Playing with the left side of my brain...
May 12, 2020 22:16:44 #
Hello everyone-
Was scanning through the "All Categories" section of UHH and this forum caught my eye...so I joined:-).
So here is a little background as to why this caught my eye.
I joined a local photography club here in San Diego about a year ago now. I was looking for a place where I could get new ideas and expand my rather unimaginable mind and to learn new ways to make so-so photo's into something pleasing to the eye.
In this club (PolyPhoto club of San Diego) we have monthly contests judged by local photographers. There are 3 categories that we can submit to each month. The primary is the "project" category which is given to us each month. Last months project was "Power" but other past examples were "Glass", "Conversation", "Through the Window" etcetera. The other two are "Reality" and "Altered Reality". My niche has been the reality and I do fairly well in the project category as well with a couple of first place entries and a few second place.
The "Altered Reality" category is dominated by a few very good post processing and imaginative photographers but it is also the one that intrigued me most and so I've been on a little quest to improve my abilities in this category.
Over the next few days...maybe weeks, depending on how much time I have, I'm going to share a few of my works with you. I would appreciate your input and valued opinion on my work. I'm going to present to you an original photograph and then my new interpretation on that photo.
Thanks in advance and I hope you enjoy my work; which I hope will get better as I develop my skills in this area.
Was scanning through the "All Categories" section of UHH and this forum caught my eye...so I joined:-).
So here is a little background as to why this caught my eye.
I joined a local photography club here in San Diego about a year ago now. I was looking for a place where I could get new ideas and expand my rather unimaginable mind and to learn new ways to make so-so photo's into something pleasing to the eye.
In this club (PolyPhoto club of San Diego) we have monthly contests judged by local photographers. There are 3 categories that we can submit to each month. The primary is the "project" category which is given to us each month. Last months project was "Power" but other past examples were "Glass", "Conversation", "Through the Window" etcetera. The other two are "Reality" and "Altered Reality". My niche has been the reality and I do fairly well in the project category as well with a couple of first place entries and a few second place.
The "Altered Reality" category is dominated by a few very good post processing and imaginative photographers but it is also the one that intrigued me most and so I've been on a little quest to improve my abilities in this category.
Over the next few days...maybe weeks, depending on how much time I have, I'm going to share a few of my works with you. I would appreciate your input and valued opinion on my work. I'm going to present to you an original photograph and then my new interpretation on that photo.
Thanks in advance and I hope you enjoy my work; which I hope will get better as I develop my skills in this area.
May 12, 2020 22:47:46 #
Well, basically in number one you have a background here without a subject. You instinctively knew something was missing so you chose to make the background the subject by hyper saturating it in number two. Right?
May 13, 2020 01:48:13 #
There is a lot more there than saturation. Textures, multiple filters, dodge & burn and the subject could easily be the bench waiting for someone to come along and sit in it.
As the title infers it’s supposed to be a dreamscape not a reality - thus an altered reality.
But I’m an old dude and a traditional wedding, portrait, landscapes and animals kind of guy. I’m also self taught other than a class in High School 45 years ago.
As the title infers it’s supposed to be a dreamscape not a reality - thus an altered reality.
But I’m an old dude and a traditional wedding, portrait, landscapes and animals kind of guy. I’m also self taught other than a class in High School 45 years ago.
May 13, 2020 09:02:28 #
DanielB wrote:
There is a lot more there than saturation. Textures, multiple filters, dodge & burn and the subject could easily be the bench waiting for someone to come along and sit in it.
As the title infers it’s supposed to be a dreamscape not a reality - thus an altered reality.
But I’m an old dude and a traditional wedding, portrait, landscapes and animals kind of guy. I’m also self taught other than a class in High School 45 years ago.
As the title infers it’s supposed to be a dreamscape not a reality - thus an altered reality.
But I’m an old dude and a traditional wedding, portrait, landscapes and animals kind of guy. I’m also self taught other than a class in High School 45 years ago.
I can see you put a lot of work into it, and I think the sky, if it were more of a solid color, would play nicer against the landscape.
Sorry if I sounded too snarky. But I think this is one of the comments you are likely to get at a camera club. I have been in camera clubs for over 30 years and I know what they look for. And that is a strong familiar subject like a lighthouse or a nature critter and possibly telling a story. When it comes to creative you can do wild colorful things but it still usually has to have a subject and maybe a story or theme. Pure abstracts do not do well. Nor does Selective focus as everything has to be sharp.
This would be off-putting for many people as it sounds antithetical to creativity but in my case I have learned to roll with the punches and take what good a camera club has to offer and do my own stuff for myself. Camera club sensibilities tend to be more aligned with the general population. I can use that as a sounding board.
Now I have to go out and meet up with some club members for an outdoors photo shoot. There's always the social aspect.
May 13, 2020 09:56:13 #
Fotoartist wrote:
Well, basically in number one you have a background here without a subject. You instinctively knew something was missing so you chose to make the background the subject by hyper saturating it in number two. Right?
Fotoartist said: "you have a background here without a subject"
Well Fotoartist, obviously the subject is at home in self-imposed quarantine.
May 13, 2020 14:33:11 #
Daniel,
I think that you will find different photographers have a very different take on any subject - which is saying it's all pretty subjective. No one of us has the "right" of it - just our opinion.
I'm not sure what you think of the idea, but one of the practices that has been used in the past is to post a photo, then ask other artists to download your original, do their own magic on it (again, very subjective, and very different), then post their edited results. This works best if they will give a detailed discussion of what steps they took to make the changes. The OTHER way is for each artist to suggest things YOU might do.
Now, one of things I notice in your original is that there is a park bench located on the shore in the left hand corner. If I were to tackle this image, I would do my best to lighten up the shadows in the trees, then perhaps make the park bench stand out a bit more (almost, but not quite, a spotlight, then perhaps impose a gradient so that the bench is sharply focused but things get hazier and dimmer going from left to right and from front to back.). It has the added benefit of being off-center. I'm also of the opinion that this image is just begging for sky-replacement (I'm partial to Luminar 4's options)
I think that you will find different photographers have a very different take on any subject - which is saying it's all pretty subjective. No one of us has the "right" of it - just our opinion.
I'm not sure what you think of the idea, but one of the practices that has been used in the past is to post a photo, then ask other artists to download your original, do their own magic on it (again, very subjective, and very different), then post their edited results. This works best if they will give a detailed discussion of what steps they took to make the changes. The OTHER way is for each artist to suggest things YOU might do.
Now, one of things I notice in your original is that there is a park bench located on the shore in the left hand corner. If I were to tackle this image, I would do my best to lighten up the shadows in the trees, then perhaps make the park bench stand out a bit more (almost, but not quite, a spotlight, then perhaps impose a gradient so that the bench is sharply focused but things get hazier and dimmer going from left to right and from front to back.). It has the added benefit of being off-center. I'm also of the opinion that this image is just begging for sky-replacement (I'm partial to Luminar 4's options)
May 13, 2020 14:58:33 #
Bob Yankle wrote:
Daniel, br br I think that you will find diff... (show quote)
Bob, You are right. In fact I did not notice the bench. I didn't look that closely. I'm doing what the judges do in competitions. They look for something that grabs them, jumps out. And fast too, they score in a matter of a few seconds. That bench is awful small.
For me at first, I see the fog on the water in the top one. That is something to latch onto, if it could be played up somehow, in that one or creatively.
May 13, 2020 18:51:14 #
Fotoartist wrote:
I can see you put a lot of work into it, and I thi... (show quote)
Thank you. I appreciate your insight. I’ve seen your work and your Post work is awesome.
May 13, 2020 20:54:59 #
dpullum wrote:
Fotoartist said: "you have a background here without a subject"
Well Fotoartist, obviously the subject is at home in self-imposed quarantine.
Well Fotoartist, obviously the subject is at home in self-imposed quarantine.
No doubt about that “d”.
May 13, 2020 21:17:32 #
Bob Yankle wrote:
Daniel, br br I think that you will find diff... (show quote)
Good advice, Bob. I’ll play with that and see what I can com up with.
What I was trying to capture when I took this photo was the mist rising from the pond. Spent less than 5 minutes snapping photos.
May 13, 2020 21:18:35 #
Fotoartist wrote:
Bob, You are right. In fact I did not notice the bench. I didn't look that closely. I'm doing what the judges do in competitions. They look for something that grabs them, jumps out. And fast too, they score in a matter of a few seconds. That bench is awful small.
For me at first, I see the fog on the water in the top one. That is something to latch onto, if it could be played up somehow, in that one or creatively.
For me at first, I see the fog on the water in the top one. That is something to latch onto, if it could be played up somehow, in that one or creatively.
May 13, 2020 23:20:20 #
I love the mist and the bench. If it were mine I would consider eliminating the sky in both the top and bottom reflection. Just me.🙂
May 14, 2020 18:58:50 #
Linda2 wrote:
I love the mist and the bench. If it were mine I would consider eliminating the sky in both the top and bottom reflection. Just me.🙂
Linda, I was just thinking the same thing. One could get a really nice study in fog wisps. with almost a dark framework to highlight them. Just crop out the sky and its reflection and maybe a bit from the right side to balance out the image, then go to town onthe lighting effects. It's got me excited just thinking about it.
May 14, 2020 20:49:25 #
Bob Yankle wrote:
Linda, I was just thinking the same thing. One could get a really nice study in fog wisps. with almost a dark framework to highlight them. Just crop out the sky and its reflection and maybe a bit from the right side to balance out the image, then go to town onthe lighting effects. It's got me excited just thinking about it.
It is a mesmerizing image isn't it Bob! I love your thoughts and totally agree. A keeper for sure.
May 17, 2020 18:49:54 #
DanielB wrote:
Hello everyone- br Was scanning through the &qu... (show quote)
So I took another look at this... I don't know if anyone will revisit this post but I thought I'd enter some final thoughts.
One of my biggest faults is cropping or lack there of. For some reason I get stuck in the "Big Picture" and overlook the better photo within the photo. Here is a cropped version of the original and I personally find this to be quite pleasing. I wanted the painted look and saturation so that's exactly what I was going for.
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