Hill Country Road - Please C&C

redleash

Here's a shot I took today when my brother and I went out exploring some of the TX Hill Country close to home. We found this wonderful road with a great "S curve." The sky was overcast and foggy but the fog never dipped down low enough to make it into the shots.

I processed this shot 3 different ways and would like your comments. This is close enough that I can re-shoot it if need be. I may do that in different lighting anyway. The overcast day was good for bringing out some of the little color that can be found around here at this time of year. I'd like to try this scene with some golden hour light. I also want to try it with a longer stretch of road if I can get the right angle.

C&C much appreciated. Thanks, Lauren

Shot with D300S, 70-300 lens at 93mm, f32, 2/3sec, ISO200, exp comp of -1/3, tripod, timer

1. Processed in PS with Topaz Adjust - wanted to bring out the color


2. Processed in Aperture 3, used Curves for contrast, some dodging & burning, a saturation boost; I think it's too much green throughout


3. B&W Version - PS B&W Adjustment, selected a preset under the "tint" choice in the B&W menu; I like the softness but not sure if it might need more contrast


4. A friendly critter we encountered on the roadside. My brother asked me to shoot several angles so he can do a sculpture of this guy. Processed in Aperture 3, basic curves, dodging, burning, a bit of blurring to the background
Shot in Program mode at ISO 400, f2.8, 1/20, 24mm with Tamron 17-50 2.8 lens

Thwack

Interesting road. I agree #2 looks a bit too green.

Slightly less zoom would be nice or maybe stand the camera up on edge so you get the road plus more sky…that of course implies a sky worth capturing…does that road point in a direction that would work for sunrise or sunset lighting?

I'm curious on the choice of f2.8 for the last shot. Why such shallow DOF when the goal was a sculpture model? I would've expected a larger DOF so that every inch of the subject would be crisp. Granted, at such a wide angle, most of the animal is reasonably crisp, but the butt and tail are a bit soft.

The blurring of the trees behind that animal looks like a rush job. There's no blurring of the trees that show right between the animal's horns which makes the parts that are blurred more noticeable than they should be…


I'd love to see how the sculpture comes out afterwards. Very interesting subject.

chrismoore

I agree about the blurring in the last one. The first comp works well as a BW, but I would bump the contrast up, maybe add a slight vignette, or dodge and burn to lead the eye down the path.

Snowgirl

I like the first of the three landscapes. the B&W just isn't working for me, but perhaps Chris' idea of bumping the contrast etc. would give it more 'zing'. I think you're right that the 2nd one is too green, though.

As for the 4th one - two things: again, the blurring isn't really working well I don't think. the other is the horizontal level. It looks like the bull is standing 'downhill' - but a slight tweak in processing would fix that (from me the shooter of bulls' ba**s - remember?)

Beautiful spot and well worth a return visit in different seasons.

GOLDENORFE

GOOD SHOTS LAUREN,

like #1 out of the 3. might be worth trying portrait format if you can get the road winding through from top of frame .

is that your brother in last frame ?

odd blurring in background does look odd ! might have been better much wider field of view

redleash

Thanks for your comments, Thwack. I will go back and reshoot the road soon--will definitely try a vertical comp too. Unfortunately, the road is mainly N-S so won't work for sunrise/sunset, but I can certainly go for different lighting. This was shot as dusk approached but it was still fairly light out. I really liked this road and want to make a good image from it. I didn't have a lot of time so couldn't work the scene too much. I wasn't able to get the angle with my camera that I was seeing in my mind, but I know it's there.

As for the f2.8 on the bull: I was working in low light at dusk with the overcast, foggy sky I mentioned above. Trying for a lower ISO too, although I should have stuck with a higher one and really tried my new D300S for noise. I was also handholding, although I could've gotten the tripod out. I was having trouble getting a decent exposure so I finally just opted for Program mode. We were going mainly for the musculature and shape, not the detail of the animal. I appreciate your comment about the background. I decided to try some of the Aperture brushes I hadn't used before, but I wasn't too happy with the background result. Yes, it was a bit of a rush job, and really not necessary.

Here is another view of the road, as well as a shot of the bull taken at f5.6, which looks to be a little better.

Thanks again for your comments.

redleash

Thanks, everyone. I'll revisit and reshoot and post results.

Ceci, the bull was headed downhill! I'd already straightened the shot a bit but will take another go at it.

Chris, I'll rework the B&W also and see what I can do. I can't decide if I like it in B&W or not so I'll play with it some more.

Phil, that is not my brother but you did give me a good laugh!

He is a wonderful sculpture. I'll shoot one of his sculptures I have here and post it for ya'll.

Thanks!!

Thwack

The new bull (f5.6) is much better. Looks like he's glaring out of the corner of his eye as well.

The latest road shot isn't as good (to my untrained eye) as the first ones. The road doesn't curve as sexily.

I wouldn't give up on getting a sunset/sunrise shot just because the road runs north/south. With the right high clouds, you can get a sexy sky without having to face east or west. Just need a lot of luck on the clouds!

redleash

Thanks for taking a second look, Thwack. I certainly won't give up on the road--I really like this scene and it's close enough that I can work it until I get something good. We have some amazing cloudy skies here quite often, so I'll cross my fingers that they occur on a day I am out in the area--perhaps as soon as this evening!

Cheers-
Lauren

Snowgirl

I agree. The second bull shot is much sharper - but he is looking a tad peeved?

Careful around those guys

redleash

Ceci, we did finally have to quit shooting and walk away. My brother, who is a vet, said "he's looking a bit upset" and suggested we leave. Thankfully, he had first walked over so he could grab me and drag me away if need be!

PGM

Lauren, I really like the first one, because the grass has rich colors that contrast nicely with the green trees. It's a really good Hill Country shot this time of year.

Doug Solis

I really like #1 and if your open to changing the editorial content I would look at doing the following. There is a bit too much negative space on the lower right side, the eye follows the trial and then can go right out of the image to the right. I would look at making the grasses follow the "S" curve on the right side all the way to the front rt edge of the image. might be able to do with cloning, patching and or some puppet warp.

redleash

Thanks, Pam. This is indeed a typical Hill Country view. I just love the country roads around here--maybe I will do a whole series on them. I have a few others I've shot that I want to go back and rework.

Doug, thanks for the C&C. I did wonder about the amount of road in the foreground, especially since it is so bright. I did burn it some before posting but it still jumps off my screen. I have some other views that I will check to see about the grass along the edge. Nice suggestion.