Turn 12 - B&W

The Lazy Destroyer

Here is a recent B&W I did, any C&C on the B&W conversion would also be welcome! Been mostly "learning by doing", slowly getting better.

Earache

I think it's a very cool capture!
Great detail, DOF, angle and action... I really like that the riders face is illuminated through his visor.

My suggestions are:

It looks tilted to me... tilt is a tricky aspect in photography... a little often appears "wrong" to our visual system,
and more begins to look "right"... it can add drama, dimension, tension etc. In this case, it's the one of the first things I see in the image
because of the sharp light-dark boundary in the background... because the rider is "tilted", my eye tells me that boundary should be level
so as not to pull the attention away from the rider.

I like the conversion... it has a high-contrast tone - again, lending drama and tension to a great action shot.
You have lost a lot of detail in the shadows... might try recovering some a bit and see if you like that.

Hope this helps...Cheers!
Eric

Stumblebum

Earache wrote: »

I think it's a very cool capture!
Great detail, DOF, angle and action... I really like that the riders face is illuminated through his visor.

My suggestions are:

It looks tilted to me... tilt is a tricky aspect in photography... a little often appears "wrong" to our visual system,
and more begins to look "right"... it can add drama, dimension, tension etc. In this case, it's the one of the first things I see in the image
because of the sharp light-dark boundary in the background... because the rider is "tilted", my eye tells me that boundary should be level
so as not to pull the attention away from the rider.

I like the conversion... it has a high-contrast tone - again, lending drama and tension to a great action shot.
You have lost a lot of detail in the shadows... might try recovering some a bit and see if you like that.

Hope this helps...Cheers!
Eric

Once my eye caught the tilted horizon....it wouldn't leave it...
Rest is cool!

The Lazy Destroyer

Although I'd need to re-check the site, I think the back side of the track is part of the turn and leveling it out may actually "tilt" the image. Since the outside edge is curving slightly towards me.
Also the entire entrance up to apex of the turn is also downhill.
I'm not sure if it's better to be technically accurate, or to level it regardless? If the curbing isn't technically level?
Thoughts?

If I level the edge of the track it appears his helmet shadow would be level with his front tire shadow... so I'm not sure it would be accurate?

Stumblebum

The Lazy Destroyer wrote: »

Although I'd need to re-check the site, I think the back side of the track is part of the turn and leveling it out may actually "tilt" the image. Since the outside edge is curving slightly towards me.
Also the entire entrance up to apex of the turn is also downhill.
I'm not sure if it's better to be technically accurate, or to level it regardless? If the curbing isn't technically level?
Thoughts?

If I level the edge of the track it appears his helmet shadow would be level with his front tire shadow... so I'm not sure it would be accurate?

I always vote for straightening it regardless of how it was. Viewer is not there, but when they see it, it immediately sticks in the eye taking the pleasure away from rest of the image. Since purpose of creating images for viewing pleasure.....to me it is an easy call....
Cheers!

The Lazy Destroyer

Thanks!
Something I hadn't thought about.

Juano

Great pic and great discussion. Dgrin at its best!

Earache

The Lazy Destroyer wrote: »

Although I'd need to re-check the site, I think the back side of the track is part of the turn and leveling it out may actually "tilt" the image. Since the outside edge is curving slightly towards me.
Also the entire entrance up to apex of the turn is also downhill.
I'm not sure if it's better to be technically accurate, or to level it regardless? If the curbing isn't technically level?
Thoughts?

If I level the edge of the track it appears his helmet shadow would be level with his front tire shadow... so I'm not sure it would be accurate?

I thought that might be the case - that the terrain would not be "level"... so, then, it's your decision, based on your rendering intent, whether to be entirely faithful or "cheat" reality a bit as Taz and I have suggested.
I don't think you can make a wrong choice as you, and perhaps your intended audience, are aficionados of the sport and are aware of the subtleties you mentioned.

I put it in LR and straightened that curb line, and to my layman's eye, it looked better, and still authentic... but hey... what do I know? I ride a mountain bike. :giggle

Thanks for an interesting discussion TLD!

Richard

The Lazy Destroyer wrote: »

I'm not sure if it's better to be technically accurate, or to level it regardless? If the curbing isn't technically level?
Thoughts?

I noticed the horizon tilt but wasn't sure whether it might be a matter of perspective/curved track. I tend to be pretty strict about leveling in landscape and architectural shots, but--within reasonable limits--I don't think it matters much in an action shot like this one. However, (besides comforting obsessive photographers ) rotating the frame counter-clockwise a bit also has the advantage of accentuating the tilt of the bike. So I think I would rotate.

Earache wrote: »

I like the conversion... it has a high-contrast tone - again, lending drama and tension to a great action shot.
You have lost a lot of detail in the shadows... might try recovering some a bit and see if you like that.

I think the conversion is spot on. The vignetting and high contrast add drama. I'm not sure there's anything of interest in the blocked shadows that would be worth reducing the punch of the image.

Very nicely done .

The Lazy Destroyer

For something different, here is a gif of the step by step from original image to final product (35 steps):



Here is the original image:

mercphoto

Good shot and conversion. The "horizon tilt" does not bother me. I've been around tracks a LOT (see my past work and though I saw the "tilt" I also knew instinctively WHY it looks that way. IMHO if you straighten I'll start thinking the outside of the track goes on straight, when I know it should not. I believe this will be a time when it will be plain "wrong" to straighten the horizon here. Your target audience will know it as well.

You said you're learning so I'll just throw this out in case you didn't figure it out already. When you pay with the color channel sliders in a conversion like this you'll start seeing certain details go away and other details get heightened. Its important to watch that as you adjust the sliders. You did a good job on not losing the front forks in the final image, which you could have easily done if you weren't carefule, for example. And you brought out a lot of good detail and texture in the pavement.