alex marsaud

This is my very first attempt at Studio Photo Shoot, and also @ PS

Light Manipulation. Where would you see room for improvement? You can

compare it with the raw picture in my "Photo Shoot" folder.

 

Cheers,

Alex

One of these precious almost magical moments Down Under in the Hippy

City of Byron Bay... I'd appreciate critiques on colour balance,

composition, and any other constructive comments... Cheers m8s! Alex

Nothing like superstition with french pigeons... It's just that the storm was coming strong, as you can see on the pic, and these lovely bird were resting here, looking like they could not care less. They might aswell have been heralding the tempest coming.

 

About the colours, yes it was originally taken in colour film, and nothing was done in PS but for a few minor tweaking (sharpness, slight saturation, made darker...)

 

That's all folks!

 

Cheers,

Alex

Here it is:

Non-cropped version also enclosed for comparison. Tones / Mood /

Composition critics (et all) more than welcome!

 

Cheers, Alex

Count me in for the "nice framing, composition, and gorgeous colours" type of comments. Everything has been said already. Keep it up!

Cheers,

Alex

Inside or outside? Free or captive? The truth is in the eye of the

beholder...

 

I actually took this one thinking about this other picture I posted

a while ago with twigs growing on tilted barb wire. I intentionally

had the wire fence straight and geometrical, and the view

horizontal. Does this work here AFA composition is concerned? And is

the saturation not too much?

 

Cheers,

Alex

Outstanding composition! Great colour tones! Simply a great picture! Cheers, Alex

Nothing much new to say; just trying to catch up with all the good pics I missed.

Abolutely stunning warm colours, for a perfectly crisp result. Composition right on!

Cheers, Alex

Tones are just fine, and contrast to me needs no adjustment, as the monotone(ous) railroad picture should keep this cold and timeless feel to it.

I also think u made a good choice in a nearly symetrical composition; the right gravel/grass line counter-balance perfectly the right rail, so does the far right fence with the left rail.

 

Very nice job!

Cheers, Alex

Should be bigger and of better resolution indeed! Very simple and efficient composition. Something seems to be missing though... Maybe try closer to the tree with a wider lense? I took this very similar shot in Australia:

Not cliche to me. Distracting lack of symetry. O'all too soft focus to really draw you into the pik. Unappealing greens. But good idea! Keep it up! What about taking the same shot with a wide angle from a lower point? Cheers, Alex

Absolutely gorgeous orangy-yellow vs deep blue colour combination. I would also normally go for having the whole tree top, but here it works so well! Nice to have put the long grass @ the bottom rite to balance out the tree reflection on the bottom left. Great composition.

I didn't really know why I preferred the first pic, but now that you pointed it out, Kenneth, it's definitely because of the clouds' shadows on the flat ground. So the 2nd pic with this play on light would be great! And nice idea to try a low wide angle where the striations are (am I not making up a word here?!), next time I'm upthere.

 

I don't quite think this one needs so much saturation, Mike, but some does help...

 

Anyway, the rock is indeed rooted in the middle of nowhere. In order to be able to enjoy the view, bet on a fair hour and a half of steep slope. So needless to say I passed on the tripod!

 

And Pete, I did go down on my feet, after taking a deep long breath upthere! About the unusual looking sky, I guess u can label it the "Aussie Way" yet again!!!

 

Cheers mates for all of your comments!

Is this alternative better? If so, in what ways? Cheers, Alex

This one is rather humourous. I can't swipe off this grin that appeared on my face looking at it. I think it comes from the bench that appears to be posing in a quasi human way. Nice warm colours. The sky colour is strange to me for some reason...

The more I look at this one, the less I think the lighthouse fits in it. It kinda breaks the harmony brought by the cloud / horizon / reflection combination. Otherwise a fantastic picture. Love the 50/50 composition.

Lovely peaceful picture. Well grounded, nice pastel tones. What about having the windmill in the far right of the shot? I think it would be a nice framing, balancing the left clouds.

Jim, it's the 1st time I post this one...

Thanks all 4 your input. Michael and Kenneth, it's when I see other people's modified versions that I see better my pictures. Cheers 4 sharing. On this one, I think Kenneth's version renders better than mine, but the original is closer to the way it was during this blinding-sun day. That's why I stuck to it.

I'm not totally satisfied w/ the fact that I couldn't achieve a

perfect symetry, which I think would work great on this one. Plus

the bottom part (far buildings) seems to be better left out of the

shot. Also, maybe too harsh a lighting on the arch?

Absolutely amazing colours. Fantastic picture!

It wasn't darkened in PS and the point-and-shoot camera did all the job for me. I guess it's a screen thing, as on my lap top the image really pops out, but on my work desktop it looks all too dark...

 

As far as composition is concerned, more trees would indeed help I think, but I wouldn't crop out the top part of the top cloud. And Stephen your version doesn't seem to convey the original atmosphere: there's a too apparent green cast, which looses the yellowish tones..

Absolutely stunning! Amazing sharpness, very nice lighting, and above all amazing sense of volume. I love the way the background is rendered and how the bird pops out. Clean and immobile yet very dynamic shot.

The reason why I decided not to crop out the top of the trees is because I thought it echoed fairly well the darkest cloud at the very top. It wasn't for a grounding reason as much as it was for an aesthetic one. But you might feel like there is too much unecessary dead space between the bottom of the "triangle" and the top of the trees. And also this lighter cloud in the mid-right part of the pic shouldn't be here?

 

And BTW, keep commenting constructively the way u do, it really helps me "see" my pics and the others' better and more clearly. I feel like I've improved in many ways since I joined the circle. Keep it up! Cheers, Alex

I just realized this horizontal sand stripe on the right-hand side that cuts off the reflection of the wooden pilars. It bothers me quite a bit. Is it too evident?

Thanks all for your valuable comments. I would agree to just crop out the light cabin on the right. Placing the horizon totally dead centre sounds appealing to give the pic more balance. So does darkening a tad more the foreground (not as much as you did Stephen), or even make the whole image a panorama, as you did Fred.

And Regina, I think too that the pale kinda subtle tones make this image so romantic.

Again thanks all!