joe604

Harald, your control over the shadows and highlights is perfect. This is one of the very best mountain landscapes I have seen. Congratulations. --Joe

Harald, Excellent shot. The highlighted rock in the canyon makes this a great shot. I can see that you had to put some effort into bringing out the details of rock wall in the shadow on the left. It's very well done. Congratulations. --Joe

Here is another view.

See also Indian barracks.

Excellent capture. The image clearly conveys the analogy of the boy's flight. It's very entertaining. Congratulations. --Joe

All the shots in this series are well done. This one is the best (good composition, a little bit abstract, and gives the viewer a feeling of what it's like on the walk). Congratulations. --Joe

This is typical of the views along I-25 from Trinidad to Colorado

Springs and is one of our favorite drives. The light coating of snow

on Greenhorn Mountain accentuated the transition from the plains to

the mountains. We got off the main highway and drove around on the

dirt roads in the area in search of the best views, but ended up

getting the best shot from the shoulder of busy I-25.

 

This is my second try with this image. This version has more contrast

to give it more strength. Comments are welcome. --Joe

Thanks, SGKBK. There was no way to avoid the community of Grand Lake from the porch of the Lodge. I had only a few minutes to see what I could make of this spot while the rest of the family shopped. This was a case of trying to make the best out of what one is dealt. And Grand Lake is a beautiful place under any conditions. --Joe

This view from the porch of the Grand Lake Lodge is normally a

spectacular view of the Rocky Mountain National Park, but not on that

morning. Comments welcome.

Perhaps there is a way to improve this, but I cannot imagine how. --Joe

Thanks, Henri. I have mixed feelings about this one. I feel like there is something that should be adjusted on it, but I can't put my finger on it. Too dark? Too flat? I was hoping that if I let it sit for a while and then come back to it, I might come up with a fresh idea. I will probably delete this image sometime in the future and submit a new version for critique. --Joe

A word of warning, copyright enforcement is going to be a shot in the dark.

Yes, David, I've been experimenting with this technique lately. The brain has the natural ability to composite what the eye sees when one looks at a real subject with a very wide range of tones, such as the dark shadows below the stairs and the bright sky above. The iris adjusts as the eye moves from dark to light. I'm trying to simulate that by transitioning through a series of multiple exposures.

I have tried some automated techniques of masking, but the results have been disappointing -- ugly transition boundaries. My best results have been to freehand paint the mask, which is how I did this one and another one. This is time consuming, but it gives the greatest artistic control. --Joe

Dennis, the more I look at this, the more I like it. I'm bumping my rating up to a 7/7. --Joe

The detail is intense -- it makes you want to look long and close. And, of course, it helps to start with a drop-dead-gorgeous model. Congratulations on a terrific portrait. --Joe.

A terrific capture! It tells a gripping tale in a single image. Congratulations. --Joe

A great bird photo that actually tells a story -- that makes it exceptional. The angle of the perch and the right amount of motion of the wings also are important factors in making this a great shot. Congratulations, 6/7. --Joe

The sky is spectacular, of course, but I want to praise you for the composition. All the elements -- tracks, grass, log, water, and clouds -- work together to point the eye to the mountains. It looks like you chose the optimum camera position. Congratulations, 7/6. --Joe

There were five Franciscan missions built in San Antonio, Texas, in

the early 1700's. The Alamo is the most famous, of course, but

href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2944369 ">Mission

Concepcion

and

href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2947383">Mission San

Jose

are better preserved. This stone stairway is behind Mission

Concepcion and leads up to the priest's private rooms. As with the

other shots in this series, I have tried to capture the beautiful

colors and textures of these old stone structures. Comments are

welcome. --Joe

Yes, Fabio, I used a tripod, and I was careful not to change the position between shots. Three of the images lined up pixel-perfect, but the last one had to be nudged into alignment in Photoshop (easy to do). It can be done without a tripod and simply use Photoshop to align the images. --Joe

Here are 2 of the 4 original exposures that were used to cover the wide range of contrast in the original scene.

 

I was surprised and happy with the outcome of this experiment given the wide range I started with, so I decided to share. Comments are welcome.

This submission is about technique more than subject matter. This is a

composite of four exposures to capture the full range of contrast

between the tree trunks in the shadows to the sunlit surface of the

mushroom. My goal was to capture what the eye can see, but which the

camera cannot capture in a single exposure. No other manipulation of

the scene was made.

That's right, I mean asymmetry. The general symmetry is what catches the eye initially, of course, but it is the subtler asymmetry that holds the attention and encourages the viewer to examine the details. A minor, nit-picking criticism is that the top of the center spire kisses the frame. I would prefer to crop just above the top or below the top. Congratulations -- Joe

The title refers to a Nickelodeon tv show my kids used to watch where the participants routinely had green slime dumped on them.

We went gater huntin' (photographically) at the state park yesterday.

This little guy and I waited patiently for 30 minutes for the morning

sunlight to reach him. Comments are welcome.