Golf Hawaii

Picture sharp, composition nice, but the color of the sky is a tone of blue that appears way off. The water also looks blue/green, sort of strange, maybe too much saturation, either in the film. or processing of the image.

Damn - tough crowd Vinny ................ !! .................. Bowlers maybe.

 

I say leave the golfer - his scale being the size it is allows me to either 'see' him or not. Adds an additional accent to the image. Colors look fine on my screen. Composition looks right on, cloud formations look ideal to me.

 

On a side note -- When Bob and I come out for the Velvia seminar, we want you to take us here. Now Bob, I think you should go for the flag on this one ...................... I'm gonna play it safe and hope I end up in the trap ......... !!! ........... Helluva tough looking golf hole.

To remove or not to remove? In this posted version, even viewed LARGE, it is hard for me to distinguish the golfer acutely. So I would remove him here. However, in a larger photoprint, that may not be the case. The golfer may then indeed add that extra interest (not that this photograph needs any more!). If you leave him in, the viewer could also vicariously identify with the golfer. Not a bad thing to do: aids the day dream process. Great color as usual. Regards.

You are correct Walter. I see the same thing here. With the 8x12 print he is still easily recognized, he even has his club behind his back and walking up in a very relaxed mood. Here it is difficult to distinguish what he is doing or who he is. I also like Ken's point, that he is not really in the way if you don't want to look at him....yet adds something, even if only a bit. Nice observations gentlemen!....thanks.

Well Vincent,you probably were expecting me here one time or another.As a golfcourse photographer I just could not stay away from this one...so here is my two cents of worthless comments.

 

From a compositional point of view Vincent this image is not too bad whether the green is there or not.IMHO opinion two things hurt this image,the first being that I do not see any real good light to give much needed drama here.This shot is just too plain pretty in a ho hum way.

 

As a serious golf shot the cartpath is very distracting and so is the human.You cannot tell if he is actually playing golf or just passin thru.Golf images,as most landscapes need contrast such as shadows to emphasize contours and give the feeling of depth.Here there is no depth but a flat feeling...thus the interest level drops dramatically.

 

I would say my man that this is certainly NOT one of your better images and I really expect to see a little more 'feeling'on youir next one.Have I told you I love you today?Ha,Ha!

It would be interesting to see the scenery without the food-coloring

It's ok Vincent...have a shot at my golf image I just posted...my skin is so thick nowdays I cannot even tell what time of year it is anymore!Do not play golf with Ken,he is a sandbagger!

The photo editor for a large company I do biz with used to think similarly as yourself. However, once she came to these islands her opinion was eradicated in a moments notice. These are the tropics and saturation is a very real part of living here. Perhaps you too would enjoy a trip to see for yourself. Furthermore, perhaps we could see what images you enjoy taking one day. Black and white I am sure.

 

Thomas, no that was no shot at your golf image, it was an honest critique. For somebody that is so critical, I was sure expecting more. I do respect you opinion, as well as Ms Ruth, as well as those that do enjoy the colors. Life would sure be boring without differing viewpoints. I am sure we can all agree on that one!! Thanks again. Aloha.

Having been to Hawaii for a while I still cannot accept some of the picture postcard colouring. The motives are well sought, the quality is impeccable and the colours are just too .....thick in all of your images. Try to convince us by posting at least a few natural ones...

When you shoot in the tropics in mid Summer, with a much needed polarizor, with the best color film Velvia...the colors will be there. It's a simple fact. Unless you come and see for yourself, there is not much I can say or do to convice you otherwise. The original looks very much like this. I too see a slightly thicker blue than usual even for out here. However, notice the bright clouds as well, the sun is blindingly high and powerful on this day. I believe it was near the 20th of June...the longest and brightest day of the year. This IS how the original looks. It's as plain and simple as that. I always prefer shooting during this time of year to do just that...take advantage of the bright richness that is in an abundance. Rest assured there are too many days to count where the richness is not there. I just make a point to edit or look for another type of capture....sunsets for instance. Perhaps I should post some muted versions to satisfy those of you less that are less inclined toward color. Don't count on it though. Thanks for sharing your honest opinions though. No harm done there. Aloha.

I figured Thomas might show up ............................. (-;

 

I see Thomas's point and his own excellent golf images bare out his preference for sunset and sunrise lighting. What actually amazes me about this shot is exactly what Thomas points out -- the midday lighting. Amazing to me you can capture such a beautiful image in spite of the midday sun ........................ !!! ................... This type of image , to me, is a nice contrast to Thomas's style -- I admire both a great deal.

 

Going over to bash .... er ... critique Tom's upload now ......................... (-;

Hi, Vincent. Picture from DreanLand! What a blue! Good job, Galina

Pro work and very good!

I figured Ken for a sandbagger. That will be 7 shots a side now, thank you very much. :-)

Ok, Ok ....... But I get to drive the cart.

Ken,weren't you the one who got his foot stuck behind the accelerator and ran into that deep bunker?I think the storey goes that you had been nipping just a tad and was a little too friendly with the caddies....

Ken needs to just watch us play. That way he can still sip. Otherwise we will be chasing his golf balls. About driving the cart....Sorry Ken...maybe next time.

Heavy sighhh ....

I spend a good part of every winter in Hawaii and I also use Velvia with a polarizing filter and I don't believe for one second that the saturation of these photos are not manipulated in photoshop. There is nothing with wrong with that however. Just don't insult our intelligence by denying it.

Hey Vince, I noticed a slight cyan cast in the clouds. I corrected it by lasso-ing out the general area, adding some feather, and adjusting color-balance. The rest of the image is nice. I like the composition, which has a very good fore-, mid-, background relationship to draw the viewers in.

If you read the Photo.net guidelines, adding saturation, contrast, sharpening mildly in Photoshop etc etc IS acceptable. What I am saying here is that this image looks VERY close to what the original slide looks like. That is all. No clouds, no golfer, no composite or anything else added. The truth is I am not capable enough to do those things anyway. I always shoot and post what is real, that is all I want to let people know when I do check that box.

 

I can also respect your concerns as well. My suggestion to you, is that rather than coming out like a bull claiming deception on my part, using big bold words "NO Manipulation-I don't think so" why not instead simply ask me first why I feel this is not manipulated. Are you looking for some fireworks?? That could happen as well...would not be the first time either. Yet we are all photographers and I would certainly hope that a measure of respect can be shown regardless if our opinions differ. No scan, no matter how good it is will give you all the color that is in the original...none. So yes I do add saturation as well as some contrast and density to bring the scan much closer to what the original was like. Have I ever tweaked perhaps a bit too much? I would guess that could happen as well. Like I said above, the hue in the sky looks just a bit off, but that is also how the original looks, and very possibly how it actually was that day. I do remember that it was one very hot and very bright day mid Summer in the tropics day! The greens look very real, that is often how they look. So just to be clear, NO this image was not manipulated according to the Photo.net guidelines. In fact your image here

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo.tcl?photo_id=1393893

 

appears to have even more cartoonish features than you say mine does. Let's just be fair with each other here....is that cool??

 

Kenneth, I do see your point and also want to thank you for uploading the adjustments. Your critiques are always welcomed! (This is how we can all really improve anyway). I will defintely use your idea in future print editions. This image buy the way is sold on all islands (only a few can work like that...most people strictly want the island they are on at the time) and it does sell surprisingly well. Guess there are quite a few golfers out here. Thanks again for all that stopped by and gave their 2 cents...even the dissenting ones!! And Ken...maybe we will let you hold the wheel on the cart...that okay?? A big Mahalo to all.

great,it is a strange landscape to me so i cant really critisize it,if i should ,maybe the bush in the foreground is not placed right because its green is similar to the golf course,so there is not enough contrast,it makes the lower part less interesting.Less green on the bush,more Flowers or without the bush would be imho better.Regards

I don't understand why people are upset over the color. From the moment I stepped off the plane in Maui I couldn't believe how bright the flowers, water and everything else were. I believe these are the real colors. Maybe people are speaking out of jealousy at not being able to take such great picture, in such a beautiful place, anytime they want to.

Like mentioned above, the Photo Editor for Webshots (a nine million hits per day Photo website) came two weeks ago to this island for a week of vacation and shooting. Her exact words were similar to yours. As soon as she got off the plane she recognized the significant differences of the colors out here near the equator. Could not believe the differences actually. I have no real problem if people are surprised by the differences, but this other nonsense and accusations is getting a bit old. It is also true that most days are not this bright and lit up with these rich colors. However, therte are certain times in the Summer months when one can be blinded by the rich tropical beauty that surrounds. Thanks for the support!

I've been all over Cuba and lived in Ecuador. The colors in the tropics ARE intense, but not this intense. On the other hand, I do not always strive for strict realism, either. Of course, with Velvia and a polarizer, you are never going to be seeing the world exactly as it is, but that is okay by me.