LPS #9 - Emancipation

Debboggy

Here's a picture I took yesterday. Any good for the contest?

"Emancipation"

KvPhoto

I like it a lot. He's making a break for it. Looks great in B&W.

VisualXpressions

I love it! great capture... My only concern would be the blown out areas in the back ground (light comming through the trees) a tad distracting...

Winston

hawkeye978

Maybe it's just me but I get more a sense of escape than emancipation.

Tentacion

Nice shot, don't know if I agree with the title....

Debboggy

Thanks everybody.

Here's the definition of emancipating:

1 : to free from restraint, control, or the power of another; especially : to free from bondage
2 : to release from paternal care and responsibility and make sui juris
3 : to free from any controlling influence

I thought that since the fence was put their by his parents to control him and he was getting out, that the title fit.

I had also thought about calling it "The Great Escape". Any better?

I was also bothered by the background light, but when I tried to darken them, it didn't look right. Maybe I should try cloning it out using the darker areas of the back ground?

And I was wondering what everyone thought about having the strip of grass at the bottom. Should I leave it so the fence posts aren't cut off or crop the grass out to clean the picture up and focus more on the fence and its climber?

PaulThomasMcKee

I like the grass for the context and the only bit of light through the trees that I would clone out would be the bright dot just to the right of the peak of the roof.

Cool shot!

Debboggy

Thanks Paul!

saurora

PaulThomasMcKee wrote:

I like the grass for the context and the only bit of light through the trees that I would clone out would be the bright dot just to the right of the peak of the roof.

Cool shot!

I just love this shot! Looks super in black and white. The spot Paul mentioned is the only thing I would clone. The title works for me, I don't see any problem with it, but I will give it some thought today and check back, if you haven't already entered it! Great shot!

HoofClix

The dictionary definitions are nice, BUT, emancipation is more used in context of the act of the good guy freeing the captured or oppressed. In this photo, this kid doesn't seem to be being freed by anyone, rather in the process of his own escape.

I would say that the photo has no problem fitting the theme, just that a different title would fit better what is going on there. It's all up to you, and remember that our critique isn't argument!

Debboggy

Thanks Mark and I understand that everyone is trying to help. That's why I asked for help. I just posted the definition to show my thought process when choosing the title.

I think "The Great Escape" is more fitting, but too cliche, so I was just looking for something a little more original. Still thinking...

I'll try to fix the background later today and post the revised version. Thanks for all the encouraging support everyone.

Debboggy

KvPhoto wrote:

I like it a lot. He's making a break for it. Looks great in B&W.

Hmmm.....I just reread this comment and like the sound of it. Would you mind if I titled the shot: "Making a Break For It" ?

HoofClix

Up'n Over Gone...

Debboggy

Here's my reworked version. How's the background now?





I tried cloning out the bright areas, but wasn't happy with the results. So then I tried using the magic wand and adjusting those areas with burning, fill, levels, etc., but it looked very fake. (I couldn't blend the edges of the adjusted areas very well.)

Finally, I made a duplicate layer and used the motion blur on it. Then I made another copy of the original layer and moved it to the top layer. On that top layer, I erased just the back ground area that was too bright, revealing the more subdued, blurred layer beneath it.

Does it work better now? Anybody know a way to get better results? I'm still pretty unskilled at Photoshop and only have the 5.0 Limited Edition, so I can't do anything too fancy. Any help or opinions would be great.

Llywellyn

Looks better, but that spot next to the roof still jumps out at me a bit. (Maybe it's because we've drawn so much attention to it, I'm just naturally looking for it now! )

When you cloned the area out, were you cloning darker sky or leaves? I think filling that spot with some of the leaves around it would eliminate the problem and avoid anything looking too fake.

Debboggy

Ok. I think I got it this time. I cloned over just the one bright spot and I think it looks better. The first time I tried cloning, I got carried away and tried to get rid of all the bright spots, which left it looking dark and even more spotted. I think I might be ready to enter this version. Any last tips or opinions?




Thanks for all the help everyone.