Re-visiting Crete

ancient_mariner

ancient_mariner

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Toni
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A couple of years back we had a late holiday in Crete, but it wasn't what we expected. A couple of days before we went my wife came down with a really nasty cold, & I ended up practically dragging her through the airports. Then when we arrived the weather was cool, wet & stormy for the first few days, with heavy cloud cover and frequent rain.

Earlier today I went looking for a picture with stalacmites and then took a look at the other pictures I'd taken on the same trip. These reflect both the feelings and the weather at the time - I've only gently massaged what was already there, rather than making a hurricane out of a sunny day.

Crete stormy weather 1 by Toni Ertl, on Flickr

Crete stormy weather 2 by Toni Ertl, on Flickr

Crete stormy weather 3 by Toni Ertl, on Flickr

Crete stormy weather 4 by Toni Ertl, on Flickr

C&C welcome.
 
Really like the 2nd one Toni. The way you've chosen to frame it makes it look like the houses are huddled up.
 
I like the 2nd one too.

I do find these a bit challenging, not easy on the eye. But the 2nd's straight forward ... buildings sandwiched between water & sky.
 
love them all
 
We've been to Crete many times, though not for a coupe of years. Superb shots in my opinion, number 1 being my favourite. What PP did you use on these?
 
Baz777 said:
Great set, #1 pick for me.
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Thanks Barry, that's probably my fave too.

Harlequin565 said:
Really like the 2nd one Toni. The way you've chosen to frame it makes it look like the houses are huddled up.
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Thank you Ian. It's a happy accident, but I couldn't get enough vertical perspective correction on the image, and the curve of the harbour just suits the angle of the shot.

d00d said:
I like the 2nd one too.

I do find these a bit challenging, not easy on the eye. But the 2nd's straight forward ... buildings sandwiched between water & sky.
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I'm interested in what you find challenging about them: tones, composition, too much soot & whitewash or the fake selenium toning? It helps me to understand how other people view pictures. :)

the black fox said:
love them all
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Thanks Jeff.

rick448 said:
We've been to Crete many times, though not for a coupe of years. Superb shots in my opinion, number 1 being my favourite. What PP did you use on these?
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Glad you like them. PP was basic process in LR (sharpen, straighten, levels, tone curve, clarity, gradient if needed etc) then Silver Efex for conversion with a home-brew preset as a starting point, then back to LR for final levels and output. For processing like this I usually reduce the clarity in the sky quite a bit, because otherwise it just gets stupidly crunchy.

It's our second visit to Crete, the first being in '87, so this was fully 30 years later, and we were a bit shocked at how much it's changed. The coast road between Heraklion and Rethymno used to just run beside the sea, and now it's wall-to-wall hotels and houses for the last couple of km into the town. Our first visit to Knossos was fantastic, with access into all the rooms and few visitors, but the place is all closed up now etc. We did find some great places this time & the weather did improve, but the start wasn't what we'd expected.

Next time we'll attempt the gorge of Samaria.
 
ancient_mariner said:
It's our second visit to Crete, the first being in '87, so this was fully 30 years later, and we were a bit shocked at how much it's changed. The coast road between Heraklion and Rethymno used to just run beside the sea, and now it's wall-to-wall hotels and houses for the last couple of km into the town. Our first visit to Knossos was fantastic, with access into all the rooms and few visitors, but the place is all closed up now etc. We did find some great places this time & the weather did improve, but the start wasn't what we'd expected.

Next time we'll attempt the gorge of Samaria.
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Rethymno is where we stayed the last 3 times. Lovely part of the world :)

Thanks for the PP explanation.
 
I have been to Crete loads of times in my youth, (now I have discovered Cephalonia.) Anyway, I have walked the Samaria Gorge twice; the first time when I was about 25, and the second time when I was 55! The first time, the bottom of the gorge just got flat and you carried on walking towards the sea and the boat back, with a few tavernas to relax in after a swim. The second time, a taverna had appeared at the end of the gorge, and a small town with loads of tavernas and overnight accommodation had sprung up at the sea! Altogether much more commercialised. (Don’t leave it too long! )
Ps: Love Chania. Your photographs are really moody...
 
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Another vote for #2 the composition just really appeals to my eye, though a bit too 'gritty' for me.

We've only visited Crete once, to refuel on the way back from Kenya ... after a long delay on the tarmac the Captain announced that the refueling tanker had reversed into the fuselage, leaving a gaping hole and so we were being off-loaded to await the arrival of a replacement aircraft!
At the stopover hotel we had never felt so unwanted in our entire lives but it was fun to listen in to traveler's phone-home conversations ... "yes hit by a lorry ... oh never mind I'll explain when I get home!". :D
 
I see better now, viewing them on a better monitor at home. Liking them more, liking #2 more.

I'm interested in what you find challenging about them: tones, composition, too much soot & whitewash or the fake selenium toning?
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Oh gosh. Subject & composition looks fine, but tbh I'm not much into land/seascapes, not much of a mono enthusiast either, the toning could be wasted on me. However, they made my look! And made me wonder what they might look like in colour.

It helps me to understand how other people view pictures. :)
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I see more in a colour photo when looking such vistas, for me B&W can work for portraits and the more abstract, but here you are emphasising the greyness of the day, so in that respect, they do work!

All interest stuff Toni, I enjoy your work, keep 'em coming. :)
 
d00d said:
I see better now, viewing them on a better monitor at home. Liking them more, liking #2 more.

Oh gosh. Subject & composition looks fine, but tbh I'm not much into land/seascapes, not much of a mono enthusiast either, the toning could be wasted on me. However, they made my look! And made me wonder what they might look like in colour.

I see more in a colour photo when looking such vistas, for me B&W can work for portraits and the more abstract, but here you are emphasising the greyness of the day, so in that respect, they do work!

All interest stuff Toni, I enjoy your work, keep 'em coming. :)
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Thanks for taking the time to analyse and write that David, I really appreciate it.

The colour jobs were OK, but I seem to be doing the mono thing right now.

Stormy Crete-4867.jpg

Stormy Crete-4870.jpg

Stormy Crete-4907.jpg

The last one is just really dull in colour.
 
They're all lovely shots. Personally I much prefer the mono's especially the first although no2 brings back memories, I'm sure I remember sitting in a bar overlooking the water there with my parents probably 20 odd years ago which would have been one of the last times I went away with them :)
 
Hadron said:
They're all lovely shots. Personally I much prefer the mono's especially the first although no2 brings back memories, I'm sure I remember sitting in a bar overlooking the water there with my parents probably 20 odd years ago which would have been one of the last times I went away with them :)
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Thanks Hadron, glad you like 'em and they bring back good memories.
 
It does bring back very good memories, oddly one of the most striking of which is that it was the first time I'd seen rice grains put in a salt shaker to draw the moisture out of the salt in the sea air to prevent it clogging. Strange the things you remember o_O
 
1 and 3 pretty nice but I’d crop quite a bit from the sky of number 1, maybe a 5:7 crop as I think it would have a better balance. I’m not keen on the blue toning, go full black and white in my opinion
 
Scirocco_09 said:
1 and 3 pretty nice but I’d crop quite a bit from the sky of number 1, maybe a 5:7 crop as I think it would have a better balance. I’m not keen on the blue toning, go full black and white in my opinion
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Thank you, I can see a crop would work with 1, and will likely create an alternative copy for future use.

I appreciate the blue toning can be a little marmite - it's something that I happen to like for the way it changes the feel of a picture, but I also understand not everyone feels like that.
 
Very personal of course, but could I venture that the B&W processing seems rather heavy-handed, particularly with the overdominant and unbalanced skies, and in the first frame the overbright whites. The colour shots reveal much more delicacy in the natural light, and I wonder that it might be worth trying to coax some of that character out in the B&Ws. There is a sense that you've tried too hard to create a sort of dark, brooding 'atmosphere' where the raw material doesn't really warrant it.

I'm not sure about the bluish toning either, but I stress that these things are very personal, and I appreciate that it is your interpretation of the scenes, not mine.
 
Thanks Toby.

I had a look through your site to see where you're coming from on this. The images are lovely: nicely composed, soft, smooth and gentle tones with a quiet and contemplative feeling. What I wanted here was rather different, with black blacks, strong whites and tones between that emphasised the heaviness of the sky, the reflective quality of the top of that boat (which is also very bright in the colour image). The slightly over-cooked broodingness reflects the disappointment we were feeling at the time, and I'm sure they could be re-processed into something gentler, more sympathetic and inviting.

Thanks for your input, very much appreciated.
 
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