Would like your opinion
Jul 24, 2021 17:35:56 #
I've been going through some old pictures recently and ran across this one. I liked it, but the flowers being out of focus deterred me. Some painter friends critiqued it the other day and had no concerns about them being out of focus - in fact some said they were GLAD they were because that way they didn't draw attention away from the mountain. I have run this through Topaz Sharpen. So I'd like to know what y'all think.
Jul 24, 2021 18:57:01 #
I like it, Kathy. If the mountain is your subject, many people deliberately blur the background.
Jul 24, 2021 19:18:45 #
Cany143
Loc: SE Utah
For what its worth, and not to completely discount what your painter friends told you, there's a problem with their assessment in terms of what actually IS in your image. In effect, you have three planes of potential interest: the foreground flowers (which are not in focus), the middle ground trees (which ARE in focus), and the mountain (which is not in focus). Had that mountain been tightly focused, one might agree with their assessment (about the flowers), but as is, not so much. While obviously not possible after the fact, I'd have preferred the flowers be in focus, given the image at hand, AND considering that the middle ground trees are the least 'interesting' thing in the shot.
Jul 25, 2021 05:41:09 #
Got to agree with Cany on this one APL, and the middle ground trees are rather ‘fried’ in the attempt to sharpen the mountain. I don’t use Sharpen AI so don’t know what’s possible but if you could sharpen for the mountain ignoring everything else, and then mask-in that sharpening to suit, it would work better I think.
Jul 25, 2021 08:25:25 #
Jul 25, 2021 09:02:12 #
UTMike wrote:
I like it, Kathy. If the mountain is your subject, many people deliberately blur the background.
Thank you, Mike. It was the mountain that drew me to the scene.
Jul 25, 2021 09:03:47 #
Cany143 wrote:
For what its worth, and not to completely discount... (show quote)
Thanks, Cany. That's exactly what I thought when I first saw the image. I appreciate your candor.
Jul 25, 2021 09:05:02 #
magnetoman wrote:
Got to agree with Cany on this one APL, and the middle ground trees are rather ‘fried’ in the attempt to sharpen the mountain. I don’t use Sharpen AI so don’t know what’s possible but if you could sharpen for the mountain ignoring everything else, and then mask-in that sharpening to suit, it would work better I think.
There is masking capability in Topaz, but I don't know how to use it. I might try that. I was a bit annoyed when I saw what it did to the trees, as I thought in the original they were fine. I may go back to the original and see what I can do.
Jul 25, 2021 09:05:25 #
jaymatt wrote:
I must agree with Cany. His observations are spot-on.
Thanks, Jay. I also agree.
Jul 25, 2021 09:08:54 #
Cany143 wrote:
For what its worth, and not to completely discount... (show quote)
I'm with Cany on this. I think the mountain needs to be in focus for sure. I like as much of the picture in perfect focus as I can get. Any wanted blur areas are easily produced in post, but about impossible to fix in post, so I generally try for as much focus as possible, and certainly the subject area. I like your pic content but with the bottom third and top third out of focus, it almost hurts my eyes. Probably would look best with only the bottom third blurred.
Jul 25, 2021 09:12:06 #
BigDaddy wrote:
I'm with Cany on this. I think the mountain needs to be in focus for sure. I like as much of the picture in perfect focus as I can get. Any wanted blur areas are easily produced in post, but about impossible to fix in post, so I generally try for as much focus as possible, and certainly the subject area. I like your pic content but with the bottom third and top third out of focus, it almost hurts my eyes. Probably would look best with only the bottom third blurred.
Thanks for your comment. I guess to my eyes the mountain wasn't that bad. I never saw it as out of focus - or at least not unacceptably so. Maybe I need new eyes.
Jul 25, 2021 10:05:46 #
Jul 25, 2021 10:40:07 #
Jul 25, 2021 21:07:35 #
I too have a problem with the in-focus/out-of-focus areas. The flowers are soft, and the mountain is soft. Had I taken this, I would file it with my “Nicely Composed/Exposed - Reshoot Soon” collection and chalk it up to “Silly Me.” Your work is too good to let this image represent and define you.
Jul 25, 2021 22:18:09 #
rdgreenwood wrote:
I too have a problem with the in-focus/out-of-focus areas. The flowers are soft, and the mountain is soft. Had I taken this, I would file it with my “Nicely Composed/Exposed - Reshoot Soon” collection and chalk it up to “Silly Me.” Your work is too good to let this image represent and define you.
Thanks for your comment. It's kind of what I thought, too. But in a dry spell, things start looking different. I appreciate your encouragement.
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