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Thread: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

  1. #1
    tbob's Avatar
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    Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    Telephone and electricity lines are my nemesis. I must have spent an hour on this image getting rid of them. It is just my phobia or are they just a minor irritant in the image? I welcome opinions

    Powerlines.  Horrid or acceptable?

    Powerlines.  Horrid or acceptable?

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    Shadowman's Avatar
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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    It depends on the type of shot, if I'm doing street photography I don't mind so much, architecture yes I do mind, and for this type of shot I think it serves two purposes to leave it in. Leaving the power lines indicate how connected the area is to communication and is also realistic to the scene as you viewed the area, aesthetically it can be very annoying.

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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    I'm with you all the way, Trevor. I think the question is: when you were taken by the potential for an image here, were the power lines part of what attracted your eye, or were they by default redacted from your visual impression. I strongly suspect the latter. The appeal of this image for me includes, composition, light, and story (the snow, the tracks), and the lines detract from all of these. Nice work.

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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    If the power poles and lines are ugly and degrade the image I take them out, otherwise I ignore them.

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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    Yes, here pole can be a disturbance...i am more comfortable without the power line in the image

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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    Trevor - as others have said, I view power lines on a case-by-case basis, and remove them if they do not contribute to the image. Often I will scrap the shot, if they are going to be too much of a pain in post.

    When I look at your image with them removed, I wonder about the technique you are using because the tree tops have some really noticeable artifacts

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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    Aside from the discussion of power lines, the warmth of the first version is far more preferable. That includes the more natural looking sky and treetops and increased detail in the snow.

    Quote Originally Posted by GrumpyDiver View Post
    I view power lines on a case-by-case basis, and remove them if they do not contribute to the image. Often I will scrap the shot, if they are going to be too much of a pain in post.
    Ditto.
    Last edited by Mike Buckley; 28th January 2015 at 04:39 PM.

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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    horrid
    Last edited by NorthernFocus; 28th January 2015 at 05:25 PM.

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    HaseebM's Avatar
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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    I have given up on street photography due to this reason, too many power / telephone / dish / broadband connections here.

    Powerlines.  Horrid or acceptable?

  10. #10
    tbob's Avatar
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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    Quote Originally Posted by Downrigger View Post
    I'm with you all the way, Trevor. I think the question is: when you were taken by the potential for an image here, were the power lines part of what attracted your eye, or were they by default redacted from your visual impression. I strongly suspect the latter. The appeal of this image for me includes, composition, light, and story (the snow, the tracks), and the lines detract from all of these. Nice work.
    The power lines were definitely a negative in originally composing this. I tried several different angles and compositions; none worked. i finally gave up and decided to try removing them in post processing.

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    HaseebM's Avatar
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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    If you have PS, the content-aware tool works wonders.

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    tbob's Avatar
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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    Quote Originally Posted by GrumpyDiver View Post
    Trevor - as others have said, I view power lines on a case-by-case basis, and remove them if they do not contribute to the image. Often I will scrap the shot, if they are going to be too much of a pain in post.

    When I look at your image with them removed, I wonder about the technique you are using because the tree tops have some really noticeable artifacts
    The lines were removed with the clone tool in Aperture. I agree about the artifacts in the trees. I did not post the version I prefer where the the line passing through the trees is still there. It was just impossible to remove the line through the trees in upper right without causing problems. Good eye though; i was hoping this version would be small enough to escape the eagle eyes on this site. No such luck

  13. #13
    tbob's Avatar
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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    Quote Originally Posted by HaseebM View Post
    If you have PS, the content-aware tool works wonders.
    No Photoshop, Aperture and NIK only. Post processing is a necessary evil for me. So I keep it pretty simple. That is why having to remove the lines is such a pain.

  14. #14
    tbob's Avatar
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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Buckley View Post
    Aside from the discussion of power lines, the warmth of the first version is far more preferable. That includes the more natural looking sky and treetops and increased detail in the snow.



    Ditto.
    Once I decided to warm up the image I had to go whole hog. The intervening versions were decidedly weird with a nasty yellow brown barn roof and pale greenish blue snow on the hillside. I have no doubt someone with superior post processing skills (which sets the bar really , really low) could have do much better. I accept post processing but struggle with the actual mechanics. Often find myself wandering into creating versions that are not where I intended to go. Now I tend to set tight parameters for the endpoint now (i.e. before I start I make a mental map of the changes I want to achieve). This image was a bit of a struggle because it was going so wrong right from the moment I warmed it even slightly to lessen the blue cast on hiilside snow.

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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    Quote Originally Posted by tbob View Post
    The power lines were definitely a negative in originally composing this. I tried several different angles and compositions; none worked. i finally gave up and decided to try removing them in post processing.
    Seeing that you have already tried different angles, I have no other suggestions, but as for which final result I think actually looks better, I like the one without the power lines!

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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?


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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    I buried all the power lines in our yard and used trees to hide others that I could see from our yard. As for your shot... better without in my never humble opinion.

  18. #18
    Mark von Kanel's Avatar
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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    Bring on digital electric !

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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    If for me I would ignore them, if for photo circles I would take them out ... the discussion reminds me of a shot I took of blackbirds, flock of them, sitting on a pole and wires ... wires were an essential part of the shot I emphasised the starkness with the Threshold tool.

  20. #20
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    Re: Powerlines. Horrid or acceptable?

    Trevor I had not read any of the other posts yet but I prefer the first one with the wires because the second one looks naked...or was that the post processing?

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