The Air Raid Warden

[DavidGee]

Taken during the 1940's weekend at Hughenden Manor


The Air Raid Warden by djguk47, on Flickr

David

[WJT]

David I love to photograph people and I would be so proud to have taken that picture, exceptional shot.

[DavidGee]

Thanks Wayne.
Good to get a pat on the back from a fellow Aussie, albeit I now live in the UK.
Hughenden Manor (now owned by the National Trust) was the residence of Benjamin Disralei who was Prime Minister in Queen Victoria's reign. It is located in Hughenden Valley about 30 miles west of London and Hughenden in Queensland is named after Hughenden in the UK as residents from Hughenden UK settled Hughenden Queensland. The Manor is about 2 miles from where I live.

David

[rpcrowe]

Great shot and a reminder of a heroic period in British history....

[DavidGee]

Thank you Richard.
This and "Contemplating" have both been printed and are both in a club comp for printed images on Thursday evening so lets see what the judge has to say.
Both of these are out of my comfort zone as I usually do Landscapes and Wildlife.

David

[Dave Humphries]

Hi David,

It is an excellent shot full of texture and tone.

My only minor suggestion is to dodge the 'rim light' line up the back of his helmet slightly, just to make the edge that little bit more visible. There is a tonal difference, but it isn't much - at least, not on my uncalibrated, but trusted, monitor.

Good luck in the comp.

Cheers,

[JPS]

David,
not much to say from me other than; very good.
Wish it was one of mine.

[DavidGee]

Dave and John, Thanks for the comments.

Dave, I will have a go at a "subtle" dodge as you suggest and see how it looks. As I said this is my first attempt at this sort of PP so I am on a learning curve with all advice being "consumed".

David

[dan marchant]

Really nice shot. The subject has a lot of character and you captured him well. The processing looks good too. Care to talk a bit about what you did and why?

[DavidGee]

Hi Dan,
I processed this initially in Lightroom 4 and kept it in full color. I then used the Topaz plug in Black & White Effects to convert to a B&W image and used one of the presets. Once I had settled on the preset I wanted to use (Old Image) I used the B&W Effects suggested workflow and used a touch of the Transparency functionality to bring back na hint of the color of the jacket being worn.
My objective was to give the image an old photo effect.
I have only just started using Topaz B&W Effects and am very pleased with the "power" of the plug-in.
Have a look at the image I posted called Cornish Coastline for a different "finish" using Topaz.

David

[dan marchant]

Thanks for the info David. I have been thinking of checking out the Topaz b&w - the above image certainly shows it to be worth checking out. Well done again.