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Weekly Photo Contest February 14th - 21st. Before and After
- Thread starter Apple fanboy
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The results!
Well of course when I thought of the theme, I didn’t think it through as I have to critique twice as many images as normal!
So on the the results. Please take what I have to say with a pinch of salt. I’m no expert, so these are just my opinions. Please feel free to ignore them. FYI all images have been viewed on a calibrated monitor, so what I’m seeing might not be what you are.
AlexH
I love a nice landscape, especially with a bit of water. I agree with your comments that the tree in the foreground adds to composition. I would say the vibrance is pushed a little further than I would go making the sky look a little to processed for my taste. Personally what I hate about sunset/rise shots is the fact that when they are stunning I’m at a bad location (like work or travelling on the motorway), when I’m up ready to catch the action, they are not great.
JDDavis
I enjoyed your power station series, and it’s good to see the difference as shot and then edited. The editing clearly adds to the image. Bringing out the stars and the smoke giving it a unique finish. Great effort.
Kobayagi
Nothing wrong with being a beginner. Good on you for having a go. I’ve only been shooting since 2013 so I’m hardly a pro. Similar to AlexH’s shot, I think the colours have been pushed a little to far with this one. There are some loverly colours in the original sky. I think somewhere between the two would be better. The slight crop and darkening of the foreground add to the image.Maybe lower the horizon a little by cropping more from the bottom, so it ends up more in line with your rule of thirds.
v3rlon
A seminar on speed lights is probably exactly what I need! So my only criticism is the halo effect behind the model. On a full screen the line around her is a little distracting. The crop obviously improves the image, but if I’m being really picky, the clipping of the pillow on the left is not quite right to my eye. Maybe just a tad bigger. Nice idea though for an image, and works well as a fun composition for this little one.
jkramerbob
Really like this one. The original is okay but a little dull and flat. In the HDR version you have really pushed this image to the limits. It’s the sort of thing I often try but fail at pretty miserabley. Well done.
pukifloyd
Loverly location. Given that it’s an iPhone shot, not bad at all. As I have said above I think the colours are a little too pushed. I like the change of aspect ratio though as it makes it more of a pano. Also cutting out that tree to the left works well. I’d probably just show a bit more of the foreground though and a little bit less sky.
stillcrazyman
I know exactly what you mean about not lying random people in your shots. I always try to avoid them. To make matters worse it looks like one of them is using an iPad to take a photo! Anyway back to your image. You’ve done a great job of removing the people, and I like what your enhancements have done to the car. The red and chrome just pop now. My only criticism would be to clone out the car park by the open door as well.
tapic
Another nice shot with a standard camera. I love the composition, and I’m glad you didn’t mess with it in the edit. I know what you mean by not sure which you prefer. I like the sky and water of the original, and the land and bridge of the edit. Difficult to do though with out masks and layers though.
acearchie
Loverly photo as always. You have a real eye for a good portrait. Helps of course when you have a beautiful subject! Like what you have done with the colours and the background. I also like the fact that you were close with the original. In other words, not much needed doing because you got it right in camera.
Chappers
Well you’ve gone out on a limb her with a selective colour shot. It’s like marmite. People either love it or hate it. I don’t mind it sometimes, but for me I prefer the original (which is a cracking shot btw).
Obibob
What you’ve done has certainly improved the interest of the rocks etc., but the sky is a little noisy were perhaps you have tried to push it too far. Also a wider shot might have been a little better composition, as that big rock is just filling too much of the farm imo.
themenu
I like what you have done with this one. The colours in the flowers have just the right amount of punch. The lens flare is quite strong which is a taste thing. People will either like it or hate it. It doesn’t bother me or JJAbrams.
Hughmac
You’ve gone for an older look which suits the composition well. Did you use a plug in like Silver Efex? It could be a tad lighter for my taste. The heavy vignetting could be reduced just a tad to brighten it up.
kenoh
The lone tree. reminds me of a few of mine. Your original is a little dark and the edit certainly brightens things up. But you haven’t pushed the colours to far which still gives it a natural look. The HDR effect you mention, isn’t so noticeable when you look at the image full sized. Good effort.
Indydenny
Love what you’ve done with this one. I’m gutted we haven’t had any snow here in the UK. But you have made the best of this shot with your editing. Losing the overhead lines is particularly a good idea.
mrex
Took me a while to see what you had done with this one! Very interesting idea. I like how you have brought out the colours from the original, but I’m a little confused by the floating factory. What’s the idea or story here?
someoldguy
Great bit of tweaking here. You have turned this flat shot into a loverly autumn scene. colours are nice and punchy.
needfx
Given your rather dramatic edits I’m surprised you went for a subtle one. Inclusion of a video was a great idea! The subtle differences have certainly improved the final picture. Because you shot it right, there wasn’t much that needed doing.
The Bad Guy
Glad you decided to join us! Love the drama you have added to the shot with the (water?). Brings out the sense of movement to the finished article. Nice.
anotherscotsman
Love this composition. I reckon you must be out at about 3 am to have no people about! Editing has improved the shot and I love the mixture of light and shadow. Nicely done.
koilvr
I like it a lot. The time you spent getting the composition right was worth it. What you have done to the image has taken it from a a good shot, to a great one. Wouldn’t look out of place on a holiday brochure cover.
And so the winners. Tough decision here as there were lots of great entries. Well done all, but we have to pick some, so here they are.
1st place - jkramerbob You pushed that shot to the limit IMO. Well done.
2nd place - koilvr & anotherscotsman Both of these shots could have been my winner. Well done to both of you.
3rd place - Indydenny & someoldguy Liked both of these images. The fact that you did just the right amount of editing, worked for me.
Well done everybody! It would be great for those of you that haven’t to share a little (or a lot!) about what you did to your image and why. The editing process is a dark art to many and is probably one of those things I could really improve on.
Over to you jkramerbob.
Well of course when I thought of the theme, I didn’t think it through as I have to critique twice as many images as normal!
So on the the results. Please take what I have to say with a pinch of salt. I’m no expert, so these are just my opinions. Please feel free to ignore them. FYI all images have been viewed on a calibrated monitor, so what I’m seeing might not be what you are.
AlexH
I love a nice landscape, especially with a bit of water. I agree with your comments that the tree in the foreground adds to composition. I would say the vibrance is pushed a little further than I would go making the sky look a little to processed for my taste. Personally what I hate about sunset/rise shots is the fact that when they are stunning I’m at a bad location (like work or travelling on the motorway), when I’m up ready to catch the action, they are not great.
JDDavis
I enjoyed your power station series, and it’s good to see the difference as shot and then edited. The editing clearly adds to the image. Bringing out the stars and the smoke giving it a unique finish. Great effort.
Kobayagi
Nothing wrong with being a beginner. Good on you for having a go. I’ve only been shooting since 2013 so I’m hardly a pro. Similar to AlexH’s shot, I think the colours have been pushed a little to far with this one. There are some loverly colours in the original sky. I think somewhere between the two would be better. The slight crop and darkening of the foreground add to the image.Maybe lower the horizon a little by cropping more from the bottom, so it ends up more in line with your rule of thirds.
v3rlon
A seminar on speed lights is probably exactly what I need! So my only criticism is the halo effect behind the model. On a full screen the line around her is a little distracting. The crop obviously improves the image, but if I’m being really picky, the clipping of the pillow on the left is not quite right to my eye. Maybe just a tad bigger. Nice idea though for an image, and works well as a fun composition for this little one.
jkramerbob
Really like this one. The original is okay but a little dull and flat. In the HDR version you have really pushed this image to the limits. It’s the sort of thing I often try but fail at pretty miserabley. Well done.
pukifloyd
Loverly location. Given that it’s an iPhone shot, not bad at all. As I have said above I think the colours are a little too pushed. I like the change of aspect ratio though as it makes it more of a pano. Also cutting out that tree to the left works well. I’d probably just show a bit more of the foreground though and a little bit less sky.
stillcrazyman
I know exactly what you mean about not lying random people in your shots. I always try to avoid them. To make matters worse it looks like one of them is using an iPad to take a photo! Anyway back to your image. You’ve done a great job of removing the people, and I like what your enhancements have done to the car. The red and chrome just pop now. My only criticism would be to clone out the car park by the open door as well.
tapic
Another nice shot with a standard camera. I love the composition, and I’m glad you didn’t mess with it in the edit. I know what you mean by not sure which you prefer. I like the sky and water of the original, and the land and bridge of the edit. Difficult to do though with out masks and layers though.
acearchie
Loverly photo as always. You have a real eye for a good portrait. Helps of course when you have a beautiful subject! Like what you have done with the colours and the background. I also like the fact that you were close with the original. In other words, not much needed doing because you got it right in camera.
Chappers
Well you’ve gone out on a limb her with a selective colour shot. It’s like marmite. People either love it or hate it. I don’t mind it sometimes, but for me I prefer the original (which is a cracking shot btw).
Obibob
What you’ve done has certainly improved the interest of the rocks etc., but the sky is a little noisy were perhaps you have tried to push it too far. Also a wider shot might have been a little better composition, as that big rock is just filling too much of the farm imo.
themenu
I like what you have done with this one. The colours in the flowers have just the right amount of punch. The lens flare is quite strong which is a taste thing. People will either like it or hate it. It doesn’t bother me or JJAbrams.
Hughmac
You’ve gone for an older look which suits the composition well. Did you use a plug in like Silver Efex? It could be a tad lighter for my taste. The heavy vignetting could be reduced just a tad to brighten it up.
kenoh
The lone tree. reminds me of a few of mine. Your original is a little dark and the edit certainly brightens things up. But you haven’t pushed the colours to far which still gives it a natural look. The HDR effect you mention, isn’t so noticeable when you look at the image full sized. Good effort.
Indydenny
Love what you’ve done with this one. I’m gutted we haven’t had any snow here in the UK. But you have made the best of this shot with your editing. Losing the overhead lines is particularly a good idea.
mrex
Took me a while to see what you had done with this one! Very interesting idea. I like how you have brought out the colours from the original, but I’m a little confused by the floating factory. What’s the idea or story here?
someoldguy
Great bit of tweaking here. You have turned this flat shot into a loverly autumn scene. colours are nice and punchy.
needfx
Given your rather dramatic edits I’m surprised you went for a subtle one. Inclusion of a video was a great idea! The subtle differences have certainly improved the final picture. Because you shot it right, there wasn’t much that needed doing.
The Bad Guy
Glad you decided to join us! Love the drama you have added to the shot with the (water?). Brings out the sense of movement to the finished article. Nice.
anotherscotsman
Love this composition. I reckon you must be out at about 3 am to have no people about! Editing has improved the shot and I love the mixture of light and shadow. Nicely done.
koilvr
I like it a lot. The time you spent getting the composition right was worth it. What you have done to the image has taken it from a a good shot, to a great one. Wouldn’t look out of place on a holiday brochure cover.
And so the winners. Tough decision here as there were lots of great entries. Well done all, but we have to pick some, so here they are.
1st place - jkramerbob You pushed that shot to the limit IMO. Well done.
2nd place - koilvr & anotherscotsman Both of these shots could have been my winner. Well done to both of you.
3rd place - Indydenny & someoldguy Liked both of these images. The fact that you did just the right amount of editing, worked for me.
Well done everybody! It would be great for those of you that haven’t to share a little (or a lot!) about what you did to your image and why. The editing process is a dark art to many and is probably one of those things I could really improve on.
Over to you jkramerbob.
Congrats to all of the winners, and well done, Apple fanboy, for a decent and generous and thoughtful commentary.
Personally, in addition to the worthy winners (I really liked the pictures entered by anotherscotsman, and Indydenny), I must say that JDDavis's shot blew me away. I thought it excellent.
Personally, in addition to the worthy winners (I really liked the pictures entered by anotherscotsman, and Indydenny), I must say that JDDavis's shot blew me away. I thought it excellent.
Thanks
Congrats jimkramerbob. Well done. Excellent light treatment on that door.
I particularly liked this contest as I am normally, not very good (experienced) with the post-processing, and I like to see what others do. Very clever idea for a challenge.
Thanks Apple fanboy for the judging.
Congrats jimkramerbob. Well done. Excellent light treatment on that door.
I particularly liked this contest as I am normally, not very good (experienced) with the post-processing, and I like to see what others do. Very clever idea for a challenge.
Thanks Apple fanboy for the judging.
Well done to the very worthy winners and to all the entrants. Thanks to Apple Fanboy for the efforts in judging and commenting.
Not Silver Efex, I used Dramatic B&W http://jixipix.com/dramatic/black-and-white.html - I've bought a few of their products. Cheating really, just using one click editing
, but I agree the vignetting is too harsh.Well done everybody, from the superb winning pics to the great critiques. And every submission (bar mine) was a good'n.
Cheers
Hugh
Not Silver Efex, I used Dramatic B&W http://jixipix.com/dramatic/black-and-white.html - I've bought a few of their products. Cheating really, just using one click editing
Well done everybody, from the superb winning pics to the great critiques. And every submission (bar mine) was a good'n.
Cheers
Hugh
I'm not familiar with the software you mention, but on Silver efex and Macphun's Tonality, you can reduce the overall effect of the editing with sliders still. Might be worth a look.
Weekly Photo Contest February 14th - 21st. Before and After
thanks =)
"1. be creative"
i didnt want to use just a one pic and play with settings, so i chose a one basic picture and was thinking to add something to it. the picture (original) would have been pretty boring landscape (i would say a granny style) without adding something there. so i was thinking to add a contrary. a fairytale looking environment and a hard industrial world on the sky behind clouds. a guy (obviously me) taking a photo of this odd phenomenon. i probably was inspired by jkramerbobs "after photo".
thanks =)
"1. be creative"
i didnt want to use just a one pic and play with settings, so i chose a one basic picture and was thinking to add something to it. the picture (original) would have been pretty boring landscape (i would say a granny style) without adding something there. so i was thinking to add a contrary. a fairytale looking environment and a hard industrial world on the sky behind clouds. a guy (obviously me) taking a photo of this odd phenomenon. i probably was inspired by jkramerbobs "after photo".
Last edited:
Congrats to all the winners !! Haven't had much use for a tie since I retired , but I'll take this one !
Thanks for the feedback. Right after I submitted the photo, I thought "Maybe it would be better if I lowered the horizon a little bit'' So yeah, I'm getting the hang of it.
Great contest, especially with all the discussion going on these days around what RAW converter to use... I think this demonstrates, you can get amazing photos from any software with a bit of patience, skill, and a decent subject to start with.
I'm not seeing it. What's different?
the horizon is tilted clockwise
it would have been fun if I inverted the photos and having after for before and before for after.
that would have been rad