Dance of the Palm Fronds

[ShaneS]

I have been sitting on these images for a couple of weeks and think that it's time to put them out there to see what you folks think...

I am treating them as a rough set with the first image being on the left and the last on the right. I know that the first image is not the same aspect ratio and the group would really not work well as a series hung on the wall so feel free to comment on them as individual images and if the concept of a series along these lines would work.

I purposefully left some areas black the emphasize the lines of the fronds.

Left (square aspect ratio):



Middle (4:5 aspect ratio):



Right (4:5 aspect ratio):



I also converted the first image to black and white as I think that the lines and tones work really well this way. But, I can't get past the color version and think I prefer the images presented that way. Your opinion is welcome on that choice too

[bnnrcn]

Hi Shane I like the B&W, is it a bit too sharp?

[Mike Buckley]

All of them are wonderful! I hope you'll convert the other two to monochrome as well.

In both versions of the first one, consider removing the lowest horizontal frond by taking that area to black.

[Brownbear]

Hi Shane,

Just to say that I especially love all of these - absolutely gorgeous!

My favourites being the 3rd image followed by the 1st, just beautiful. I like the b&w but prefer the colour - works best for me simply because the colour shows off the true beauty of the palms and lovely natural light.

[Ken Curtis]

Shane, the colored versions are wonderful. Love the contrast and the coloring.

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured, color version for me.

[ied]

I like the colour as it shows even the burnt tips here and there adding to it's natural beauty.

Irene

[ShaneS]

Thank you everyone! Mike, I was wondering if anyone would comment on the lower portion of the first shot as it was kind of bugging me - you confirmed my thoughts and I will work on an edit.

Christina, you thoughts about favorites mirror mine. I like the first best, followed by the third. I will try to continue the series when the opportunity arises and hopefully will replace the second shot with something a bit stronger.

Binnur I will take a look at the sharpness in the mono version when I rework the others. Thank you for pointing that out.

Ken, John and Irene, thank you for your kind words

BTW I did learn something about metering modes on these shots. I wasn't happy with the results with matrix metering (my default setting) when I saw the shots on my LCD. They were just too busy. So, I switched to spot metering which allowed the shadows to go dark and took away the busyness. I had read about this a number of times but these images really solidified one of the reasons that spot metering is so valuable. I did do some further dodging of some of the brighter areas and moved the black point in PP but for the most part these images and their look and feel had more to do with the use of spot metering.

[Mike Buckley]

As a clarification, Shane: You could have achieved essentially the same exposure using spot metering, matrix metering, center-weighted metering or using a handheld reflective meter or incident meter. It seems that you were able to more quickly or at least more intuitively achieve the look that you wanted using spot metering, which is fine. However, I wouldn't want newbies reading the thread thinking that any particular method of metering allows us to achieve a particular look that can't be achieved using other methods of metering.

[Brownbear]

Hi Shane,

I'm very much looking forward to seeing more of these.

I love the 1st image, as is. In particular I like the peep of the green frond on the bottom of the frame. If it were my image and I were to change anything I might try cloning out the wee bit of the brownish frond on the lower left, or make it green. I'm not sure if that would improve the or not.... just thought about it because you asked. I love these images!

[Kodiak]

Hi Shane I like the B&W, is it a bit too sharp?

I believe the contrast is too high! As I look at the colour version, I see the presence
of greens on the leafs that has been filtered out… not a good strategy since the palms
feel luxurious in colour and dried out in the B&W rendition.

[csa mt]

Shane, these are really beautiful! I love #1, then #3. Although #2 is no slouch! I much prefer the color version. Yes, I believe these would make a gorgeous set of wallhangings!

[Wavelength]

They are beautiful

[ShaneS]

Christina, Carol and Nandakumar, thank you for your kind comments.

Mike, I do realize that any light meter would have provided the same settings for the shot. I was in aperture priority mode and found that the change in metering modes along with some exposure compensation did the trick for me without switching to manual mode and exploring the effects of the various settings and the images that would result. So, I guess I would agree with you that it was an intuitive choice.

Kodiak, thank you for taking the time to comment. The contrast was intentionally high on the conversion but I will take a look at it again to see if I can find a better balance.

[Mike Buckley]

I am just loving viewing all of these again. They are so good!

[ShaneS]

After taking the suggestions of Kodiak, Binnur and Mike on board I have reworked the black and white image.

I believe that I have regained some texture by reducing the contrast and was a little less aggressive with my sharpening on this version. The stray bits at the bottom have been taken to black as well.



Your thoughts and suggestions for further improvement are always appreciated.

[Mike Buckley]

Print it. Frame it. Hang it. Put a spotlight on it. But before you do, send a copy to me. That really is fine art photography.

[Kodiak]

Print it. Frame it. Hang it. Put a spotlight on it. But before you do, send a copy to me. That really is fine art photography.

I share this kind of enthusiasm but Mike made the mistake to translate
or specify that in his sentence "me" stands for "kodiak"! ;-)

[AndrewMcD]

Wonderful images and quite informative regarding your metering techniques and processing. Love your work!
Andrew

[Brownbear]

Hi Shane,

Just to say that I also now love the b&w image! Gorgeous! I kind of miss the peek of the palm fronds in the lower portion, not sure why, but I love the image without them, too.