2017 Project 52, First Quarter by Joe/ Joebranko

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Originally Posted by Urbanflyer

Do I remember you have lightroom? Using the clarity slider will help bring back some of the detail in the swan's back. Nice composition on this one!

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Thanks Judith. Unfortunately the details on the top back of the swan were blown beyond the capability of the clarity slider even at 100%, at which point some artifacts were being introduced. I have to accept that if I shoot with bright sunlight and in this case, with the sun overhead, then I must accept some problems with white objects. ( See Geoff's comment following yours).

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Originally Posted by Geoff F

The swan in the first image is nicely positioned and really adds extra punch to the scene.

White birds, or flowers for that matter, in sunshine are a real problem aren't they. With flowers I can sometimes add a bit of shadow to the area; but nothing really helps with larger subjects like a swan, and under exposing to that level simply causes more problems with the shadows. :rolleyes:

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Thanks Geoff. I knew I was running a risk, but nothing ventured....

Trees:

This was taken in LaSalle Park. It is a path along the edge of the water where I have taken many swan pics.

http://i66.tinypic.com/wb9m5s.jpg

I switched parks for this next set. They are from Princess Point, Cootes Paradise, Hamilton.

I need to crop the left side to remove some offending branches, but later.

http://i66.tinypic.com/2qbd9us.jpg

This last of the set is the water's edge in Cootes Paradise.

http://i66.tinypic.com/rhu4r6.jpg

Joe, I particularly like the first one. To my mind, the B&W works well.

Nice shots Joe :) I would improve the sky some more in the last image.

They all work well.

With #2, I would clone out those branches on the left side instead of cropping. Possibly a very slight crop from the top and right side though?

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Originally Posted by Cantab

Joe, I particularly like the first one. To my mind, the B&W works well.

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Thanks Bruce. This is one of my favorite shots.

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Originally Posted by bnnrcn

Nice shots Joe :) I would improve the sky some more in the last image.

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Thanks Binnur. See if this is better:

http://i63.tinypic.com/30icgwp.jpg

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Originally Posted by Geoff F

They all work well.

With #2, I would clone out those branches on the left side instead of cropping. Possibly a very slight crop from the top and right side though?

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Thanks Geoff. I think I got all the offending branches. I usually opt for cropping instead of cloning as I am not usually successful cloning. However I think I was able to do it without messing up the area.
Instead of cropping top and right side I decided to try a 1:1 format. How does it look?

http://i63.tinypic.com/2e3vbfc.jpg

I think that the skin tone problems on the paddleboard image were partially caused by general underexposure. I played with an image using NIK Viveza and brightened it, reduced saturation and increased structure. I also reduced the green a TAD. This is the result...

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-.../i-TJkpkwX.jpg

I also think that the water seems like a somewhat muddy-green color (was it) and that color reflected back onto the skin...

Your edit of the tree scene looks fine to me, Joe.

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Originally Posted by Geoff F

Your edit of the tree scene looks fine to me, Joe.

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Thanks Geoff.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by joebranko

Thanks Geoff. I think I got all the offending branches. I usually opt for cropping instead of cloning as I am not usually successful cloning. However I think I was able to do it without messing up the area.
Instead of cropping top and right side I decided to try a 1:1 format. How does it look?

http://i63.tinypic.com/2e3vbfc.jpg

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This looks really good to me! May I ask about the black foreground? Has this been burned off to keep the weeds down? It adds a dramatic look to the pic!

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Originally Posted by skitterbug

This looks really good to me! May I ask about the black foreground? Has this been burned off to keep the weeds down? It adds a dramatic look to the pic!

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You are quite correct Sandy; the grass had been burned. It was a controlled burn, but I don't know the reason for the burn.

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Originally Posted by Geoff F

Your edit of the tree scene looks fine to me, Joe.

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I agree. Congratulations on the cloning work!