textures

[Jeremy Roussak]

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Jeremy

[Rob C]

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Jeremy

Very effective photograph; never seen large bits of ice, but if that's how they look, shame the Titanic picked the wrong time of day: no upside to their incident at all. Well, it did inspire a movie, but I didn't like it.

Rob

[RSL]

As Rob says, very effective, Jeremy. Good shooting.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Very nice. Plus some anthropomorphism for good measure (female profile on the right)

Were it mine, I'be tempted to clone out distraction elements.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

My first thought was that it must have taken hours for you to carve all those little pimples on what should have been a big, smooth chunk of ice.

It is a fascinating image.

I agree that you might want to remove Slobodan's red rings. They don't add anything.   

[MattBurt]

Nice photo. I like the luminescence of the ice against the dark shadows. Gives it depth.
 
The bright spot of ice Slobodan pointed out does attract the eye and pull away from the subject.
If you don't want to clone it, you might want to consider just darkening it so that isn't the area of highest contrast in your image.

[RSL]

It is what it is, Jeremy.

[kers]

Very beautiful texture indeed!
I like it better cropped like this... texture as it is.
of course the photo changes from landscape to just water and ice.

[Rajan Parrikar]

Very nice. Plus some anthropomorphism for good measure (female profile on the right)

Were it mine, I'be tempted to clone out distraction elements.

+1

[Jeremy Roussak]

Thanks, all.

I'm not keen on the tight crop, I must confess: I rather liked the context.

I take on board the other comments, though. I've cloned out the two small bergs in the distance, and while I haven't removed the little "nose", I've fiddled with it a bit.

Thoughts?

Jeremy

[RSL]

Thought? Here's one: People get carried away with cropping and post-processing in general. Normally when a photographer raises the camera to his eye he frames what he wants to see in the picture. If what's there isn't what he wants he moves on to the next opportunity. There might be a few adjustments that need to be made in PP: almost always a little sharpening and possibly a slight readjustment of relative brightnesses. But the idea that a picture always has to undergo intensive care in post-processing is ridiculous. People who focus on post-processing make clear that they're not ready to do photography. People laugh at HCB, who insisted on leaving black fringes, and even sometimes sprocket holes showing in his prints to indicate that he framed instead of cropping, and yes, he carried it to ridiculous extremes, but the idea behind the practice essentially was correct.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Much better, Jeremy.

In contrast to Russ and HCB, who practice (pre) visualization, my own preferred approach is post-visualization. My goal is to capture as much usable info with the camera, and then visualize in post what I can further do with the file. Obviously, I employ some basic sense of composition at the moment of capture, but have no problem with cropping or anything else in post. I don’t care if that dethrones me as a master of in-camera capture. For me, it is the final result, print or screen, that matters. I don’t believe in dogmas. I don’t see photography as a competitive sport, who can shoot the best within restrictive rules of the game. If I need to move the goalposts, I will. During or after the game,

[armand]

Much better, Jeremy.

In contrast to Russ and HCB, who practice (pre) visualization, my own preferred approach is post-visualization. My goal is to capture as much usable info with the camera, and then visualize in post what I can further do with the file. Obviously, I employ some basic sense of composition at the moment of capture, but have no problem with cropping or anything else in post. I don’t care if that dethrones me as a master of in-camera capture. For me, it is the final result, print or screen, that matters. I don’t believe in dogmas. I don’t see photography as a competitive sport, who can shoot the best within restrictive rules of the game. If I need to move the goalposts, I will. During or after the game,

You should kneel on walnut shells for this.

I do agree though, although I do my best to take it properly in the camera I have no problems playing with it later.

[kers]

Photography is different, with some wanted outcome you have to act at the moment in time and do the right thing.
In many cases there is more time to reflect, even in post. I am doing a lot of panorama images that sometimes may be seen as a scanning the environment.
It is not a way of not choosing- I have my goal, I choose but i have some freedom and time, more time than this 1/125s.
In post i decide what I take from it, the angle and the proportion of the eventual image. Really like that post freedom.
At the same time i like to photograph dancers and make photos at that moment in time. It all depends.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I do agree though, although I do my best to take it properly in the camera I have no problems playing with it later.

That describes my approach, too. I do my best with the initial image, but I too have "no problems playing with it later. "

I like your final version, Jeremy.

[Jeremy Roussak]

I do what I can in camera and I fiddle as much as I consider is required afterwards. I don't spend hours: the conversion from first to second took me less than ten minutes.

Russ, I know you crop from time to time; and Slobodan, if you took as little care as you claim when composing, you wouldn't get half the quality of image you manage.

Moderation in all things.

Jeremy

[RSL]

Russ, I know you crop from time to time; and Slobodan, if you took as little care as you claim when composing, you wouldn't get half the quality of image you manage.

Yes I do, Jeremy. But I try to frame what I want in the picture. Here's an example http://www.russ-lewis.com/street/content/Dance_large.html. I had less than two seconds to frame and shoot. As I've said before, I wish I could have stepped one step to the left to get the kid in the wheelchair more into the picture, but if I'd done that I'd probably have lost the combination of beer and cigarette in that hand. I crop when I need to. This one I didn't crop. The 50mm equivalent Summilux did exactly what I wanted it to do.

And Slobodan: tsk, tsk. There's no way you shoot randomly and then try to see if you've got a picture when your shot is on the computer. You're too good to do that.

[Rob C]

Problem is, if you really, really want to, you can take almost any image and change it into something else.

I loved the first image with that deep, dark backdrop; cropping in makes another photo, more of a still life and without the drama of black. Fair enough, clone out minor distractions, but don't eviscerate the thing!

Rob