Fishing boats

[Lofty]

Well living in Cornwall you have to expect it i suppose

I personnaly really like the yellow boat pic but if you think it can be done better please please let me know and dont let the fact that i like it put you off telling me how to improve

 

[RobertP]

I like the yellow boat shot too. Can't help thinking the background is too clearly in focus though and distracts you from the subject. Same applies to the first one too but also the background looks on the slant in that one

Maybe a longer focal length with a large aperture?

 

[Lofty]

Hmmmmmmmm yes i can see what you mean Robert ........ thanks as always for the tips

 

[Hacker]

I like the second one but you could increase the contrast by pulling in the sliders on the Levels command, at the moment it looks a bit flat and lifeless.

You could also try some selective colouring, this is just a quick five minute edit but you'll get the idea...

 

[Lofty]

I like the second one but you could increase the contrast by pulling in the sliders on the Levels command, at the moment it looks a bit flat and lifeless.

You could also try some selective colouring, this is just a quick five minute edit but you'll get the idea...

WOW

I love that been trying to suss out how to do this kind of image for ages lol

I will be looking at the tutorials on 'shop later and having a play

 

[Janice]

Can't help thinking the background is too clearly in focus though and distracts you from the subject. Same applies to the first one too but also the background looks on the slant in that one

Maybe a longer focal length with a large aperture?

I was thinking that too, but he used F4 in one and F5 in the other. Hardly large...but maybe its not a dslr. I know the point and shoots get huge dof.

 

[Lofty]

Nope it was my Olympus E500 which i am still getting to grips with

Not used to using the manual settings and have been using recent pictures as a learning experience, hence me posting them on here to get a general idea of what others think and how i can improve my pictures

Previously i have only ever used the factory presets but i'm now getting a bit braver

I really do value everyones opinions and it gives me a lot to think about when i'm out and about with the camera hence the differing settings on the 2 pics

I will do going out alot more with the E500 now as i lost my job on monday due to a back injury

Should be ok as long as i dont try to scale any mountains lol

 

[Janice]

We can look forward to some brilliant photos of the moorlands and valleys then!!

 

[Hacker]

WOW

I love that been trying to suss out how to do this kind of image for ages lol

I will be looking at the tutorials on 'shop later and having a play

It's not too difficult Lofty (once you know how ).

First I adjusted the levels to increase the contrast, pull the left and right sliders in. Use the Polygonal Lasso tool and go round the outside of the boat with about a 10 pixel feather, make sure the 'Add to Selection' box is ticked (the picture of a square in the toolbar) and select the reflection.

Once this is done go to Selection -> Inverse selection which will allow you to work on everything but the boat. Go to Image -> Adjustments -> Channel mixer and tick the monochrome box in the bottom left corner, play with the sliders until you get the mono look you are after, remember to try and keep the numbers so they add up to 100%. Go back to Selection and click on De-select.

To blur the background I used the Elliptical Marquee Tool and made a selection around the boat, on the original image I would set the Feather to about 150 pixels to give you a gradual transition. Inverse the selection and go to Filter -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur and play with the slider until you get the effect you are after, I think I used about 2%. I then finished with a crop of the image.

As I said earlier my attempt was a very quick effort but if you put a bit more care into it you should end up with a cracking picture.