The Markets in Java

[WJT]

I always feel privileged to photograph an elder, and in Java in the heart of Muslim country respect for ones elders is fundamental to a strong society. My wife and I purchased fruit of this old dear several times before I asked her if I could shoot her. She was most pleased. This markets in Semarang does not see tourists so it was most unusual for her to see me, a westerner with a flash camera. I can only admire the many women who work here who must be aged over 90 years old but still go to work. C&C welcome.

[Donald]

I think that's a gorgeous pose and an image that conveys great respect for the lady.

I wondered about injecting just a little Local Contrast Enhancement (LCE) to give a bit more 'pop' to the texture of that wonderful face.

[kdoc856]

Excellent, Wayne. Interesting lighting. The left side of her face would seem to have been heavily shadowed without reflector or fill. Did you you add anything or is this reflected light? From DoF, looks like you had to use an open aperture.

[WJT]

I think that's a gorgeous pose and an image that conveys great respect for the lady.

I wondered about injecting just a little Local Contrast Enhancement (LCE) to give a bit more 'pop' to the texture of that wonderful face.

Thanks Donald, haven't seen this before so will look into it more. Adding contrast without loosing the eyes is the hard part as she was in shade. So much to learn.

[WJT]

Excellent, Wayne. Interesting lighting. The left side of her face would seem to have been heavily shadowed without reflector or fill. Did you you add anything or is this reflected light? From DoF, looks like you had to use an open aperture.

Thanks Kevin. No reflector or other. She is under a tarp and there is light coming from the left of screen but also some soft light from the right which I reckon is bouncing off something. I just realised that I posted the wrong version actually as I made a mistake when trying to edit the colour of the pole and started again.

[WJT]

Actually I'm having second thoughts about the B&W. The colour version has nice tones. What you think?

[Donald]

Actually I'm having second thoughts about the B&W. The colour version has nice tones. What you think?

NO! That face has got to be in B & W.

[Mark von Kanel]

B&W for me!! the image has far more atmosphere that way, the colour one feels a little too warm as well, is the WB correct?

[Mike Buckley]

You did such a nice job of showing her personality and mood at that particular moment in time. My vote also goes for the black-and-white version.

The very bright light in the background distracts me in both versions. Consider selecting that area and filling it with the adjacent color. Then convert to black-and-white, make the improvement Donald suggested, and you'll have a great one for hanging on the wall.

[WJT]

Thanks guys for your opinions. I tried to tone down that light pillar but do not have the know how. This version is without the mistake.

[WJT]

Is this too tight? I am also distracted by the bright pillar and want to take it out.

[Mike Buckley]

I think the crop is too tight. If you need help figuring out how to deal with the bright light in the background, let us know what software you are using. It will probably be easy for someone to explain how to take care of it.

[WJT]

I think the crop is too tight. If you need help figuring out how to deal with the bright light in the background, let us know what software you are using. It will probably be easy for someone to explain how to take care of it.

Cheers Mike, I'm using Apple Aperture if anyone can help. I generally dot out spots and so on but cannot do straight lines with any accuracy.

[Mike Buckley]

Hopefully someone following the thread uses Aperture. By the way, the two possible methods I'm thinking of would require no accuracy pertaining to the straight lines, at least not in the black-and-white version.

[WJT]

Hopefully someone following the thread uses Aperture. By the way, the two possible methods I'm thinking of would require no accuracy pertaining to the straight lines, at least not in the black-and-white version.

Tell me more Mike.

[Mike Buckley]

Tell me more Mike.

When selecting the bright area, you don't need to be particularly accurate except where it intersects with the woman's cheek. You don't need to worry about where it intersects with her hair because that area is out of focus. So, even if you use a brush to select the area -- that might be the least precise of all methods -- you don't need to be accurate.

If you use an Adobe product, even Elements, you can select that area using a Wand (perhaps it's called a Magic Wand). A bit more technique is required to using it, including a setting that allows you to select a range of tonalities. The advantage is that it might make it possible for you to be more accurate in your selection, which would be a great technique to develop for future use.

Probably the easiest way to select the bright area for me would be to use a Control Point, which is possible only using a Nikon product or a Nik (now owned by Google) plug-in. That's what I would do because I use Nikon software that has Control Points.

Once you have selected the bright area, you can fill the selection with the color that is the bright side of the post. The software programs I'm familiar with allow you to select that color by placing an Eye Dropper icon on it. Again, the color doesn't have to be accurate because you'll be converting it to black-and-white.

[RustBeltRaw]

Alternately, if you have access to Photoshop, you could burn the pillar free-hand with a tablet. Turning down the strength and hardness of the burn brush is frequently enough to smooth out the transition to the photo's unedited areas. To my mind, the weakness of area selection tools is that altered areas sometimes don't blend into the photo terribly well. It's something you can get past, but I prefer working freehand.

In other news, this is an excellent shot. The initial B&W version is great. Darkening the pillar would help, and I think her pupils could use some darkening and sharpening as well. Fortunately, when you find a character this strong, the hard part's done.

[WJT]

Alternately, if you have access to Photoshop, you could burn the pillar free-hand with a tablet. Turning down the strength and hardness of the burn brush is frequently enough to smooth out the transition to the photo's unedited areas. To my mind, the weakness of area selection tools is that altered areas sometimes don't blend into the photo terribly well. It's something you can get past, but I prefer working freehand.

In other news, this is an excellent shot. The initial B&W version is great. Darkening the pillar would help, and I think her pupils could use some darkening and sharpening as well. Fortunately, when you find a character this strong, the hard part's done.

Sure enough Lex, the hard work is done with a face like this. Honestly I think one of the main skills in people photography is building a re-pour in a very short time. I have just downloaded a trial of PS Elements but am time poor at the moment. The question is if I purchase a PS product and take the time to learn it, what is the bet option? Bearing in mind that I am just about to buy a large format Epsom Stylas 7900 and want to print a lot of quality photos.

[RustBeltRaw]

I can't comment on Photoshop Elements, since I've never used it, but there are frequently programs at universities that offer Photoshop at a deep discount. Not sure if you're a student or not, but I was able to get my hands on Photoshop CS5 for about $180 with one of these programs. Naturally, it's fine for printing with my Canon Pixma Pro 9500mkII.

Doing your own printing is highly satisfying. Setting up the proper color profiles for each paper and getting the initial calibration set up takes time, but there's something much more solid and beautiful about a printed photo versus one displayed on a screen. I could bang on about DPI and luster, but I think it's as simple as the (in modern times) increasingly rare feeling of holding a great photo. Screens are great for editing, but they're just not as good for viewing the final product. Knocking out your first 13x19in print will make you feel like a god.

[WJT]

I can't comment on Photoshop Elements, since I've never used it, but there are frequently programs at universities that offer Photoshop at a deep discount. Not sure if you're a student or not, but I was able to get my hands on Photoshop CS5 for about $180 with one of these programs. Naturally, it's fine for printing with my Canon Pixma Pro 9500mkII.

Doing your own printing is highly satisfying. Setting up the proper color profiles for each paper and getting the initial calibration set up takes time, but there's something much more solid and beautiful about a printed photo versus one displayed on a screen. I could bang on about DPI and luster, but I think it's as simple as the (in modern times) increasingly rare feeling of holding a great photo. Screens are great for editing, but they're just not as good for viewing the final product. Knocking out your first 13x19in print will make you feel like a god.

I just ordered the Epsom Stylas Pro 7900 24" Large Format. Very excited indeed and looking forward to learning how to use it.