Pastel Bay

NeilL

Neil

esc2476

I like the composition a lot, but it does seem a touch blue to me. I am not an expert by any stretch, just my first blush reaction.

NeilL

esc2476 wrote: »

I like the composition a lot, but it does seem a touch blue to me. I am not an expert by any stretch, just my first blush reaction.

lol yes it sure is a touch blue! for 2 reasons - first there was a hot humid day's seaside atmospheric moistness added to by the normal eucalyptus haze of the Australian bush (we are always looking into soft blue distances here, except in the big cites of course, or way out back in the deserts), and second the image was processed in crayon (pastel) colour style, with a little diffusion along the same lines. also a little palette simplification to red yellow blue, in the impressionist tradition

qv Monet: Gulf of Antibes


http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Gulf-of-Antibes-1888-Posters_i7689698_.htm

thanks for your comments

Neil

black mamba

It's a wonderfully composed shot, Neil. Not too surprisingly, I picked up on the moisture issue. I'm really proud that I sensed you were angled toward the impressionist view. But this thing about the eucalyptus haze caught me unaware....never heard of such a thing.

I'm pleased to see this posting, my friend. It's been too long between your presentations.

Tom

NeilL

black mamba wrote: »

It's a wonderfully composed shot, Neil. Not too surprisingly, I picked up on the moisture issue. I'm really proud that I sensed you were angled toward the impressionist view. But this thing about the eucalyptus haze caught me unaware....never heard of such a thing.

I'm pleased to see this posting, my friend. It's been too long between your presentations.

Tom

Tom, it's a great pleasure to hear from you. Thanks for your kind comment!

Eucalyptus oil is very volatile and inflammable. Australia has a unique smell, apparently if travelling by boat you can smell Australia long before you can see it. Distances everywhere often look bluish, however in Australia even short distances take on a delicate yet intense blue hue, such as you see in this photo, where there are large numbers of eucalyptus trees. The trees can also be quite tall, as you can see in this photo from the trees along the tops of the hills which are some 4km away. Australian eucalypts are the world's tallest flowering plants, up to >90m.

"On warm days eucalyptus oil vapour rises above the bush to create the well-known distant blue haze of the Australian landscape." http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus

Best regards.

Neil

PS Love your siggy - gave me a laugh!

anwmn1

Neil-

I hope you don't mind my bluntness here but I find the image lacking. I appreciate you posting the impressionist painting as a point of reference for what you were trying to achieve. For me the image just falls short of a great landscape photo and also short of being an impressionist inspired image. You mentioned the image was processed in a crayon color style- have you considered pushing this even further towards a heavily processed image rather than retain photograph qualities?

Interesting to read about the Eucalyptus oil. Arizona and other Southwestern U.S. states are also prone to a blue haze but it usually water vapor.

Thanks for sharing.

NeilL

anwmn1 wrote: »

Neil-

I hope you don't mind my bluntness here but I find the image lacking. I appreciate you posting the impressionist painting as a point of reference for what you were trying to achieve. For me the image just falls short of a great landscape photo and also short of being an impressionist inspired image. You mentioned the image was processed in a crayon color style- have you considered pushing this even further towards a heavily processed image rather than retain photograph qualities?

Interesting to read about the Eucalyptus oil. Arizona and other Southwestern U.S. states are also prone to a blue haze but it usually water vapor.

Thanks for sharing.

no probs!

it *is* lacking, in a few ways I can think of (eg I think the central headland could be more assertively rendered NB done), but especially perhaps in what is most popular on the forums - no deified clouds, for a start! it is also lacking by being an *Australian* landscape - this country lacks a lot of things in the way of what other countries find visually exciting. here is a painting on a similar theme by one of Australia's most loved painters, Arthur Streeton, in the Impressionist style, painted in 1890:





underwhelming, don't you agree? doesn't knock your socks off, does it. it isn't hyped. no instant gratification. but much appreciated by Australians, and certainly far more interesting than my amateur snapshot!

still, there is something in it (and my snapshot), for me, that gives me pleasure, after the shock of that lack of a hit of "grandness" has weakened a bit, after a bit of "acclimatisation"

I think most of the painted landscapes in our cultural heritage "lack" in the sense you mean (Monet's certainly does - no blockbuster that, either!), show me one that doesn't!

here is another "landscape" image of mine, called "Sunset":D:



thanks for your comment

Neil

anwmn1

Neil-

I think your impression of what I meant might be off a little bit. My suggestion in terms of pushing towards a heavily processed image was not to go the HDR route but to add texture to the image. Looking at the first painting you posted the work is as much if not more about the texture and paint strokes than the composition and subject. The second painting you posted has a stronger subject appeal with people playing in the cove as waves break, yet it still has a texture throughout the image. I think adding a texture to your image will help skew the viewer to viewing it as an impressionist inspired work than just an okay photograph. This texture could be achieved in several different ways.

BTW- Love the Sunset image! This has wonderful light play throughout the image and a visual texture.