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Author Topic: New Mexico Aspens - Your Opinion  (Read 921 times)

rgs

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New Mexico Aspens - Your Opinion
« on: June 22, 2012, 02:14:57 pm »

Here is a shot of some Aspens in New Mexico. The photograph was made in first light last summer. I have posted two versions. One is only slightly processed in LR. The second one was processed with a photsshop action designed to simulate Velvia, one of my all time favorite films. I am curious about your reactions.


 
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luxborealis

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Re: New Mexico Aspens - Your Opinion
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2012, 10:41:56 pm »

Compositionally speaking (as all photographs must ultimately stand on their composition and not "actions"), the pathway leading to the aspens works well. Also, the trunks of the aspens work well as graceful leading lines up through te photograph. What I find incongruent are the "dead" shrubs to the left. While they act like a "border" they are, frankly, unsightly compared to the beauty of the shapes of the trunks and tones of green of the aspens themselves.

With respect to the Velvia "button", my fond memories of Velvia (based on 15 years of use in 35mm, 120 and 4x5) place it between the two image shown here. The greens in the Velvia image shown are, too me anyway, too vibrant. Velvia also portrayed a three-dimensionality that I have rarely seen in digital.

That being said, I like the cropping of the "Velvia" image better as is there is slightly more foreground giving better balance overall.
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Terry McDonald - luxBorealis.com

rgs

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Re: New Mexico Aspens - Your Opinion
« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2012, 11:36:30 am »

Thanks for your comments. I was always told Velvia was just more saturated and had a strong green but I was sure it was much more complicated than that. I had an editor who would rave about my work and I kept telling her it was just the film. She wouldn't believe me. Everyone else was using those yellow boxes.That said, I'm not sure this attempt is very precise. The green looks a bit too saturated to me. That's why I wanted other opinions.

I cropped the left edge as much as it seemed possible in an attempt to lose those dead branches.

Here's a new version with some slight tinkering with the saturation and contrast as well as cloning out the dead branches.

Better? Does it remind you of Velvia?

« Last Edit: June 23, 2012, 12:25:07 pm by rgs »
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