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Author Topic: Some Swedish Black´n Whites  (Read 20738 times)

mrazster

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Some Swedish Black´n Whites
« on: January 22, 2010, 07:29:23 pm »

I finally got my new 27" iMac up´n running with som proper calibration done.
Pretty new to the forums...so I thought I´d post some of my work.
Theese shoots are taken on the westcoast of sweden...not far from my hometown...last fall.

[attachment=19651:_MG_0196.jpg]

[attachment=19652:_MG_0193.jpg]

[attachment=19653:_MG_0179.jpg]
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2010, 09:57:56 pm »

Nice to see some fresh European landscapes for a change  

I like the overall tonality and mood of the pictures. A couple of comments though: in #1 there appears to be a strong case of uneven polarization in the sky, which (for me) distracts from the composition. #3 appears to have either a too strong graduated neutral-densitty filter, or too much post-processing vignetting in the sky (e.g., top clouds are much darker than those below). Again, anything that looks out of place tends to distract compositionally (imho, of course).

Peter McLennan

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« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2010, 10:03:48 pm »

Me, I like the darkened skies.  Adds drama and interest.
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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« Reply #3 on: January 22, 2010, 10:49:44 pm »

Quote from: Peter McLennan
Me, I like the darkened skies.  Adds drama and interest.
Nothing against dark skies... my comment was about unevenly dark skies. In the film days, one would apply orange or red filter to darken the sky, but clouds would remain white... the same goes for Photoshop: use red channel for conversion to b&w and you would get darker skies, but again clouds would remain white. #2 has a decent dark sky, without affecting the clouds. It all comes down to the subtlety of the effect: some tonal difference in the sky/clouds is ok, too much becomes artificial and thus distracting (me think).

wolfnowl

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« Reply #4 on: January 23, 2010, 12:27:22 am »

Nice work, but I agree with Slobodan.  Since the clouds are darker, it looks like someone's used a fairly large brush to darken total exposure in that area.

Mike.
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richard laughlin

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« Reply #5 on: January 23, 2010, 03:10:25 am »

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mrazster

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« Reply #6 on: January 23, 2010, 03:11:44 am »

Thnx alot for your words.
I use graduated ND filters most of the time, mostly ND8...so no brushes here. However I´ve added some contrast to the sky to get more punch to it.
As for the skies...I´ve never seen what you are seeing before...it has never struck me.
I don´t think I´ve ever seen any cloud equally white...thats what makes them so interesting.

And the uneven polarization is apealing to me...if the sky where evenly dark, I would consider it less interesting and less dramatic(drama is what I want  )

But I´ll consdier your worlds...thnx again.
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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« Reply #7 on: January 23, 2010, 01:43:25 pm »

Quote from: richard laughlin
darker clouds, something like this?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slobodan_blagojevic/4174492119/
I assume you are teasingly trying to point out an apparent inconsistency between how I use "darker clouds" in my own photography and my comments to others (i.e., "...clouds would remain white..."). I see how one can interpret it that way (i.e., as inconsistency), especially if not reading my two posts together, so to make it perfectly clear (or so I hope):

As I said, I have nothing against darker skies... I have nothing against darker clouds either... I was, however, commenting about unevenly  dark skies (OP's image #1) and unevenly dark clouds (#3). And by "unevenly dark clouds" I do not mean all clouds should be "equally white" either. It is quite possible there could be different shades of clouds simultaneously, from white to almost black, in the same sky, but that would be usually related to a storm, and the lighting would be reflecting storm conditions everywhere else in the scene. In #3 it appears that the conditions were generally sunny, with no other indicators of approaching storm, hence the upper most clouds being so much darker (actually murkier) than those closer to the horizon creates an unnatural feeling (again, me think).

As for my own photograph, that was a stormy, windy, late-winter day on the shores of the Lake Michigan (Chicago), and yes, I emphasized the mood by darkening the sky and clouds even further for added drama. Whether I succeeded or not, I leave to others to judge.

Slobodan Blagojevic

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« Reply #8 on: January 23, 2010, 01:55:41 pm »

Quote from: mrazster
Thnx alot for your words.
I use graduated ND filters most of the time, mostly ND8...so no brushes here. However I´ve added some contrast to the sky to get more punch to it.
As for the skies...I´ve never seen what you are seeing before...it has never struck me.
I don´t think I´ve ever seen any cloud equally white...thats what makes them so interesting.

And the uneven polarization is apealing to me...if the sky where evenly dark, I would consider it less interesting and less dramatic(drama is what I want  )

But I´ll consdier your worlds...thnx again.
If that is how you see things, then I should shut up and respect it.

Eric Myrvaagnes

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« Reply #9 on: January 23, 2010, 02:39:46 pm »

Like Slobodan, I find that the skies in #1 and #3 look too artificial to me, and for the reasons he cites. The clouds look quite unconvincing to me.

On the other hand, in Slobodan's Lake Michigan photo the clouds look quite plausible to me.

They're very nice images in all other respects.

Eric

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mrazster

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« Reply #10 on: January 23, 2010, 03:01:38 pm »

Quote from: Slobodan Blagojevic
If that is how you see things, then I should shut up and respect it.


Please don´t sir...even thou we don´t agree and interpert skies the same way..I still find it interesting to se how other people see my images.
Contsructive critque is good critique...afaik.

So by all means...do not shut up.  
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JohnBrew

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« Reply #11 on: January 23, 2010, 05:38:24 pm »

Thanks for posting these. I enjoyed them!

EduPerez

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« Reply #12 on: January 25, 2010, 03:01:30 am »

I specially liked the first one; thanks.
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Colorwave

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« Reply #13 on: January 25, 2010, 03:18:22 am »

I really like your shots overall, but have to chime in with others in saying that I find the ND detracts from the overall effect, at least in how strong it is, and how it kills some of the clouds.  I would prefer to see, for my $.02, a bit less extreme graduated darkening of the sky and little or no selective darkening of the clouds.  I'm all for contrast, but it is a matter of degree, and I find that the darkening of the clouds is actually counterproductive to your stated aim of adding punch to the shots.  A little dodging of the darker clouds would make them stand out against the sky more and add overall contrast.  I think we all have no intention of trashing these shots, and are only speaking of subtleties (and of course personal preference), in the hope of offering constructive criticism to make these very nice shots even stronger.
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wthomphoto

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« Reply #14 on: February 01, 2010, 10:31:30 pm »

I like all 3 photographs. Very nice work, and I have no problem with the way you handled the sky.
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francois

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« Reply #15 on: February 02, 2010, 03:37:29 am »

Quote from: Eric Myrvaagnes
Like Slobodan, I find that the skies in #1 and #3 look too artificial to me, and for the reasons he cites. The clouds look quite unconvincing to me.
Add me to the list regarding the polarization of the sky (especially on #1). And this is quite difficult to correct in PP.
If I ignore this "issue", I find that your photos are very pleasing and well composed. The blurred movement of the water adds dynamism and the very contrasty mood is always an asset to coastline landscapes.
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Francois

mrazster

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« Reply #16 on: February 03, 2010, 05:36:35 pm »

Thanks alot fellas....all comments much apreciated.
I take no offense in critique..as I said before as long as it´s constructive, every critisism is very welcome.
I´ll consider your words about the polarisation effect...even thou I like it..I´ll try to make it a little less obvious(I thinks it´s the right word)...and see how it turns out.
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DaveCurtis

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« Reply #17 on: February 05, 2010, 05:12:57 pm »

Nice images.

Nice balance with the stones in the foreground.
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Patricia Sheley

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« Reply #18 on: February 05, 2010, 05:39:24 pm »

Zen like magnificent moments...what a treat! You've put that live view to excellent use...inspirational....Pat S.
post script: as to the clouds/sky...those are technical considerations that you may well peruse and experiment with...but the quality of site vision, the quality of composition and the carefully set dof of field to express those moments are an art that just cannot be taken lightly...you obviously have an excellent grasp of the tough pieces of the equation...a real talent there...
« Last Edit: February 05, 2010, 05:49:37 pm by psheleyimages »
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mrazster

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« Reply #19 on: February 07, 2010, 12:49:08 pm »

Thnx alot for all your inputs...  

I´m adding another 3 shoots made this weekend with my new 5D MK II    ....swedish winter shoots.



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[attachment=20096:_MG_0059.jpg]
« Last Edit: February 07, 2010, 12:49:51 pm by mrazster »
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