weekly overbez's 52 in 2014... Week 52 - SUPPORT added... *** FINISHED ***

[Phil-D]

Hiya Graham, some great images here

Architectural- Bridges and rivers, always a winner with me (hope you had a fishing rod ) Great idea,pov, looking through one bridge at another, the aqueduct must be some hight. Good detail on the underside shadows Just a small niggle, ........ for some reason the barge seems too central on the aqueduct, I like it there, just more to one side

Promise- I like both these, lovely colours in the sunset with out being over processed Good colours in the rainbow, well spotted

Sharp- Composition works well, I'm guessing not, but its a shame you couldn't get nearest bend in shot that's just hidden under the hill Great road but you have to pay to drive it!

Pure- Again, I like both these, excellent pano, lovely detail ..........have you got any (very easy to follow ) links to share on how to stitch photos together to do panos in E11? By coincidence I've took 6 photos looking back at Snowdon from Anglesey on late Saturday evening with the thought of trying to stitch them together

The little boy (one of your lads?) watching the passing train is another excellent image, great idea composition (after the straighten) works well, detail, colour all look good to me

 

[overbez]

Promise sunset. ........................... For me, maybe a touch too much blue sky at the top not adding much, but what lovely colours on the rocks. If anything, I'd like to see more rocks!

Promise rainbow.........................Only negative for me is the presence of caravans (homes of the devil, as I prefer to term them) and obviously the shadow bottom right. ...................... Tree on the left maybe looks slightly too contrasty, but I know why ...........

Sharp roads. ......................... leading me to wish you'd been there closer to golden hours,

Pure water. ........................ shame they're just wee mountains .

Pure innocence. , even if the boy is a touch lost !

Cheers paul, excuse me cutting out from your quote to leave just the points to reply too.

There was a bit more of the rocks lower, but not enough to avoid leaving the horizon central, other shots I took from a different position had the rocks more straight across the bottom, meaning they didnt catch the light (obviously!) (Added slightly different crop below in response to susies request as well)

Caravan was only hired for the holiday, not ours. , adjustment brush on rainbow for clarity and sat I think.

Sharp roads, was indeed a holiday I wish I'd been a lot of the places closer to golden hour... but the sunset was the only time I was able to get out on my own, even then I had to take the dog as well!

Pure water (snowdon), think the 6½ year old would have struggled with anything more! (He's the little lad watching the train btw!)

Steam train - didnt even notice my son there when I took the shot - I was focussed on getting the train, and keeping the sky. I was a bit disappointed when looking on the LCD at the amount of dark FG, but was able to pull it up well enough.

Architecture - Nice idea Graham, shame the aqueduct wasn't closer ... even still the bridge is very good on it's own count, I'd like to see more of the top, maybe

More of the top of the bridge?



Preferred the other one though due to the boat half way across.
Or a couple of others..





The road was on Great Orme (sticky out bit near Llandudno), zig zag go up the north side where theres a cable car unning right over the top. Rather surreal tbh!

I did just roll the computer screen up a bit on that one to eliminate some of the blue, and it does seem to highlight the golden glow on the rocks a bit more.

Your last shot captures something we seem to have lost...and steps back in time, it would probably look good in Sepia too.

Thanks Susie - second one for less blue.... best i can do!



We've been meaning to go on a steam railway with the boys for ages, and the Welsh Highland Railway was lovely... Bedgellert campsite station to Porthmadog, then back up the line to Nantmor, walked through the Aberglaslyn Gorge back to Bedgellert, pint in a pub, and then last train back to the campsite. Ahhh.

Cloned a couple of people out the carriage, but left the waving boy.

Links to >>>>> Sepia <<<<< as suggested, and also >>>>> the 1960's filter <<<<<< in Picasa..

 

[overbez]

Bridges and rivers, always a winner with me (hope you had a fishing rod ) Great idea,pov, looking through one bridge at another, the aqueduct must be some hight.

Promise- I like both these, lovely colours in the sunset with out being over processed

Sharp- Great road but you have to pay to drive it!

Pure- ..........have you got any (very easy to follow ) links to share on how to stitch photos together to do panos in E11?

The little boy (one of your lads?) watching the passing train is another excellent image,

Cheers Phil.

No rod, also had the wife and kids waiting in the car, while I took 5 (maybe 10) minutes to run down for these. Couple of others of the Aquaduct further up the page, and yep it is a fair height. Amazing to have the vision to build something like this all those years ago.

Cheers on the sunset, I actually was bracketing (-2, 0 and +2 EV) with the thought of having to exposure blend (HDR) them but there was enough in the one RAW file to work with in Lightroom. The biggest thing I did was add a grad filter from the top with a much cooler WB in order to bring the blue of the sky back.

We never normally even pay to park our car - so £2.50 to drive on a road was a big leap.... but worth it!

not sure E11 can do panos... Download Microsoft ICE (Image Composite Editor) (FREE ) Just open, select the files, it stictches them, you can fiddle with projections a bit and then save. Worst case - PM me the links to the edited frames and I'll try stitching them for you.

The lad by the train is my youngest - as said I didn;t realise he was there till afterwards. the tilt was as I had the camera above my head. Live view goes off when taking multiple shots which caused this.

 

[Phil-D]

not sure E11 can do panos... Download Microsoft ICE (Image Composite Editor) (FREE ) Just open, select the files, it stictches them, you can fiddle with projections a bit and then save. Worst case - PM me the links to the edited frames and I'll try stitching them for you.

Cheers Graham, I'll have a look

 

[pjm1]

Cheers Graham, I'll have a look

ICE is good and I probably get the most consistent results with that... but I have found it sometimes struggles to identify the joins between images well enough. Having said that, I've found it is - for me - more reliable than Photoshop! Another option is PTAssembler which is a lot more fiddly to use but allows for a lot of control of... erm... the control points!

Edited to add - sorry Graham... I thought this was Phil's thread! Sorry for cluttering up yours

 

[Allan.H]

Hi Graham, some nice landscapes there "architectural" have been there a few times its only about a 25 min drive from us, its a good place to walk the dogs along the river, you have certainly done it justice
Nice job of the processing on "promise" was in Rhyl a couple of weeks ago again with the dogs your pic certainly makes the place seem more appealing, well done for getting the rocks back
Sharp is a great image love the zig zag of the road and my favourite has to be the first shot for pure, excellent landscape

 

[Delta Skies]

Catch up time........

Reshoot - Super shot of the Red Arrows. Good for you for not over saturating the image - it is often over done. Looks nice and sharp and there's a bit of space on the left which helps

Skill - Similar positive comments re: not over saturating it. Definitely sharp but the inclusion of the smoke helps give it some movement.

Reshoot (Lancaster) - That's probably the best photo of a Lancaster I've seen. It almost looks like one of those classic paintings. The processing has improved the SOOC incredibly. Well done. Absolutely sharp yet the shutter speed is low enough to capture some movement in the props. Absolutely superb.

Reshoot (Swirl) - Good prop movement and an interesting angle rather than the usual side on view. Good exposure as well

Reshoot (Number) - To say it's the weakest of these would be unfair as it is a good shot but I'm afraid you spoiled things with that Lancaster LOL

Reshoot (Mono) - Another good one although I feel a small boost of contrast may help this further

Half - Nice idea although I feel you may need to know the boys better to really spot the differences between the two halves more. I like the off centre composition

Architecture - Good spot to cover the two bridges. My interest is maybe more on the background aqueduct as the eye is drawn to the red barge

Promise - Great image with some lovely colours. The inclusion of the rocks adds foreground interest. I've taken similar shots next door at Prestatyn and you do get some nice sunsets along that coast

Rainbow - Great grab shot given the length of time it was in the sky. Maybe you should send it to Swift for their advertising

Sharp - Well spotted for the theme. I feel it needs something in the foreground. Maybe a car. Not sure if that would be possible though.

Pure - I've walked from Pen-Y-Pass up to this lake numerous times as a child but only ended up getting to the top of Snowdon twice. Nice lighting with a dark sky as a bonus. Good detail has been retained in the cliff face on the right hand side.

Train - Super shot with the same feel of processing to the Lancaster. The inclusion of the little lad is a nice touch. Colours are also good.

 

[overbez]

Hi Graham, some nice landscapes there "architectural" have been there a few times its only about a 25 min drive from us, its a good place to walk the dogs along the river, you have certainly done it justice
Nice job of the processing on "promise" was in Rhyl a couple of weeks ago again with the dogs your pic certainly makes the place seem more appealing, well done for getting the rocks back
Sharp is a great image love the zig zag of the road and my favourite has to be the first shot for pure, excellent landscape

Thanks Allan, must be interesting to see places you know photographed by others. The Aquaduct ones involved a bit of a scramble along the banks, rather than from a clear footpath.

We did visit the Chirk Aquaduct earlier in the day, but the weather was complete grey.

Catch up time........

Reshoot - Super shot of the Red Arrows. Good for you for not over saturating the image - it is often over done. Looks nice and sharp and there's a bit of space on the left which helps

Skill - Similar positive comments re: not over saturating it. Definitely sharp but the inclusion of the smoke helps give it some movement.

Reshoot (Lancaster) - That's probably the best photo of a Lancaster I've seen. It almost looks like one of those classic paintings. The processing has improved the SOOC incredibly. Well done. Absolutely sharp yet the shutter speed is low enough to capture some movement in the props. Absolutely superb.

Reshoot (Swirl) - Good prop movement and an interesting angle rather than the usual side on view. Good exposure as well

Reshoot (Number) - To say it's the weakest of these would be unfair as it is a good shot but I'm afraid you spoiled things with that Lancaster LOL

Reshoot (Mono) - Another good one although I feel a small boost of contrast may help this further

Half - Nice idea although I feel you may need to know the boys better to really spot the differences between the two halves more. I like the off centre composition

Architecture - Good spot to cover the two bridges. My interest is maybe more on the background aqueduct as the eye is drawn to the red barge

Promise - Great image with some lovely colours. The inclusion of the rocks adds foreground interest. I've taken similar shots next door at Prestatyn and you do get some nice sunsets along that coast

Rainbow - Great grab shot given the length of time it was in the sky. Maybe you should send it to Swift for their advertising

Sharp - Well spotted for the theme. I feel it needs something in the foreground. Maybe a car. Not sure if that would be possible though.

Pure - I've walked from Pen-Y-Pass up to this lake numerous times as a child but only ended up getting to the top of Snowdon twice. Nice lighting with a dark sky as a bonus. Good detail has been retained in the cliff face on the right hand side.

Train - Super shot with the same feel of processing to the Lancaster. The inclusion of the little lad is a nice touch. Colours are also good.

Cripes Peter. Thanks very much. You've a knack for nailing critique concisely and fairly.

Pleased you like the Lancaster, . I think it only made the one pass over the show, Glad I didn't fluff it completely. Might have a re-edit of it when I get a moment, as the exposure blend of three exposures from the RAW file is a bit of a clumsy way of doing things, Sure that LR will be able to get a similar result, but a bit cleaner.

The bridge within a bridge was the idea, really needs a few trees and bushes taking down to get a cleaner shot, but there was nice light on the foreground bridge (helped along with adjustment brush warming WB and adding clarity).

As said to Allan, it must be nice to see shots of places you recognise. We nearly didn't get to the top, i thought my wife was going to call it off at the bottom of the zig-zags prior to the ridge alongside the rail track. Caught some rain on the way down the Miners Track, and if that had come on the ascent we would probably have retreated. Amazing how long an 18mm lens can be sometimes with all that view in front of you.

 

[superpippo]

Hi Graham

Good shots from your holiday - weather looks to have been kind.


Architecture - good pov and like the capture of the barge (?) in the b/g bridge. The edited version with some more of the bridge showing looks better to me bu take pint about the loss of the barge.
Like the tall aqueduct shot too.
Promise - #1 on theme and good comp. Maybe a bit bright in places but captures the warm evening scene well.
#2 good shot of the rainbow but not keen on the caravans - but they were there

sharp - good spot and viewpoint. A bit misty on the horizon and I think that I would lose the sea to the left as not adding much IMO. perhaps a crop to where the road comes in to the frame

Pure - landscape bang on theme - just the points re the light which you have acknowledged. Difficult with the family, or any company, when you know what you would like to do.
#2 crikey you worked hard for that And it has come out well. Unfortunately your son is a bit lost in the frame, but I know that you were not trying for that anyway. Nice touch that the other person was waving.

 

[overbez]

Thanks Alan, Weather may "look" to have been kind, but there was a fair bit of grey, and wet and windy too. Could have been worse though.

Hmmm, seems like even 2 caravans is two too many for some people. Lucky we don;t own it!

And I would say I did work hard for the train... you can hear them coming with the whistle about 10 minutes before they appear... much as I wanted to crack on for my deserved pint, I also wanted to get the train. Charlie is so small in this he would have been easy to clone out (there were others behind him as well), but it makes it more personal having him there, and I think adds to the scene as well.

 

[superpippo]

Thanks Alan, Weather may "look" to have been kind, but there was a fair bit of grey, and wet and windy too. Could have been worse though.

Hmmm, seems like even 2 caravans is two too many for some people. Lucky we don;t own it!

And I would say I did work hard for the train... you can hear them coming with the whistle about 10 minutes before they appear... much as I wanted to crack on for my deserved pint, I also wanted to get the train. Charlie is so small in this he would have been easy to clone out (there were others behind him as well), but it makes it more personal having him there, and I think adds to the scene as well.

Nothing wrong with caravans - most of the first 10 years holidays with our girls were spent in them.

And yes, sorry, did not mean to be critical about the shot with your son - I entirely agree with his inclusion - it does add to the scene, partic with the other person waving - it makes sense. It just takes a bit of seeing that's all.
And as for making sure that you had a pint (deserved or not) - I couldn't agree more

 

[blondie606]

Hi Graham

Architectural......can't add to whats already been said but I do like the framing of the furthest bridge , the detail in the stone work, well exposed & nice lowish pov

Promise...lovely landscape shot, losing the top bit of sky works better & concentrates the eye more on the foreground detail , sun a little blown possibly ,has a tranquil feel to it & would, I suspect , look good framed

Sharp....oooh , that'd be fun to drive or ride Again , well exposed & suspect this may have been the best angle you could get. Wonder if portrait orientation would work with the bottom of the road leading in from the bottom lh corner ?

Pure......great pano & well processed....would have preferred maybe a bit closer to emphasise the water ?

 

[overbez]

Promise...lovely landscape shot, losing the top bit of sky works better & concentrates the eye more on the foreground detail , sun a little blown possibly ,has a tranquil feel to it & would, I suspect , look good framed

Pure......great pano & well processed....would have preferred maybe a bit closer to emphasise the water ?

Hi Lynne, many thanks,

Generally the sun isn;t blown, I've let a couple of pixels in the reflection go to keep the brightness there, may well end up printed and in the bathroom when I get it finished.

Pure, thanks again, shall I let you into a secret... [whispers] I might not have actually shot this with the theme in mind... but when I looked back through my holiday shots I thought it might fit... [/whispers]

 

[overbez]

Week 35 - SPARKLE...

Thinking for this was "a sparkle in the eyes....."

Taken in the woodland at the Hawk Conservancy, Andover. Meant using quite high ISO (1600 here) but still pleased with the result.



[URL='http://i.imgur.com/ToA3NY7.jpg']Week 35 - SOOC[/url]

 

[Allan.H]

Hi Graham, very nice capture of the owl and yes the eyes are indeed sparkly, nice take on the theme great colour in its eyes too

 

[posiview]

Not an easy theme, IMO, and you've done well. Wel exposed and the hight ISO isn't that noticeable.

Cheers.

 

[pjm1]

Graham... that is a stunning capture. I think you're right just to get a sliver of shoulder in there as without it, the photo feels wrong. The detail, exposure and all the other technicals are just perfect - and super sparkly eyes.

My wildlife photography is dreadful (perhaps because I have limited interest in it, other than macro) but seeing photos like your makes me want to try it! A super "wow" shot for me

 

[overbez]

Hi Graham, very nice capture of the owl and yes the eyes are indeed sparkly, nice take on the theme great colour in its eyes too

Thanks Allan. Twas the bright orange of the eyes that jumped out at me too.

Not an easy theme, IMO, and you've done well. Wel exposed and the hight ISO isn't that noticeable.

Cheers.

Cheers Andy, I think the more you use a higher ISO, the more you get used to it. And I imagine that this would be perfectly acceptable up to A4 print easily. And in any event, lower ISO would have given me a blurred shot.

Graham... that is a stunning capture. I think you're right just to get a sliver of shoulder in there as without it, the photo feels wrong. The detail, exposure and all the other technicals are just perfect - and super sparkly eyes.

My wildlife photography is dreadful (perhaps because I have limited interest in it, other than macro) but seeing photos like your makes me want to try it! A super "wow" shot for me

Thanks Paul, absolutely agree about the shoulder. Does give a nice lead in up to those big orange eyes.

 

[Dark Knight]

Damn Graham... that's a cracking capture, good exposure, spot on crop, super eyes and a very effective background (although if being picky I'd clone out the twig top LH) Nice one, really like that

 

[susiejb]

Hi Graham ...I was so captivated with those eyes I didn't notice the twig That is such a super shot...it absolutely jumps out of the page ....wonderful sharp detail against that perfect soft background...I love it.

 

[overbez]

Damn Graham... that's a cracking capture, good exposure, spot on crop, super eyes and a very effective background (although if being picky I'd clone out the twig top LH) Nice one, really like that

Cheers Dean.... twig??? What twig?? Although tbh I did notice it, but felt it to be enough part of the scene to not bother removing it.

Hi Graham ...I was so captivated with those eyes I didn't notice the twig That is such a super shot...it absolutely jumps out of the page ....wonderful sharp detail against that perfect soft background...I love it.

Thankyou Susie.. Not a huge amount of processing here either , WB, shadow lift, desat and darken greens, then slecetively sharpen, and increase contrast and orange in just the eyes.

My shots from this owl display included a couple of "less good" ones too, rather than sully my thread with them... >>>> I posted them in the "Duffers...." thread here <<<<

 

[Delta Skies]

Super image Graham. The owl is super sharp and the complimentary coloured background has been nicely thrown oof.

 

[pjm1]

Just popped back into this to look at your owl picture again! (Great photo - gets better with each viewing)... but wow, your camera certainly does give some super-saturated images straight off the card, doesn't it?!

Very good processing though: it doesn't look processed at all until you see the SOOC shot and then realise it has benefited a lot from your handling of it in post.

 

[overbez]

Super image Graham. The owl is super sharp and the complimentary coloured background has been nicely thrown oof.

Thanks Peter, large aperture was a must.... there was very little light in the woodland setting.

Just popped back into this to look at your owl picture again! (Great photo - gets better with each viewing)... but wow, your camera certainly does give some super-saturated images straight off the card, doesn't it?!

Very good processing though: it doesn't look processed at all until you see the SOOC shot and then realise it has benefited a lot from your handling of it in post.

Cheers paul, that is much appreciated. I've linked in a few screengrabs in the next bit to illustrate.

Camera was set to "VIVID" setting at the time, shooting RAW only and WB on AUTO (as pretty much always), everything else zeroed for the SOOC shot, just to double check I hadn't ooopsed when doing this. Quite a bit of the green channel in the BG foliage has blown, which may contribute to the look there. Also in the next LR grab, you can see there was quite a green tint (from the tree canopy), corrected by adding magenta.

In terms of the processing, I'm reminded of a Dolly Parton quote... "It costs a whole lot of money to look this cheap!", (or words to that effect)... As in, it took a fair bit of 'processing' to make it look that 'un-processed'. .

Links included to the LR screen grabs for adjustments, just basic slider and saturation adjustments to start, then adjustment brush on the owl itself to brighten it, and then another adjustment brush to brighten, increase contrast, and sharpen eyes. Also used lens correction, CA, crop and vignette.

Oh, and when I cloned out DK's twig, I also took the opportunity to add a tiny brighten to the highlights in the eyes. (In PS, with a levels adjustment layer to brighten, then painting through on the highlights with a small brush on a layer mask).

Rather liking Lightroom btw! Also heres a link to the RAW if you or anyone else fancies a play.

 

[pjm1]

Hi Graham... thanks for the RAW file - that has given me a welcome distraction from my work. I hope you don't mind, but I used it as a bit of a training ground for some new PS skills. The end result, being honest, isn't as good as your version, but it's been fun playing so I thought I'd share with you what I did:

1. Background - this took a minute to two and has the biggest impact, if I'm honest.
a. First thing was to select the owl - I used PS's very clever Select Focus Area tool to choose the subject in focus and deselect the OOF background. I then used its Refine Edges tool with a big (250pix) smart radius - that pretty much nailed the owl completely. I saved this selection as a mask for future use.
b. I then copied the background and deleted my selection from it - leaving the background only and a transparency where the owl was. I copied this layer so I had two versions. Bottom one I just did a light Gaussian Blur (GB) - 40 or 60 pix - this was the base "declarified" background. But this didn't get rid of the twigs and a few distracting (for me) highlights sufficiently, so I did a "monster" GB on the second copy at 120 pix which removed everything but was too blurry for most of the scene. So I just painted a mask (big soft brush) to show the monster GB just where I wanted it: twigs and highlights
c. I then reduced saturation and using curves brought down the brightness and contrast of the background
2. Now for play time - using the original image as the base, but applying the saved owl mask to all of this (so the background already tweaked shows through)...
a. Increase saturation & contrast to make it pop more but avoiding the eyes looking fake
b. Added a completely unnecessary graduated dodge as some fairly subtle side lighting
c. The neck isn't warmed up as much as I'd like with the saturation increase but I don't want to ruin the eyes, so I added a graduated saturation increase covering the next but fading out by the beak
d. I added an HDR-effect to the owl but without altering the saturation too much, so it acts like a slightly more complicated clarity boost
3. I used PS's very aptly named Smart Sharpen (@200%!) to really crispen up the edges and feathers but it's algorithm is quite good at not creating too much noise... however I still didn't want it applied everywhere so I unpainted it from a few areas where it really wasn't needed.

Done! Here's the PS version, uncropped: http://imgur.com/XEmPQDb

I prefer yours but it's whiled away a few minutes (or perhaps a few more than that )

 

[overbez]

@pjm1 Amazing how time disappears when you start getting into localised adjustments like that eh?

Must admit when I read your method about extra blur on the BG and selection of the subject I was thinking this isn't going to end well! But you've got a really nice result from all that work, the bird definately pops from the BG due to the darker level of greens, and I like the subtle lightening on the shoulder. Fine feather detail retained pretty well too, given the treatment. (lost some by the right eye but only noticable in comparison).

Always a danger in introducing something unwanted when you go this far, and there's a bit of green under the right "ear" feather, and to a certain degree the ones below this and on the left side too. Not sure where this came in? refine edge maybe?

Practice is always good though, and I'm glad you had fun. Shame the PP Game thread on here has gone quiet recently, that's where I have had a lot of practice over the past year or two.

 

[pjm1]

@pjm1 Amazing how time disappears when you start getting into localised adjustments like that eh?

Must admit when I read your method about extra blur on the BG and selection of the subject I was thinking this isn't going to end well! But you've got a really nice result from all that work, the bird definately pops from the BG due to the darker level of greens, and I like the subtle lightening on the shoulder. Fine feather detail retained pretty well too, given the treatment. (lost some by the right eye but only noticable in comparison).

Always a danger in introducing something unwanted when you go this far, and there's a bit of green under the right "ear" feather, and to a certain degree the ones below this and on the left side too. Not sure where this came in? refine edge maybe?

Practice is always good though, and I'm glad you had fun. Shame the PP Game thread on here has gone quiet recently, that's where I have had a lot of practice over the past year or two.

It was a brilliant test for the refine edge and focus selection bits because it's both a fluffy and a "hairy" object - the combination of which makes it a nightmare for edge detection. So an ideal target for my practice - thank you!

You're right about introducing artefacts - it becomes a vicious circle after a while of fixing and introducing new ones... at which point you know you've taken things too far!

 

[Phil-D]

Great shot Graham, colours, detail, composition and pov are all spot on for me

My shots from this owl display included a couple of "less good" ones too, rather than sully my thread with them... >>>> I posted them in the "Duffers...." thread here <<<<

Excellent thread I didn't even know that existed ..........great abstract kingfisher shot

Edit - missed the n't off did :banghead:

 

[overbez]

Great shot Graham, colours, detail, composition and pov are all spot on for me

Excellent thread I did even know that existed ..........great abstract kingfisher shot

Thankyou Phil.

And why would you know of it's existence? Can't imagine you would have anything to contribute there.

Sadly, that is still my best KF shot to date. And still the only one I've ever seen.

 

[michael23]

Just followed you on flickr Graham. Love the owl shot, only thing that would beter it for me is a portrait crop.
PURE, That is lovely. composition works well for me and I really like the colour in there.
Sharp, Nice landscape, also works for me. I remember wales from many years ago and you certainly don't forget the bends!
Promise. Lovely! I feel I should know where it is? Like the low pov and the person adds something.

 

[Phil-D]

Thankyou Phil.

And why would you know of it's existence? Can't imagine you would have anything to contribute there.

Sadly, that is still my best KF shot to date. And still the only one I've ever seen.

Spending as much time on the river as I do, I feel fortunate to see loads of kingfishers, there isn't anywhere I fish that hasn't seen an increase in them in the last 10 years

Laid in bed (in mi campervan) with the door open last sept, this chap came and sat on mi rod, still half a sleep and with Lynn's bridge camera, I got this blurry classic kingfisher shot

For the amount I see, this is still the only photo I've managed

link

 

[overbez]

Love the owl shot, only thing that would beter it for me is a portrait crop.

Promise. Lovely! I feel I should know where it is?

Cheers Michael, Owl was literally on the perch for a few seconds, never considered Portarait, but you;re right it could work well.

Promise sunset was at Towyn, on the coast pretty much directly North of the Park resorts at Ty Mawr. Looking almost directly west towards llandudno.

Spending as much time on the river as I do, I feel fortunate to see loads of kingfishers, there isn't anywhere I fish that hasn't seen an increase in them in the last 10 years

Laid in bed (in mi campervan) with the door open last sept, this chap came and sat on mi rod, still half a sleep and with Lynn's bridge camera, I got this blurry classic kingfisher shot

For the amount I see, this is still the only photo I've managed

link

You lucky Bugger Phil, Did well to get that I'd say. At least it's recognisable!

 

[overbez]

Week 36 - FALL.

Had to be a waterfall, so I'm getting in early with one. Sadly was a bit disappointed with the amount of water coming down, shot this at +1EV and brought it back in post to gain an extra stop of movement. Which was actually really worthwhile, maybe not in the waterfall, but certainly in the swirls round the base of the fall.

Obviously needed small aperture (went with f/22) to get the long(ish) exposure (1.6 seconds), so have gone for it a bit with the clarity and sharpening to try to get some detail back.



[URL='http://i.imgur.com/bbm8k2y.jpg']Week 36 - SOOC[/url]

 

[posiview]

Hi, always good to get in nice and early. It's on theme, but pity there wasn't more water. I like the shadows and the colours work well.

I think a crop would work better. Mainly off the right.

Looks like a head in the top centre

Cheers.

 

[overbez]

Cheers Andy, left the space to the right for the water to flow into. Was definately more water coming down last time I was there - hence my disappointment.

I see the head , had me for a moment as there were a few people up top I had to clone out. Thought I'd missed one!

 

[Allan.H]

Hi Graham, not sure how much water you wanted as I think it works as it is, just the right amount of exposure on the water flow, you haven't overdone it,

pity you couldn't get more head on, impossible due to water no doubt.
really good job on the PP

 

[pjm1]

I agree with Allan: the volume of water is ok for me. More and it would certainly look impressive, but you'd lose a lot of the rock detail (and with a long exposure most of the frame would just be milky water!)

I wonder whether shooting it at another time of day (morning or evening depending on where the sun is in relation to the waterfall) might give an even stronger image? The light levels would also be lower, meaning you could leave aperture at f/8 or something and get a nice crisp shot?

PP works: coincidentally, I have a waterfall shot from a few months ago which I processed in a very, very similar way

It's a nice shot, but could perhaps be bettered with a few (light & timing-based) tweaks?

 

[blondie606]

Hi Graham

Owl shot is wonderful...just the right amount of sparkle in the eye's which really pop in that striking orange...portrait crop may be or maybe not ? Either way...it's a belting shot

Fall.....I'm thinking the same as you for this theme but your's is way better......nothing to really crit , plenty of detail , well exposed & just the right amount of silkiness to the water Must admit to prefering the earlier image you linked to simple for the volume of water

 

[overbez]

Hi Graham, not sure how much water you wanted as I think it works as it is, just the right amount of exposure on the water flow, you haven't overdone it,

pity you couldn't get more head on, impossible due to water no doubt.
really good job on the PP

Thanks Allan, path does go to the right and then over a small bridge, start to be a few more stray branches coming in though.

I agree with Allan: the volume of water is ok for me. More and it would certainly look impressive, but you'd lose a lot of the rock detail (and with a long exposure most of the frame would just be milky water!)

I wonder whether shooting it at another time of day (morning or evening depending on where the sun is in relation to the waterfall) might give an even stronger image? The light levels would also be lower, meaning you could leave aperture at f/8 or something and get a nice crisp shot?

PP works: coincidentally, I have a waterfall shot from a few months ago which I processed in a very, very similar way

It's a nice shot, but could perhaps be bettered with a few (light & timing-based) tweaks?

I,m sure there is a much better shot there, an ND filter, tripod in the water, morning or evening on a brighter day. No wife and kids tapping their feet. But I try and do the best I can with the conditions available.

In any event, Mrs overbez likes it and actually prefers it for the bathroom wall to my promise sunset we were going to go with.

Hi Graham

Owl shot is wonderful...just the right amount of sparkle in the eye's which really pop in that striking orange...portrait crop may be or maybe not ? Either way...it's a belting shot

Fall.....I'm thinking the same as you for this theme but your's is way better......nothing to really crit , plenty of detail , well exposed & just the right amount of silkiness to the water Must admit to prefering the earlier image you linked to simple for the volume of water

Thanks Lynne, glad you like the owl, and the waterfall was distinctly quieter this time than it was last time. But as Paul said, the lack of flow does give the rocks a chance to show a bit more.

 

[Crtm]

Hi Graham,

Your owl is beautiful and yes it's eyes are full of sparkle no other cc from me except great capture.

Waterfall - You beat me to it but I might still have to give it ago, lovely soft water, great colour and detail and plenty of water for me.

Well done Graham