distantvoice

Dennis, for me it is quite successful and convincing. But the image is a little bit soft. Use some sharpening with a white halo reduction (dark palette dominates here so it is better to avoid white halos). You can do this with CS2 intelligent sharpening or through the two sharpened layers, one merged with the background with darken blending mode and the second merged with lighten blending mode but with less opacity - you can adjust the opacity according to your preference.

This one gives more freedom for our image sight-seeing. It is amazing - we are in the space between two layers of the clouds. That is a truly sheltering sky ;-). We feel like we are between the sheets what is quite appropriate here as this landscape is really dreamlike. Still it is too blue for my taste.

I prefer the original, this photo needs the space on the right. The dancer does not look exactly into the window there but thanks to the magic of photography we feel that there is a strong connection between him and the exterior space. His thoughts fly beyond any limits...

I second Seven. It reminds me the Plato's shadows on the cave wall. Or it looks rather like a protective ghost of the dancer, her inspiration... For me it is always the biggest achievement for a photographer when he or she goes beyond the reality and touches the world of ideas. What more can I say, I am lost in admiration.

Henri, IMHO this one is the most intriguing and original. Superb composition with all the lines leading to the silhouette in the background. This door is the exit to the world outside, but who would want to leave such a beautiful and peacful place. So this photo really tells us something about the idea behind the cloisters' architecture and space. I have some reservations concerning the post-processing, we have mixed light here so it is very difficult to correct but I think there is too much cyan/green in the left bottom corner shadow. The sunlight on the bench is crucial here so I would leave it as it is, but the wall seems blown out a little. Nevertheless the exposure and the contrast are just perfect. Regards, Michal.

Ferrando, I will stick to my opinion here. You are right but you would achieve the same effect (and for me even better) with lighter and more natural sky. And - of course - the negative space is on the right. But when I saw my mistake I realized that maybe if we put it on the left side it would make this composition even more engaging. What do you think?

 

As to the large format. Of course it has its advantages when we print in large sizes. But the weight of the equipment is sometimes essential for getting the shot at all. What is more large format is in fact very slow format, adjusting the depth of field can be troublesome and the light changes quickly.

Ferrando, very moody image. The atmosphere of sorrow and loneliness is overwhelming - I try to capture that when I am in the mountains but I achieve so good results rarely. Nevertheless I have some reservations concerning the sky which is too heavy for my taste. We can see the transition on the left side just above the rock so you have apparently darkened the sky after the selection. IMHO you have exagerrated with this darkening as the sky works against the mood of this photograph. On the other hand the composition is just perfect with some negative space on the left that balances nicely the tension between the points of interest in the center (i.e. the boulders, the spruces and the cloud). Regards, Michal.

Piotr, dzieki za Twoj komentarz. To zdjecie jest kapitalne, dawno nie widzialem tak pomyslowego makro. Glebia ostrosci bardzo dobrze przemyslana, ujmujaca kolorystyka, ciekawy temat, trafiona kompozycja. Czegoz chciec wiecej. Moje gratulacje.

Carsten, I would not suggest using Lab here. The colouring of this image is very subtle and although HSL adjustement may change luminosity a little I think it is much more appropriate in this case. It lets us adjust the colour precisely and Lab is better at stronger adjustements when the problems with HSL may become significant. Of course I know the advantages of Lab, I worked with it for some time when I had to prepare CMYK prepress separations. It can be really powerful, as Dan Margulis wrote, but sometimes we just do not need this power (though in prepress we really use all the tools to obtain acceptable colour in the narrow and frustrating CMYK colourspace and acceptable contrast on paper). I do not mean that the results of your correction are bad in any respect but they can be easily obtained with HSL without any visible changes in luminosity or tint and with a better control over the final effect. Personally I rarely use Lab when I work with RGB images as I post process my own photographs that have a good dynamic range and colour at the beginning, even Dan Margulis claims that Lab is not so useful with this kind of material. I use luminosity sometimes but I rarely adjust *a and *b channels - IMHO the effects of these adjustements look somewhat unnatural.

This photo is all about colour. Extremely minimalistic but very alluring. The strips of yellow in the sky and light blue in the water correspond with each other nicely. It would bring the abstract photos of Eric Fredine to my mind some time ago, now when I know your works my first association is Leigh Perry's art. You really do not have to sign your photographies, your subtle palette do it for you.

Carsten, very interesting street scene and in my opinion a perfect B&W conversion. This photo has a nice tonality that has brought old masters' photographies to my mind. I would like to see the whole bicycle on the left but I know that if you had tried to capture it you would have lost the balance of the whole composition. Now the lady in the window is placed in the hot spot of this image and the building creates a three-dimensional form that organizes the whole space shown here. We see just enough of the street leading up - the scene has its context but at the same time our attention is not distracted by the lines leading our eyes away from it. So I find this vertical format appropriate here, although I think that a square format would work here too (Giuseppe Miriello is a great fan of this format, look at his similar recent work here).

 

I really like your recent street shots. Regards, Michal.

I have worked on this image to emphasize the rays of light and to correct the colours as the green tint in the midtones and the blue haze around the window are too strong for my taste. Here is what I did. I realized that the rays are significant only in the blue channel, so I have made two copies of the basis layer, mixed the channels (90% blue, 10% green) in the top layer to obtain a monochrome version and adjusted the opacity of this layer in lightness mode. I have merged the top and the middle layers leaving the bottom layer for quick comparison of both versions. I have lost some details in the windows so I have copied the basis layer, moved it to the top, selected everything except the windows area, feathered the selection a little and deleted it (again I have merged the layers). This way I had the windows from the basis image and the rest with the blue channel mixed in. Next I have copied the working layer, brightened the copy with a steep curve and merged it down with multiply setting to increase the contrast of the final image further (I used 10% opacity setting). Then I have copied the background layer and moved it to the top once again. I have selected the bottom right corner dark area, feathered the selection and deleted the rest of this layer - I did so to restore some details in the shadows that I have lost as a result of contrast adjustements. After that I have corrected the colours adding some magenta and yellow in the midtones and desaturating blues in the lights (with the proper selection). I have desaturated the colours to obtain a natural look. Finally I decided to emphasize the rays a little further, I have selected the wall around them and increased the contrast a little bit with the curve (I have faded this curve with the luminosity setting). Next I have selected only the beams and brightened them a little bit. Here is the result. I decided not to correct the perspective but I cropped the photo from the left to make it more symmetrical and to hide the lamp in the top left corner which IMHO is an unnecessary distraction. I hope I did not destroy the mood of this photograph as I did everything to keep it. Regards, Michal.

Dennis, I agree with you and Marielou, the cropped version deprive this photo of its originality. I have worked on this image to illustrate what I mean by emphasizing the rays of light. The post processing was not very complicated, I am going to describe it under the colour version of this photo (I will post the colour proposition too as I still prefer this version, here I have only mixed the channels of my colour alternative and adjusted the curves a little). Today is my first anniversary on PN. Please read my thanks here.

Very good composition and appealing though simple subject. Maybe you could move to the left a little to cover the blank sky but then we would not see much of the cloister. The B&W version is too contrasty for my taste. Regards, Michal.

I agree with Pnina here. The alternative version is somehow more convincing.

Dennis, I have not found anyone who specializes in the Romanesque or mediaeval architecture (apart from Theo) but many photographers shoot churches. Two names come to my mind at once: Marielou Dhumez and Colin Carron - they both have only a few photographs of that type in their portfolios but IMO these images are intriguing and inspirational.

 

Thank you for your compliment, I am trying to do my best :-) . Regards.

Dennis, I think that it is a splendid photo of this church (I was not there but seen some photos of it). Although the composition is classic the colouring and light are in my opinion just perfect. If you had focused your attention on the statue it would have been a different photo (which you have made anyway) and I fully understand why you have decided to show the whole church in your gallery. Its walls have beautiful creamy colour that appeals to all the Romanesque lovers ;-) . But seriously... this church has its history - we can recognize this both from the crackles in the plaster and from the organ which was added much later. It is an important place for many past, present and future generations, a monument that still lives. Your photo is full of nostalgy, it is a sentimental vision of this place, something that I am always after when I try to document how these interiors look using my camera. Unfortunately I did not have a chance to do it for quite a long time now so it is a real pleasure for me to look at your photos - the images that come straight from your heart. You just feel better being there and desire to come back as often as it is possible. Me too.

 

I am sorry that I still have not answered to your last e-mail but I have a lot of work this week and as english is not my mother tongue writing takes some time. I have many things to write - maybe I will write some of them under your comment to my "Architecture of silence". Best wishes, Michal.

Robert, swietna kompozycja, piekne niebo i kolory. Niestety wyraznie widac efekt halo naokolo roslin, pozostalosc po selekcji, ktora miala zapewne posluzyc rozjasnieniu lub zwiekszeniu nasycenia tej kepki. Przy okazji jednak piasek naokolo kepki tez nabral kolorkow, co staje sie szczegolnie ewidentne, gdy patrze na zdjecie piszac te slowa (czyli w pewnym pomniejszeniu).

A photo that stands out, that is for sure. But I have some reservations. Although the idea for the foreground is great it is neutralized to a certain degree by this marvellous sky that draws too much attention here. Funny as it is usually the sky that is blank, I guess this photo could be less controversial when presented upside down ;-) . But seriously... the light is superb and the foreground would not be probably so successful without these backlit clouds. I think I would try a vertical composition to include a little bit more sky and thus make the photo better balanced. Anyway, great timing. I like how the curves created by the water correspond with the curves of the clouds. Regards, Michal.

Subtle scene that looks almost surreal thanks to the mist from which Mt Adams emerges. Beautiful colouring of the sky adds even more to that feeling. The foreground is well composed nevertheless it seems to dominate the image. I think it would be even more successful without the rock which blocks the entrance to the beautiful valley that leads to the mountain. I would like to see an alternative photo made with the tripod placed on this rock. But on the other hand the rock makes the composition better balanced as many important elements are placed on the left side of this photograph. Anyway an alluring photograph that appeals to me more and more but the composition could be better considered.

 

Jeff's version is more contrasty and saturated but is it more intriguing? Personally I do not think so. I would prefer something in between with better defined light around the mountain and a little bit more saturated grass. And I think that the frame draws too much attention here.

Dennis, I must second Theo, though I do not have any practical experience with HDR but it is quite obvious that the dynamic range would be higher with wider bracketing (I plan to use HDR in different kind of shots i.e. streets at night - the walls lit by the lanterns are frequently blown out as you may see in my portfolio; I will inform you when I manage to do this). Anyway I guess that you just worked on what you have in your archives so it is interesting what you will get after your next voyage to France. Having said that I like the atmosphere of your photo - it has just enough details in the shadows for me and IMO only the windows are still not satisfactory. I have one proposition concerning HDR, I think that sturdy tripod is one thing but the cable release should help too (but I guess that we would still have to change the settings between the shots and there is always some risk of the camera movement) - Theo, what is your opinion in this matter?

 

Regards, Michal.

Dennis, I prefer the colour version (I have not commented it yet, I know, but it stands out even in your splendid gallery). Nevertheless this b&w has the same mood. It is a beautiful, atmospheric, well composed photo. The sunbeams going in through the window could be better defined though - you could select the area under the window and adjust the contrast with curves there in order to brighten the rays a little bit. The group in the bottom constitutes a fine point of interest. _____ Maybe you are interested in the short discussion between me and Theo Jacobs concerning HDR here. Regards, Michal.

Many new photos Mike. This one is the most striking. Maybe the blown out highlights could be better controlled but on the other hand they provide a contrast with the dark rock in the middle and thus focus our attention on the center part of the photograph. The rocks on the borders add dynamism and so the whole photograph is very living and engaging. I would try to correct this magenta cast in the clouds, but that is questionable, as the magenta tones add even more tension here. Regards, Michal.

Henri, yes I am quite interested in mediaeval architecture and I particularly like the Romanesque style. I do not know everything about it, just the basic facts and informations but sometimes I like to browse the web searching for the interesting details that would add to the pictures that I post on photo.net. I found these photos when (in order to answer Pnina in detail) I searched for the information about the reconstruction of this abbey as I read once and remembered that it was severly damaged and is partially rebuilt. Regards, Michal.

Pnina, I second Jack in his observations. Although I enjoyed your presentation very much (big big smile), I think we can guess what is happening looking at the main photograph only. Maybe turning your camera a little bit towards the bottom right corner would make things completely clear, but I realized that the girl has taken the diversion before I scrolled down so your image is successful in this respect. The following photo would do the job even better. So please, do not move to Beverly Hills ;-) as it would be a great loss for us. Regards, Michal.