This guy?My contribution to the contest: It's a Great Blue Heron.
Btw - I am thinking about changing my entry. The competition is to good this time.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
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Weekly Photo Contest: 11th to 18th January 2018 - Low Down
- Thread starter Hughmac
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Btw - I am thinking about changing my entry. The competition is to good this time.
By all means change your entry; there's still nearly a whole day to go. That's what I did last week, when something better came along.
Cheers
Hugh
Bugger! I was gonna switch it out for this one I took at the beach yesterday (40 degrees C) with my phone... Oh well. Let the snail be judged.
Thanks for all the great entries; here are my personal thoughts on the photos presented.
I should add here that I am neither professional or an expert in critiques.
@Apple fanboy - A great start and definitely taken from a low angle.
I like the B&W treatment, but would have preferred it in portrait mode to show more upper parts of the cathedral and balance the composition out.
@Alexander.Of.Oz - Well, I'm still waiting for my tenner so the deal is off
Seriously though, this is just the sort of low I was looking for. I like the impression of the snail banking at speed and leaving it's exhaust behind.
Nicely done.
PS I've just seen your new photo, and if it helps I like the snail better
@akash.nu - A very nice shot, vibrant colours (HDR treatment?), well framed. As a recent convert to iPhone photography (my iPhone 6 had the dreaded blurry lens and was of little use), I would really like to know how you process your shots.
@CmdrLaForge - I love herons, especially in flight, but they are so difficult to get close to for photography in the UK.
A nice sharp example taken from a low perspective, almost 3D looking with the blurred focus everywhere else.
@Robotti - It took me a while to realise the low angle you used here.
However, I feel B&W has not done the subject justice in this case and would liked to have seen a full colour version. I can only imagine what the brilliance of the blues and reds could do.
@someoldguy - A perfectly nice photo taken from low down.
I'm glad you didn't feel the need to roll about in the snow
@mollyc - This is great; You can't get much lower than water level. A perfect location and a lovely shot.
The only thing I can be picky with is that I would tilt it ½ degree to the left (anti-clockwise) to straighten up the horizon, but that's my OCD kicking in.
@stillcrazyman - These sunsets of yours are superb and I always enjoy seeing them.
The old timbers? detail in the foreground made the shot for me.
@kenoh - Oh, well done ! Your photography has taken another leap forwards. Love the composition and processing here.
If I were to be picky (personal preference here) I would have stepped backwards one or two paces to make the rock slightly smaller and allow us to see more mountain and sky in the background.
@Janichsan - Nice night-time shot, taken from low down.
The only thing that bugs me is the red bin that keeps my eye wandering over to the left side.
Such a difficult job to pick only 3 winners, so I've cheated a little to include all my favourites....
So, I have chosen as follows:-
Joint 3rd - @mollyc and @akash.nu
Joint 2nd - @stillcrazyman and @Alexander.Of.Oz
First Place - @kenoh
That's it, thanks very much everyone
Cheers
Hugh
I should add here that I am neither professional or an expert in critiques.
@Apple fanboy - A great start and definitely taken from a low angle.
I like the B&W treatment, but would have preferred it in portrait mode to show more upper parts of the cathedral and balance the composition out.
@Alexander.Of.Oz - Well, I'm still waiting for my tenner so the deal is off
Seriously though, this is just the sort of low I was looking for. I like the impression of the snail banking at speed and leaving it's exhaust behind.
Nicely done.
PS I've just seen your new photo, and if it helps I like the snail better
@akash.nu - A very nice shot, vibrant colours (HDR treatment?), well framed. As a recent convert to iPhone photography (my iPhone 6 had the dreaded blurry lens and was of little use), I would really like to know how you process your shots.
@CmdrLaForge - I love herons, especially in flight, but they are so difficult to get close to for photography in the UK.
A nice sharp example taken from a low perspective, almost 3D looking with the blurred focus everywhere else.
@Robotti - It took me a while to realise the low angle you used here.
However, I feel B&W has not done the subject justice in this case and would liked to have seen a full colour version. I can only imagine what the brilliance of the blues and reds could do.
@someoldguy - A perfectly nice photo taken from low down.
I'm glad you didn't feel the need to roll about in the snow
@mollyc - This is great; You can't get much lower than water level. A perfect location and a lovely shot.
The only thing I can be picky with is that I would tilt it ½ degree to the left (anti-clockwise) to straighten up the horizon, but that's my OCD kicking in.
@stillcrazyman - These sunsets of yours are superb and I always enjoy seeing them.
The old timbers? detail in the foreground made the shot for me.
@kenoh - Oh, well done ! Your photography has taken another leap forwards. Love the composition and processing here.
If I were to be picky (personal preference here) I would have stepped backwards one or two paces to make the rock slightly smaller and allow us to see more mountain and sky in the background.
@Janichsan - Nice night-time shot, taken from low down.
The only thing that bugs me is the red bin that keeps my eye wandering over to the left side.
Such a difficult job to pick only 3 winners, so I've cheated a little to include all my favourites....
So, I have chosen as follows:-
Joint 3rd - @mollyc and @akash.nu
Joint 2nd - @stillcrazyman and @Alexander.Of.Oz
First Place - @kenoh
That's it, thanks very much everyone
Cheers
Hugh
Congrat's to @kenoh for the well deserved win! That was definitely worth the one hour drive to get there. Nice POV, only suggestion I could make to improve it would be to clone out the superfluous rocks on the right and use content aware fill in PS to fill in those spaces, but then you may need to move the frame slightly as there will be a void over on that side. Sometimes content aware fill actually does an incredible job in sections where the light changes like down there. Sometimes... Looking forward to what theme you cook up for the next round.
I prefer the snail one too, the phone camera just couldn't capture the glow to the seaweed that caught my eye. My initial edit of the snail from back in 2013 was B&W, very heavy handed, almost noir in appearance, with a ripped paper type of frame around it! What the heck was I thinking!
Thanks for the feedback, Hugh. The cheque is in the mail, I swear!@Alexander.Of.Oz - Well, I'm still waiting for my tenner so the deal is off
Seriously though, this is just the sort of low I was looking for. I like the impression of the snail banking at speed and leaving it's exhaust behind.
Nicely done.
PS I've just seen your new photo, and if it helps I like the snail better
I prefer the snail one too, the phone camera just couldn't capture the glow to the seaweed that caught my eye. My initial edit of the snail from back in 2013 was B&W, very heavy handed, almost noir in appearance, with a ripped paper type of frame around it! What the heck was I thinking!
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Congrats @kenoh ! Don't think anything was going to beat that ! @Alexander.Of.Oz ... Think I liked the snail better than the mass of washed up crepes , too . @mollyc ..... great idea for a pic . Where was it taken ? I'd thought about entering one taken entirely underwater , but was concerned that having a negative elevation would be held against me .
Well done everyone. Can't disagree with your winners at all.Thanks for all the great entries; here are my personal thoughts on the photos presented.
I should add here that I am neither professional or an expert in critiques.
@Apple fanboy - A great start and definitely taken from a low angle.
I like the B&W treatment, but would have preferred it in portrait mode to show more upper parts of the cathedral and balance the composition out.
@Alexander.Of.Oz - Well, I'm still waiting for my tenner so the deal is off
Seriously though, this is just the sort of low I was looking for. I like the impression of the snail banking at speed and leaving it's exhaust behind.
Nicely done.
PS I've just seen your new photo, and if it helps I like the snail better
@akash.nu - A very nice shot, vibrant colours (HDR treatment?), well framed. As a recent convert to iPhone photography (my iPhone 6 had the dreaded blurry lens and was of little use), I would really like to know how you process your shots.
@CmdrLaForge - I love herons, especially in flight, but they are so difficult to get close to for photography in the UK.
A nice sharp example taken from a low perspective, almost 3D looking with the blurred focus everywhere else.
@Robotti - It took me a while to realise the low angle you used here.
However, I feel B&W has not done the subject justice in this case and would liked to have seen a full colour version. I can only imagine what the brilliance of the blues and reds could do.
@someoldguy - A perfectly nice photo taken from low down.
I'm glad you didn't feel the need to roll about in the snow
@mollyc - This is great; You can't get much lower than water level. A perfect location and a lovely shot.
The only thing I can be picky with is that I would tilt it ½ degree to the left (anti-clockwise) to straighten up the horizon, but that's my OCD kicking in.
@stillcrazyman - These sunsets of yours are superb and I always enjoy seeing them.
The old timbers? detail in the foreground made the shot for me.
@kenoh - Oh, well done ! Your photography has taken another leap forwards. Love the composition and processing here.
If I were to be picky (personal preference here) I would have stepped backwards one or two paces to make the rock slightly smaller and allow us to see more mountain and sky in the background.
@Janichsan - Nice night-time shot, taken from low down.
The only thing that bugs me is the red bin that keeps my eye wandering over to the left side.
Such a difficult job to pick only 3 winners, so I've cheated a little to include all my favourites....
So, I have chosen as follows:-
Joint 3rd - @mollyc and @akash.nu
Joint 2nd - @stillcrazyman and @Alexander.Of.Oz
First Place - @kenoh
That's it, thanks very much everyone
Cheers
Hugh
On to the next.
Thanks for all the great entries; here are my personal thoughts on the photos presented.
I should add here that I am neither professional or an expert in critiques.
@Apple fanboy - A great start and definitely taken from a low angle.
I like the B&W treatment, but would have preferred it in portrait mode to show more upper parts of the cathedral and balance the composition out.
@Alexander.Of.Oz - Well, I'm still waiting for my tenner so the deal is off
Seriously though, this is just the sort of low I was looking for. I like the impression of the snail banking at speed and leaving it's exhaust behind.
Nicely done.
PS I've just seen your new photo, and if it helps I like the snail better
@akash.nu - A very nice shot, vibrant colours (HDR treatment?), well framed. As a recent convert to iPhone photography (my iPhone 6 had the dreaded blurry lens and was of little use), I would really like to know how you process your shots.
@CmdrLaForge - I love herons, especially in flight, but they are so difficult to get close to for photography in the UK.
A nice sharp example taken from a low perspective, almost 3D looking with the blurred focus everywhere else.
@Robotti - It took me a while to realise the low angle you used here.
However, I feel B&W has not done the subject justice in this case and would liked to have seen a full colour version. I can only imagine what the brilliance of the blues and reds could do.
@someoldguy - A perfectly nice photo taken from low down.
I'm glad you didn't feel the need to roll about in the snow
@mollyc - This is great; You can't get much lower than water level. A perfect location and a lovely shot.
The only thing I can be picky with is that I would tilt it ½ degree to the left (anti-clockwise) to straighten up the horizon, but that's my OCD kicking in.
@stillcrazyman - These sunsets of yours are superb and I always enjoy seeing them.
The old timbers? detail in the foreground made the shot for me.
@kenoh - Oh, well done ! Your photography has taken another leap forwards. Love the composition and processing here.
If I were to be picky (personal preference here) I would have stepped backwards one or two paces to make the rock slightly smaller and allow us to see more mountain and sky in the background.
@Janichsan - Nice night-time shot, taken from low down.
The only thing that bugs me is the red bin that keeps my eye wandering over to the left side.
Such a difficult job to pick only 3 winners, so I've cheated a little to include all my favourites....
So, I have chosen as follows:-
Joint 3rd - @mollyc and @akash.nu
Joint 2nd - @stillcrazyman and @Alexander.Of.Oz
First Place - @kenoh
That's it, thanks very much everyone
Cheers
Hugh
Wow. Erm thanks guys. Fantastic to see I might be beginning to get the hang of this malarky. As usual I had my eye on a couple of others that I thought were the winners...
Hugh, Alexander and someoldguy, totally get your point on feedback thank you. Great suggestions. I will use that going back to LR. I was worried about the washed out black in the mou tain vs the crisper black in the foreground - grad in Lr fail...
I will have a think and post a comp tomorrow...
He he he made my day thanks again.
, happy to be on that podium. 
Thanks mate... i think you may have influenced the judge in my favour so i owe you a thank you...
@mollyc - This is great; You can't get much lower than water level. A perfect location and a lovely shot.
The only thing I can be picky with is that I would tilt it ½ degree to the left (anti-clockwise) to straighten up the horizon, but that's my OCD kicking in.
Joint 3rd - @mollyc and @akash.nu
Joint 2nd - @stillcrazyman and @Alexander.Of.Oz
First Place - @kenoh
That's it, thanks very much everyone
Cheers
Hugh
Hey, thanks for the mention! The photo is actually fairly straight, especially if you look at the columns on the porches of the buildings - the issue is that lapping waves on a tiny GoPro lens tend to add some odd distortions. I am usually pretty OCD about straightening photos.
I also considered some full underwater images, but also came to the same conclusion, so included the half and half instead! This was taken at Grand Cayman when we were there last April.
Congrats, @kenoh!
I actually liked the more muted colours and tones on the mountain as compared to the crisper ones in the foreground, it adds to the sense of distance and layers receding into the background.
You're probably fully aware of this, but did you know you can remove sections of a grad filter in LR with a brush? I only discovered that about six months ago.
I actually liked the more muted colours and tones on the mountain as compared to the crisper ones in the foreground, it adds to the sense of distance and layers receding into the background.
You're probably fully aware of this, but did you know you can remove sections of a grad filter in LR with a brush? I only discovered that about six months ago.
You know i watched that on a youtube vid last week... blew me away! I also learned how to use blend modes on layers to do funky stuff... need to experiment me thinks...
You're probably fully aware of this, but did you know you can remove sections of a grad filter in LR with a brush? I only discovered that about six months ago.
I did not know this, and I've been using LR since the very first version!
No no, I always ignore comments from other contestants and go my own way.
That photo was a wow! as soon as you posted it and a runaway winner
Cheers
Hugh
I actually liked the more muted colours and tones on the mountain as compared to the crisper ones in the foreground, it adds to the sense of distance and layers receding into the background.
You're probably fully aware of this, but did you know you can remove sections of a grad filter in LR with a brush? I only discovered that about six months ago.
/googles LIGHTROOM REMOVE GRAD FILTER
Blend modes are amazingly versatile and really powerful things to use.
It's actually a very powerful editor, and I rarely have to go into Photoshop these days.
I think it's up the top of the Grad Filter section, marked "Brush", then below you will find something called "Remove", I think, just going from memory, I don't have it open right now.
I use Grad Filters for all sorts of things, blurring backgrounds, removing haze from backgrounds, etc... it's a cool and powerful tool, with lots of versatility to it.
New challenge is up....
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Holy moly!! that is a great help!
[doublepost=1516354201][/doublepost]
Holy moly!! that is a great help!
You are very welcome
It is far more daunting to judge than it used to be
Cheers
Hugh