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Author Topic: Ka'iwi Tree and Scrub  (Read 3560 times)

jasonrandolph

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Ka'iwi Tree and Scrub
« on: May 10, 2009, 02:13:52 pm »

I took this last night just before sunset.  The sky had patchy clouds, so there is some brightness in the sky behind the tree that I was a bit disappointed by.  Otherwise, what do you all think?

dalethorn

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Ka'iwi Tree and Scrub
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2009, 05:47:44 pm »

Looks fine. You could try reducing the brightest areas slightly, and I don't think that would hurt anything. Sometimes that makes the other areas stand out more, and other times it could cause problems. Worth a try.
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jasonrandolph

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« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2009, 11:21:53 am »

Quote from: dalethorn
Looks fine. You could try reducing the brightest areas slightly, and I don't think that would hurt anything. Sometimes that makes the other areas stand out more, and other times it could cause problems. Worth a try.
Thanks Dale.  I'm still trying to find satisfactory results, but I may have to reshoot the scene.  Besides, I have a different composition in mind.  We'll see how that goes...

JeffKohn

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« Reply #3 on: May 13, 2009, 12:45:58 pm »

I like the drama in the sky, and the tree makes a good subject. For me there's just too much foreground, that rocky area just isn't interesting enough to take up that much foreground space.
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jasonrandolph

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« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2009, 01:59:55 am »

Quote from: JeffKohn
I like the drama in the sky, and the tree makes a good subject. For me there's just too much foreground, that rocky area just isn't interesting enough to take up that much foreground space.
Thanks for the feedback, Jeff.  I recropped.  How does this work?

JeffKohn

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« Reply #5 on: May 14, 2009, 12:42:30 pm »

To me the crop is a definite improvement, the tree is now much more prominent and makes a strong subject. If you do go back and re-shoot, watch for overlap between the tree and the hill on the left. If you step one pace to the left you might be able to put a little more separation between the tree and hill (although I wasn't there so it may be that this would allow something else to creep into the frame).
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dalethorn

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Ka'iwi Tree and Scrub
« Reply #6 on: May 14, 2009, 11:31:03 pm »

If you could clone some of that grass at the bottom left over top of the "scar" (missing grass area) at the bottom right, it would be the best fix of all.

Here's a very crude example and partial crop.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2009, 11:39:24 pm by dalethorn »
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Jeremy Roussak

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« Reply #7 on: May 15, 2009, 04:06:22 am »

Quote from: jasonrandolph
I recropped.  How does this work?
I agree it looks better. I'm slightly surprised that nobody has mentioned the telegraph poles: am I the only one who finds them rather distracting?

Jeremy
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jasonrandolph

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« Reply #8 on: May 15, 2009, 04:16:38 pm »

Quote from: kikashi
I agree it looks better. I'm slightly surprised that nobody has mentioned the telegraph poles: am I the only one who finds them rather distracting?

Jeremy
Thank you Jeremy et al for the feedback.  It all helps.  

I was aware of the poles when I took the shot.  The intention was to provide a small bit of balance to the right side of the composition.  I personally choose not to do cloning in my images, so I left them in.  I do intend to reshoot this using a different composition that I didn't have time for as the sun went down, but I will post that here when I shoot it.  Again, thanks for the feedback.

button

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« Reply #9 on: May 16, 2009, 09:29:29 am »

The original photo (which I prefer) is pretty complex because it creates a lot of tension.  The lines of the grass direct the eye from the bottom left toward the center.  Then, the eye can either move from up and to the left along the tree, or back down and to the right, along the lines of the rocks.  The slightly skewed horizon and telephone poles create further dissonance.  You already have a somewhat low key effect here, so I suggest some additional local adjustments to accentuate the effect.  

As far as cropping, I personally would leave the aspect ratio close to what it is, and crop a bit from the left- that church steeple (or whatever it is) adds context that takes away from the effect of the photo.  Don't crop out too much grass!  Nice job.

John
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RSL

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« Reply #10 on: May 16, 2009, 05:43:40 pm »

Quote from: button
The original photo (which I prefer) is pretty complex because it creates a lot of tension.  The lines of the grass direct the eye from the bottom left toward the center.  Then, the eye can either move from up and to the left along the tree, or back down and to the right, along the lines of the rocks.  The slightly skewed horizon and telephone poles create further dissonance.  You already have a somewhat low key effect here, so I suggest some additional local adjustments to accentuate the effect.  

As far as cropping, I personally would leave the aspect ratio close to what it is, and crop a bit from the left- that church steeple (or whatever it is) adds context that takes away from the effect of the photo.  Don't crop out too much grass!  Nice job.

John

I pretty much agree with John, but I wouldn't change anything -- except to make the change I'm showing here. The original photo was the best one. It's a perfect example of the fact that your first shot almost always is the best one. The sky is what makes the photograph, and the telephone poles and the rock face are a necessary part of the graphic balance. Here it is in black and white. I like the B&W even better. Color can throw you off badly as far as graphic balance is concerned. In the B&W version the graphic balance jumps out at you.

[attachment=13718:_DSC2028.jpg]

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