Autumn On The Thames
Nov 1, 2018 12:10:31 #
We spent a few days at Richmond (Surrey, UK) this week doing the nostalgia thing. The river there has long been a favourite for both amateur and professional painters and photographers - my grandfather spent a lot of time there wielding his watercolour brushes. My own efforts are rather less skilled but still great fun (for me). I reckon this needs some more texture and colour in the water and possibly a different sky - but one should have decided that before getting involved with Topaz filters as its then rather difficult to match things up. So, any thoughts on this work-in-progress will be much appreciated, and I do expect to start again at some point!
Nov 1, 2018 13:22:32 #
A ll the sky needs is a bit of contrast and colour. What the water needs is to be blue instead of brown.
Nov 1, 2018 13:42:57 #
R.G. wrote:
A ll the sky needs is a bit of contrast and colour. What the water needs is to be blue instead of brown.
But the Thames is mostly brown RG, particularly at low tide when the mudbanks are starting to appear - just couldn't bring myself to turn it blue!
Nov 1, 2018 14:36:44 #
The large central portion of the tree group is much softer than the edges of the tree branches that touch the sky. I'm thinking you "backed out" of some edit but didn't get rid of it all? I see no problem with the un-blue sky or water, depending on what happens to the rest. A uniformly applied watercolor or other painting effect could be very interesting, as could a texture overlay applied to the whole to bring in color that could be lightly masked from the boats and trees. I have just the png file in mind 
Nov 1, 2018 14:44:38 #
Linda From Maine wrote:
The large central portion of the tree group is muc... (show quote)
That’s something to do with an applied texture Linda - I’ve reduced the flattening effect a bit with a brush, but it is a nuisance and needs redoing really. I also used Topaz Clean which, whilst making it look watercolourish, is not too even-handed. I should probably have gone directly to a watercolour programme, as you suggest.
Nov 1, 2018 19:27:47 #
magnetoman wrote:
We spent a few days at Richmond (Surrey, UK) this ... (show quote)
The boats are wonderful. Colorful and nicely placed. I'm not so sure about the trees. Seems that the foliage is a bit on the smudged side of things for my preference. I'm sure that the effect is intentional. So I have a question. Are you planning to convert this completely to a watercolor effect? If so, then you might be able to to paint some clouds into the sky to give a bit more drama. I couldn't do it, but then I can't paint to save my life.
Erich
Nov 2, 2018 04:33:23 #
ebrunner wrote:
The boats are wonderful. Colorful and nicely placed. I'm not so sure about the trees. Seems that the foliage is a bit on the smudged side of things for my preference. I'm sure that the effect is intentional. So I have a question. Are you planning to convert this completely to a watercolor effect? If so, then you might be able to to paint some clouds into the sky to give a bit more drama. I couldn't do it, but then I can't paint to save my life.
Erich
Erich
Yes, I’m thinking I will go for the full monty on this one Erich. It is a stretch of the Thames that probably rates as ‘the most painted’, although mostly from high up on Richmond Hill terrace, which lays behind my view. The wider higher view is known as The Prospect of Richmond and I’m sure can be Googled.
As for the sky, I think it will need care, but a swap before conversion would be the easiest way to deal with it for me. I don’t want to change the feel of the scene too much. And the smudgyness is, as explained to Linda, due to not using the best conversion options this time. Thanks for your thoughts, it may be a while but I’ll be back in due course.
Nov 2, 2018 05:42:08 #
magnetoman wrote:
We spent a few days at Richmond (Surrey, UK) this ... (show quote)
I like the overall composition, but would like to see just a little more water at the bottom of the image to help with the balance. More texture and color is subjective and I sometimes find it difficult using Topaz on some images. Its very easy to go overboard and I'm sure you already know this. Looking forward to seeing your unfinished work-in-progress to the finish. Always impressive work.
Dave
Nov 2, 2018 05:42:37 #
magnetoman wrote:
Yes, I’m thinking I will go for the full monty on ... (show quote)
I'm sure it will be worth the wait. Have fun.
Erich
Nov 2, 2018 08:09:39 #
R.G. wrote:
A ll the sky needs is a bit of contrast and colour. What the water needs is to be blue instead of brown.
haha, I've been kayaking on the Thames (non tidal reaches) for 20+ years. Rarely seen it blue. If you shoot from a high viewpoint you might get a decent sky reflection but the Thames drains a basically arable basin and almost always carries sediment. I have seen it clear in long summers, but let's not forget this was shot on the tidal reaches which are always browner than upstream on most rivers. Down here, we don't have rivers with rocky beds flowing into crystalline seas!
Nov 2, 2018 15:04:30 #
John N wrote:
haha, I've been kayaking on the Thames (non tidal reaches) for 20+ years. Rarely seen it blue. If you shoot from a high viewpoint you might get a decent sky reflection but the Thames drains a basically arable basin and almost always carries sediment. I have seen it clear in long summers, but let's not forget this was shot on the tidal reaches which are always browner than upstream on most rivers. Down here, we don't have rivers with rocky beds flowing into crystalline seas!
A good point. Estuaries are rarely silt-free. We can be glad that it's silt and not sewage as it was in days gone by when the Thames smelled so bad it corroded the brass-work in the Houses of Parliament.
Nov 2, 2018 15:19:30 #
R.G. wrote:
A good point. Estuaries are rarely silt-free. We can be glad that it's silt and not sewage as it was in days gone by when the Thames smelled so bad it corroded the brass-work in the Houses of Parliament.
Well it used to pong a bit when I used to fish it as a kid! This week was low tide whilst we were there - last week they were chasing liquid mud out of riverside properties! The all-controlling lock is just a couple of hundred yards upriver from my shot.
Nov 2, 2018 15:30:14 #
John N wrote:
haha, I've been kayaking on the Thames (non tidal reaches) for 20+ years. Rarely seen it blue. If you shoot from a high viewpoint you might get a decent sky reflection but the Thames drains a basically arable basin and almost always carries sediment. I have seen it clear in long summers, but let's not forget this was shot on the tidal reaches which are always browner than upstream on most rivers. Down here, we don't have rivers with rocky beds flowing into crystalline seas!
You’re right there John. I spent a fair bit of my childhood fishing just below the lock or cycling from it to Kew, so mud feels like home! I was born in Richmond and lived there for twenty-five years - the things I miss most are this stretch of river and Richmond Park. We spent time at both this week, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately we didn’t get time to visit Kew Gardens - another of my playgrounds, where the threepence entry price of my childhood has risen to sixteen pounds. Suppose I’m a bit old to climb over the fence nowadays!
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