Project 52 by Nicola

[Nicola]

Good shots there, Nicola.

With the last one, I wonder if a slight crop of the bottom and right side would tend to concentrate more on the flower and tortoiseshell which would help to overcome the focus depth problems.

thanks for feedback Geoff
sicerely, my first thought is that if I crop too much on the flower and tortoiseshell, it will be too clear that the head is out of focus.
anyway I do try the crop you suggested
thank you
Nicola

[Nicola]

I can almost smell the fragrant grasses in the first one and the second has wonderful leading lines. You are on target with your evaluation of the third - a bit more DoF could enhance the subject. All in all, a good set. Looking forward to seeing your vacation pictures when you get back!

thank you Frank for the appreciation
by the time, I show you some pictures of my last vacation:
it was week 18, and I was in southern France.
Below some bird shots, my first serious and planned attempt to wildlife photography
these are my best results... please hard criticism but not deride me..

[Geoff F]

Some strange flamingos there, Nicola. Appears to be just 4 legs and one head between all 4 birds! A nice different shot from the usual.

And the flying egret is excellent.

The swan is a good pose; but the trouble, which I also get with them, is that if there is sufficient light for a good action shot the fine feather detail gets over exposed.

[Nicola]

Some strange flamingos there, Nicola. Appears to be just 4 legs and one head between all 4 birds! A nice different shot from the usual.

And the flying egret is excellent.

The swan is a good pose; but the trouble, which I also get with them, is that if there is sufficient light for a good action shot the fine feather detail gets over exposed.

thanks Geoff
yes that white feathers are an issue...
in this case I will wait to see the print before adjust it in PP

[Nicola]

elow some pictures taken during my vacation in the southern France
below 3 views of Moustier st Marie and its countryside
these shots aren't my preferred, there's something hurting my eyes but i don't know what
can you help me please? what is your rating for these? please be sincere and as harsh as you want!
thanks
ciao

[FrankMi]

Hi Nicola, great to see your latest images!

For the first one the stonework on the church blends into the background and could possibly use some separation to make the church stand out a bit more.

For me, the third one could be cropped to reduce the sky just enough to move the building and horizon up a bit and lose some of the featureless sky. You might want to play with cropping the right side somewhere between the right hand building and the edge of the image. I feel that would put more emphasis on the main building. You could also lighten the background hill to reduce the tendency for the eye to drift over into that large dark area as there isn’t much of interest in that area of the image.

The second image? Wow. This just knocks my socks off! As if the colours, patterns, and lines weren’t intriguing enough, the sense of vertigo has me grabbing my monitor so that I don’t fall into the image! Fascinating perspective, very well done! View this image full screen and you are right there, catching your breath from having climbed all those stairs!

[MilT0s]

Well I don't have to write much. All my thoughts are written above by Frank.

In the first one you could have tried to shoot closer so the top of the church extents the mountains in the background resulting in a wider angle of view and a more dramatic image.

For the third you could try the shadow slider in Lightroom to give life to the dark hills in the background.

The second one is just fantastic.

[Nicola]

thank you very much Frank and Miltos!
those suggestions are very useful. in the first image a closer point of view shoeld deliver the best results, anyway, since this location is far about 450km from my house
the only think I can do is to try to separate the church and the rocks in PP
I will try also the crop and recovery the shadow on the 3rd as soon as I reach my home computer
thank you!
Nicola

[Nicola]

ok
below the new version of the 2 images, following your useful suggestions!

[Nicola]

still trying to run as fast as possible to get close to the present week...
here an other set, this time of ambient light portrait
captured in Arles, southern France

thanks for viewing and commenting, as always!
ciao
Nicola

[Geoff F]

I know how difficult it is to pick out individual people from amongst a crowd, Nicola. But these have worked well.

The only one I'm not sure about is #1. Would cropping closer (say 4 x 5 ratio) to concentrate on the left person be better, as it would remove the out of focus man; or does he add a bit of depth to the scene?

After holding pieces of paper against my screen, I'm still not certain either way.

[FrankMi]

Hi Nicola, I think I would agree that closer cropping on both the man on the left in the first image and the child in the second image might be worth trying to see if it strengthens those images.

The last one has the hat right at the border of the frame and a cut off head to contend with but the facial expression is really great. The image makes you wonder what he might be looking at and thinking. A little 'mystery' can add interest to an image, don't you think?

[Nicola]

thanks Geoff, Thanks Frank!

your suggestions are always worthwhile
I'm still playing with the crops in that 2 images, but I've not still found the way i like most...
in both the images i like the crop because it strengthens the subject, but I also dislike because it cut off the "ambient", I like the link between the old horseman and his young son in the background, and the little girl and her mother...
I like to note also how their expressions are opposite.. ( the old man smiling, the young is serious; the young girl serious, the mother smiling...)

[Nicola]

only one picture from week 21
and noisy and blurred too

[oldgreygary]

I have been trying night shots myself and have got similar issues with noise and blurring. But, that for me doesn't detract from the composition. As the row of lights nicely leads my eye down the walkway. I also like the colours that these sort of night image produces. Totally different from daytime and that for me it what makes them interesting and compelling.

Cheers for now

Gary

[Geoff F]

That is the trouble with people - they keep moving and spoil those long shutter speeds.

I think part of the problem with this scene, Nicola, is that your sharpest focus point is about 1/3 of the distance into the scene, where there isn't any action. In front of the left side people.

And those settings, to cope with the poor light, give a shallow focus depth. Look at the name on the side of that building on the left. It is surprising clear considering the light.

And talking about lights. You could have replaced the bulb in that street light before shooting.

[Nicola]

thank you Gary, for your comment
and thank you Geoff for your analisys!
yes, focus point is a problem, or perhaps the DoF. if ever the focus point were closer to the left side people, they will be blurred for their motion... so, wider DoF and a tripod!
and yes the word "Acquario" (that means aquarium, obviously) is distracting
I go shoot it again.... it's just in front of my house!
and I bring with me a new bulb! don't think anyone changed it since May!

[Nicola]

eventually, I reached a decision about week 20 portraits:
I'll keep #1 as it is
I crop #2 closer to the child
thanks for the suggestion!

[ktuli]

only one picture from week 21
and noisy and blurred too

Nicola,

What are you using for PP on your photos? I've been getting into noise reduction lately, and thought I might be able to share some of my findings. I use Photoshop CS5 - I tried several plugins with varying results, but finally have settled on doing most of the NR in ACR.

- Bill

[Nicola]

Nicola,

What are you using for PP on your photos? I've been getting into noise reduction lately, and thought I might be able to share some of my findings. I use Photoshop CS5 - I tried several plugins with varying results, but finally have settled on doing most of the NR in ACR.

- Bill

Hi Bill
I'll be honoured.
in fact, NR should be a subject for my Project 52, and soon will be, at least, as soon as I'll cover the weeks gap up to present day!
I've photoshop CS4, lightroom 4,1 and several plug-ins as Nik's Dfine, Prosharpener, and Topaz denoise.
anyway I've not still tried these plug-ins, since (me too) i'm studying and focusing on ACR and photoshop NR techniques. a couple of my friends helped me on that.
In the previous image I didn't perform my best on this matter, but my knowledge is still very narrow.