Ad
Ad
Ad
Luminous Landscape Forum > The Art of Photography > User Critiques > Ford Creek
Pages: [1]   Bottom of Page
Print
Author Topic: Ford Creek  (Read 2031 times)
offissa
Newbie
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 17
« on: May 12, 2007, 08:29:16 AM »
 ReplyReply
Hi, this is my first attempt—using the Gimp—at digital manipulation of one of my photos.    Its a 15 year old slide in FPX(yuck) format. I'm not really interested in doing anything creative, I just wanted to try to make an image that reproduced the beauty of the scene as I originally perceived it. I made 2 layers and used a graduated mask to darken the left foreground, and slightly lighten the top right. I think it's improved but to me it still doesn't look quite right. Am I on the right lines? Is my execution deficient, or can anyone suggest another approach? Or is the photo just not quite good enough?

Also would it have been better to have attached a thumbnail to this post and linked to the originals? Not sure how to do that.

Thanks, Jim.
Logged
offissa
Newbie
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 17
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2007, 08:32:29 AM »
 ReplyReply
Hmm. That was unexpected. Seem to have got one thumbnail. The improved image.
Logged
Lisa Nikodym
Sr. Member
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 1699



WWW
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2007, 10:12:42 AM »
 ReplyReply
It looks like a pretty place, and I can see why you want to capture it in a photo.  Your graduated masks apparently worked, since that aspect of it looks fine and natural to me.  However, two things about the picture disturb me:

(1)  The contrast is far too high.  The whites of the waterfall appear blown out in places, and the rest is too bright to see much detail in it.  The blacks are too uniformly black with no detail.  It just looks unnatural.  I feel like much more of the image should be in the midtones.

(2)  The main waterfall is disturbingly close to the edge of the frame; I feel like it's trying to escape the picture!  Putting it at about the 1/3 point from the left side would produce a more balanced composition.  (I know, it's too late to do anything about that now, but next time...)

Hope this helps...

Lisa
« Last Edit: May 12, 2007, 10:13:30 AM by nniko » Logged
http://www.stanford.edu/~melkor/lisa_pictu...a_pictures.html
(formerly nniko)
offissa
Newbie
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 17
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2007, 10:58:34 AM »
 ReplyReply
Thanks, good points. The highlights are totally blown out, but maybe I can get some detail out of the shadows...

For your second point, the composition is maybe a little unbalanced, but I liked the rocks, lichen and fallen stump on the right, To the left there was nothing. I see what you mean, but I cant think of a way to fix it. To me it sits pretty ok, a sort of A shape.

I'll have a go at fixing the contrast though.
Logged
offissa
Newbie
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 17
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2007, 11:05:54 AM »
 ReplyReply
By the way the photo was taken in the Paparoa Mtns, though not the National Park. I see you have some lovely pics from the same area.
Logged
Pages: [1]   Top of Page
Print
Jump to:  

Ad
Ad