mffox Loc: Avon, CT

Three still life photos to be entered into a competition in January. 1) is titled "Sun Kissed, 2)is titled "Reminiscing on Days Gone By" 3) is titled "Home is the Sailor, Home from the Sea". Comments welcome. Thanks for looking.

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artBob Loc: Near Chicago

I have juried many exhibits and conducted even more critiques. All your photos show an interesting idea (orange) or emotions (the bottom two.) However, they all need to have their tonal range improved, with strong lights (no "blow outs" though), good shadow detail, and a rich range of middle tones. The orange is a fine idea, almost sculptural in form; but besides needing much better tones, it also must be in focus, as blurry adds nothing to your INTENT, the ultimate criterion for all photos.

The needs mentioned can be fixed via google research. Best of luck. It is a long, fruitful, and never-ending journey to make good photos.

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

Thank you, Bob. I value your comments; all are well taken. It IS a long journey.
Mark

artBob Loc: Near Chicago

If you use Lightroom or Photoshop, I'd be glad to share some routes that have helped me in the areas I mentioned.

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

I use Affinity which is much like Photoshop, and would appreciate your help. Thank you.

Mark

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Nice work on all of these.

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

Thank you for looking.
Mark

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Hi, Mark,
I think Bob’s comments re:#s 2 and 3 are reasonable.

But I think #1 “Kissed by the Sun” could benefit by considering some 17th century and 16th century hints from Hogarth (changed composition to emphasize “Hogarth’s curve”) and Leonardo da Vinci ( concerning the value of sfumato) respectively.

If you permit, I will repost your image, recomposed and, with overdrawn lines to emphasize the suggestions . Otherwise, I’ll send it to you by PM and you could, if you wish, post it yourself if you think it of value...or not.

Best regards,
Dave

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

Thank you very much, Dave. I'm happy to let you repost my image with your suggestions. That's how I learn!! I'm familiar with DaVinci but not Hogarth.

Looking forward to seeing your suggested fixes.
Mark

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

Bob:

I would look forward to seeing your Photoshop routes; I failed to mention that I also work with PSE and, although a bit rusty, I have worked with PS as well.

Mark

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

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Here goes,Mark,

Hogarth, author of “Analysis of Beauty” introduced serious discussion of the value of the gentle “S” curve (which has come to be known as “Hogarth’s curve”. in composition. Hogarth’s curve has come to be highly regarded by flower arrangers as well as by graphic artists of all sorts. His book is readily available (and inexpensive) on line.
It can be very effective if oriented along a diagonal, which is why I tilted your partially peeled tangerine...figuring a partially peeled tangerine has no intrinsic up or down...right?

Leonardo’s use of sfumato in many images - the classic example is “La Gioconda / Mona Lisa” in which he abjures use of fine lines delineating edges in favor a slight blur “softening” the otherwise harsh emphasis of edges of her lips and eyelids. It is termed “sfumato” (smoky) to suggest the effect of seeing sharp details through a faint haze of smoke. In other words, he was not a slave to, nor a fan of “sharp as a tack”

So, since a bit of “softness” / “sfumato” was a positive for Leonardo, and since your image has a thin zone of definite sharpness that intersects the top of the peeled portion( as well as the upper edge of the peel which will be softened...) I suggest trying a minimal touch of gaussian blur to soften a little further the circled portions, and using an adjustment brush to further sharpen the upper arc, and also the lower arc of Hogarth’s curve.

I’m on my ipad so don’t have the PP wherewithal to show you an expected final result, but if you try it, I’d love to see the result.

Best regards,
Dave

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mffox Loc: Avon, CT

Dave, that is fantastic. I will give it a try as soon as I'm able. Unfortunately, I had a hand surgery today which turned out to be a much bigger ordeal than I had expected, and my "mousing" hand looks like it's in a boxing glove.

Give me a few weeks and I'll send you the end result. Thank you again. We never stop learning.

Mark

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Hi, Mark,
Best wishes for a speedy recovery of manual dexterity!

Dave