I had tried cropping before I posted and did not like the results very much. The one on the left is, I think, the best result. I do think, however, that too much of the environmental context is missing.
I'd love to hear other opinions on this.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Fortnightly Challenge - March 19 thru April 1 - Topic: Organic
- Thread starter JohnMC
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I had tried cropping before I posted and did not like the results very much. The one on the left is, I think, the best result. I do think, however, that too much of the environmental context is missing.
I'd love to hear other opinions on this.
Tried a different crop. Perhaps a little better?
Please explain what program you used to get that effect.
I agree with everything you say. It was a pretty bad shot and could've been better composed. The reason I didn't chuck it out is because it's the most "creative" shot I got on that trip. I wasn't expecting the water to be black, though it was pretty murky. I wasn't using a filter, no tripod, and was balancing myself on a small rock trying not to fall over.
Well looks like the thread is surviving without me. I love what's been happening and the work is stunning. I am suffering without a camera and had to borrow one. I'm not sure how long I can survive with a $75 camera and grey English weather for company but here is what I took.
JD - great stuff on the butterfly
Maxx - the usual high standard. Please post a crap photo so I can feel you are human like the rest of us
Bruce - love the cat photos - the arched back one - great stuff.
My crab spider photo - not as detailed as dpastern's but the hugely windy conditions I was in didn't help - and the lack of macro lens. Funny enough the crab spider doesn't camouflage itself from its prey - the bee can see it very clearly in ultra violet but the spider makes the UV reflecting flower more attractive. Maybe the camouflage is for predators of the spider, like birds.
Maxx - the usual high standard. Please post a crap photo so I can feel you are human like the rest of us
Bruce - love the cat photos - the arched back one - great stuff.
My crab spider photo - not as detailed as dpastern's but the hugely windy conditions I was in didn't help - and the lack of macro lens
. Funny enough the crab spider doesn't camouflage itself from its prey - the bee can see it very clearly in ultra violet but the spider makes the UV reflecting flower more attractive. Maybe the camouflage is for predators of the spider, like birds.
pdxflint and Dale - those plant photos are stunning love them. Great lighting and framing.
Ish - Watson and Crick nice photo - I'm in Cambridge where this work went on. Used to drink in the Eagle pub where they had their eureka moment (or at least announcement). My understanding is that their work was done in what has since become a bicycle shed (store).
Ish - Watson and Crick nice photo - I'm in Cambridge where this work went on. Used to drink in the Eagle pub where they had their eureka moment (or at least announcement). My understanding is that their work was done in what has since become a bicycle shed (store).
It was Aperture 2. The green in the plants was nearly uniform so there were basically only a few colors in the shot. I did the normal adjustments that I do with RAW images out of my camera and then just used the color sliders to to mess with the greens and yellows till they got where they are (saturation and luminence mostly). Added some exposure vignetting, cropped and that's basically it. I was just lucky that I could manipulate the background/foreground withought messing with the butterfly or the splashes of orange that were in the vines. The butterfly was truly that color, just white, a deep orange, and black. I boosted the reds a bit for this picture.
Well looks like the thread is surviving without me. I love what's been happening and the work is stunning. I am suffering without a camera and had to borrow one. I'm not sure how long I can survive with a $75 camera and grey English weather for company but here is what I took.
A $1,000 shot from a $75 camera. Not a bad return on investment. This one can be metaphorically interpreted on many different levels. Very nice.
You flatter me sir. I had to climb through a fence - stand on a very steep, narrow and slippery river bank to get this.
Just a personal opinion, but I like the colour version much better. I think it tends to 'dissolve' a bit in B&W if you get what I mean. I think really strong shapes and outlines tend to work well in monochrome, but I'm not convinced about most pictures.
For cropping I think it depends on your intention. If your intention was to take a picture of your cat playing hide and seek in the woods, I wouldn't crop it. If it's a picture of your cat hiding behind a log, then you could crop it. Have you tried cropping from the left and top, rather than from the left and bottom?
Is there any way to include an 'attached thumbnail' from the original post to a reply?
I don't think I have ever participated in one of these challenges. But sounds like fun.
I love Chickadees
It is fun - -- I like birds
This is a great composition. What a beautiful location. The only thing I would like to see different is to brighten it a bit.
Is there no limit to the risks we take for our art.
Oh..... Did you use your tripod for this?
Opinions are what I'm looking for. If you look at my first post of the cat (#62) you'll see that I set out with a particular personal goal.
My intent was to show that part of her personality. From that perspective, I think it could go either way. Post #99 if the full frame image (which I do think I like better). I did try cropping from the top but it look pretty goofy.
Yes, but it takes a couple of steps (unless someone knows a shorter way).
Click on the thumbnail and copy the address.
In the message you are composing click the "insert image" button and past in the url you just copied.
To display the image in a smaller format rather than full size, insert the letter "t" before "img" at the beginning and end of the url. (example: [tIMG]http://www.foobar.com/foobar.jpg[/tIMG]
I don't think I have ever participated in one of these challenges. But sounds like fun.
I love Chickadees
Welcome. We've got a great group here and hope you will stay with us.
Chappers is right - this is a fun image. I think you have captured the bird nicely. I would adjust the crop on this. In general you don't want to put the main element of the image in the center. It has to do with the way our brains perceive and process images. You can read about "the rule of thirds" at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds and http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/compose_expose/thirds.html. In this image, I would crop on the left. It will make the image more appealing and enhance the impression of the bird looking out at something.
We might not want to let pictures of your bird and my cat get too close to one another.
^ Stunning photo. I love the curved lines set up by the tree. The water is indeed primitive and organic in nature. Needs croc eyes, me thinks...Dale
Ah, yes, of course. I copied the address but didn't use the 'insert image' button so just got a link.
Thanks!Tis a good shot nevertheless! Here's my next offering - 100% crop, so even with 8mp there's some slight softening of details Can't wait to get the 16mp Mark IV!
Dave
Can't wait to get the 16mp Mark IV!
Dave
JD - great stuff on the butterfly
Maxx - the usual high standard. Please post a crap photo so I can feel you are human like the rest of us
Bruce - love the cat photos - the arched back one - great stuff.
My crab spider photo - not as detailed as dpastern's but the hugely windy conditions I was in didn't help - and the lack of macro lens
^^ I saw the first one when you posted it in the Weekly Contest. For some reason this looks brighter. I like the twisty organic forms in the railing. Interesting design and nice photo. The skylights in the second are wonderful.The lighting must have been a challenge and you did a very nice job with it.Here are a couple from Casa Batlló. One staircase and the top of another.
^^ Interesting birds. They have no fear at all. When I had a bird feeder, a chickadee would harass me every time I went out to fill it. The bird would hang upside down from a limb and tell me to hurry up.I don't think I have ever participated in one of these challenges. But sounds like fun.
I love Chickadees
^^ Very nice clean and simple framing. The light colors of the rock compliment the blue of the sky very well. I like.
Mine. A variation of a post I put in POTD from the Nisqually Vally Delta. Different day, different lens.
EXIF Summary: 1/160s f/6.3 ISO100 Tamron 28-75 f2.8@28mm
Dale
EXIF Summary: 1/160s f/6.3 ISO100 Tamron 28-75 f2.8@28mm
Dale
Deep Diver: I think this is what Maxx meant about cropping to put the cat's eyes in the sweet spot.
Attachments
I know. I tried it but did not like it. This one was hard because there are two major elements - the cat and the log. Cropping out the top left puts the log straight across the middle of the frame. I thought it took out too much background and just didn't feel right to me. My eye kept going to the log. I think maybe, as Ish suggested, that this one is really dependent on what aspect of this moment I want folks to see.
Perhaps a tighter crop? You could also darken / lighten selectively to better emphasize what it is you want your audience to see in the picture, particularly the focal point(s).
I like what you have here--it is an interesting capture. The reason, I think, the B&W pic came across as washed out is because the color palette in the original (color) is small and uniform (mostly browns / muted earth tones). This allows for the eyes to wander.
Just an opinion to be sure. Hope this helps in some small way.