-changed the WB in the valley to get rid of some of the (blue color cast)
also improved the contrast and color in the valley
-healed out the railing in the FG left

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

eMOJO

Great, thanks for that... my only question is how did you tone down the clouds?

E

jeffmeyers

Dwayne Oakes wrote:

Beginners welcomed, I will c&c your work for you and repost your tweaked photo
and a list of the tweaks I made so you can pick up some tips. One photo
per photographer and a 25 photo limit to this thread only, no links please.

PS Please note your watermarks might be cropped do to composition tweaks.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Hey, Dwayne, you've made some helpful comments on these images. I'm glad to see your progress. Just 7 months ago you were arguing against all post processing.

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=107531

You've come a long way in a short time!

Dwayne Oakes

jeffmeyers wrote:

Hey, Dwayne, you've made some helpful comments on these images. I'm glad to see your progress. Just 7 months ago you were arguing against all post processing.

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=107531

You've come a long way in a short time!

Thanks for the comments Jeff ! Yep my photography has taking twist and
turns for sure. The "purist stage" was fun, it gives you a good solid
foundation for photography fundamentals in my opinion.

But the creative power you get from RAW pp is truly amazing with unlimited
creative possiablities. I am glad I made the switch. Thanks again.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Dwayne Oakes

eMOJO wrote:

Great, thanks for that... my only question is how did you tone down the clouds?

E

Basically I am just darkening (burn) those clipped areas a tad so they don't
stand out so much. But this is just a band aid fix as the detail data is
lost, more so if you are shooting jpeg when shooting in harsh light which
produces overexposed highlights.

You might want to try another trick I have used on my own work
with (waterfall clipped hotspots) and that is just clone or
heal out these white hot spot areas. Here is an example from
your photo.

before (clipped hotspot in the cloud) all in the center and top of cloud



after (healed out hotspot in the cloud)



Hope this helps.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

justin24

I'll bite. Here you go Dwayne.