Chocolate Malted on the Beach

View Large. Taken in the Sea of Abaco (usually bright turquoise in color) several days

after a strong front passed through. Your reactions to this photo? Thanks for looking.

Sandra this is an interesting image that has been expertly captured and where I like the triangular shaped rock area but it is missing something for me and I am not quite sure - extra 'pop'? Different light? Now don't shoot the messenger! warm regards,

Hey Tony -

 

I don't shoot messengers - just pictures. ; ) I respect your comments and very much appreciate your taking the time to make them.

 

There is nothing in this photo but cocoa color, coffee grounds and white foam to put it gastronomically... maybe there is too much of it - or of nothing singular of note. There was nothing else for... not quite miles.... but hundreds of yards. I put this shot out here because while I like the stop action catch of the surf and the colors, my gut tells me something is missing... but there was nothing to be added... perhaps cutting the photo into thirds to create a tryptich would work - smaller sections with a vertical orientation would be more interesting - more of a natural abstract effect?

I have adjusted this mostly with layer adjustment masks and selectively applying changes. added +5 saturation and a color balance of +5 yellow and +5 red to give it a slightly warmer appearance. Probably does not look like what you saw had but it gives it a little more appeal for me.

HI tony-

 

 

Wow - very different effects with your changes. I like them. I think I need to work more on editing photos for artistic impact (haven't played with layers and masks); the reality factor has always been my creative compass needle. I've not been exposed to photo artists before, and my perspectives on the acceptable range of alteration were pretty narrow. I was and still am pretty much of a photo purist, but I'm discovering how much more there is to digital photography thanks to site and individuals like you. I now realize that I can walk with feet in both worlds, so to speak... and that I like both worlds... and that I can probably achieve a fair amount of competency in both. Each has its place... before where I would create one final edit, now I can do two or three versions. Sweet!! (Thanks heavens I retired early so I can while away the damp winter hours exercising my creativity; nothing else is getting any exercise right now, that's for sure!)

I like what tony did adds a little pop and better colors I think , have agreat day !

"nothing else is getting any exercise right now" - not good! (*_*). All this photo.net and photography can have you ignoring stuff that you should not - seriously! I do have feet in both worlds of photo purist (many definitions on that) and photo artist and I do find it exciting. Glad I could be of a small help. Food for thought: when one produces a black and white image, is one a photo purist?

Jeffrey, Tony-

 

I think I pin-pointed the improvement - it's the 3-D dimensional impact of the surf that this photo has (in addition to the slightly brighter colors.) Many thanks - I'll be studying masks today!

 

As for no exercise - well, I held a desk job for years; this isn't much different except I have more freedom, and this is a lot more creative and relaxing. The other piece of the story is that I was due for some extensive 5-hour foot surgery in January that got postponed because the doc got sick the day before he was to fix my foot, then had his own knee surgery with an extended recovery - and now I'm scheduled for April 2. Jeez - I have to stay off my feet or pay a hefty price in terms of pain, swelling and walking on my heel or the side of my foot (bad for the rest of my skeletal structure and posture).. but the inactivity is driving me crazy. I am usually on my feet running around for 10 to 14 hours a day. Now I have to behave, at least temporarily, and CS2 is making it easier. : )

 

Answer to your question about bw photo for me is pretty cut and dried: Anything you do digitally that can also be done to film in a darkroom and does not require multiple processing steps toalter the negative or the original digital image is "in bounds" for "natural" - perhaps the better word is traditional photography." If a photo is shot with bw film, it's a true bw, not manipulated. If digital had a bw shooting mode, it would be "natural" or unmanipulated. The desaturation of color to create a bw is a manipulation, but the subject can be in its natural form and content. I rather like the distinction of calling digital bw IR instead of bw. Maybe I'm parsing here, but I know this is a subject of much on-going and thoughtful debate in the photo world. I think a lot of the buzz stems from an effort to differentiate between exceptional skill behind the lens and exceptional skill in PhotoShop and similar applications.