2017 Project 52 - First Quarter by Arno (AG64)

Classic images :)

Week 8:

It's been a while since I've gotten out to to take any photos. It seems that what little spare time I had seemed to coincide with periods of bad weather. I managed to take a few photos yesterday in what were not the best of conditions - pretty clear skies but a bit hazy. Below is a photo that I did 3 different versions in PP and wanted to get some opinions.

#1 - Original. This is pretty much straight out of the camera with minimal correction. Some dehaze and I knocked down the highlights a bit.
http://i64.tinypic.com/2yjxb4i.jpg


#2 - Desaturated. This is actually the last version I did (after the B&W) but I felt it would be easiest to evaluate next to the original color version. I carried over the highlight and shadow adjustments from the B&W version and reduced the saturation a bit.
http://i63.tinypic.com/fuqjy8.jpg


#3 - B&W. This one seemed like it might make a good conversion, so I gave it a shot. I also did a bit of dodging and burning to accentuate the highlights and shadows around the dunes so it didn't look too flat in B&W. After doing this version, I was curious to see how the highlight and shadow adjustments would look in color, so I went back to that.
http://i65.tinypic.com/rh9752.jpg


I'm kind of partial to #2 myself. The desaturated color look seemed to capture the feel of the place the best. It was a raw and windy day with the typical lack of color one sees in the wintertime. I'd appreciate any thoughts on the various versions and any further adjustments I could try. Thank you.

All look OK to me.

Yes, #2 certainly has more of a dull day look to it.

I like #3 personally - I'd probably like to see what it would be like if you tweaked the shades of the house so they were a touch darker while decreasing the blacks slightly so the mound on the right of the house doesn't draw so much attention.

Thanks for the suggestions and the commentary Mal. Here's an updated version of the black and white with adjustments per your suggestions. It's definitely an improvement over the prior B&W - the building has better contrast against the sea and the dunes.

#4 Updated B&W
http://i65.tinypic.com/2db9g9f.jpg

Class stuff

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AG64

Thanks for the suggestions and the commentary Mal. Here's an updated version of the black and white with adjustments per your suggestions. It's definitely an improvement over the prior B&W - the building has better contrast against the sea and the dunes.

#4 Updated B&W
http://i65.tinypic.com/2db9g9f.jpg

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That's my favourite now :D

Week 8, nice conversion. The color version had some nice warm colors though.

All very nice Arno; I prefer the original myself. The colours are really attractive.

Hi Arno :) I like the desaturated version (#2) , I would crop from the top just a bit, may be 1/4 of the sky.

Week 9:

I've been wanting to spend some time trying ultra long exposure shots for a while now. I've seen some great examples of this type of work and wanted to try it. This weekend I went in search of a few good locations to practice. The overcast was fleeting so I only managed to get a few shots in, but I think it was enough to learn a few things that will be helpful the next time I try it.

#1 - ISO 100, F16, 12-stop ND filter, 4 minutes. The water came out pretty smooth, but the exposure was a bit too long and blew out the highlights in the sky.
http://i64.tinypic.com/2sbpla8.jpg

#2 - ISO 100, F16, 12-stop ND filter, 2 minutes. Pretty happy with this one. The shorter exposure improved the sky a lot, and the water was pretty close to the level of smoothness of the longer exposure
http://i66.tinypic.com/x0usxs.jpg

#3 - ISO 100, F16, 12-stop ND filter, 5 minutes. The cloud cover was heavier here, so I tested it with a longer exposure, and it worked great for the foreground and the water, but the sky doesn't have good definition due to the length of the exposure.
http://i65.tinypic.com/28mmmmf.jpg


This is a bit of a trial and error process and is definitely going to take some practice, but it's fun to experiment with.

Week 8, nice crisp images.

Very good trials in week 9 :)

Thanks Binnur! It was a fun experiment, and I'm looking forward to doing some more of it.

Love #2 and #3 - fantastic captures :)

Beautifully done!

Week 11
No real theme for this week. I managed to get out and get some photos during a late winter snow storm. Most of these seemed better as black and white due to the light conditions. There was a bit of color at the end of the day after the storm cleared out. Any comments and suggestions are welcome.

#1
http://i63.tinypic.com/1zpnlgp.jpg

#2
http://i67.tinypic.com/1jq8g7.jpg

#3
http://i65.tinypic.com/208i69z.jpg

#4
http://i64.tinypic.com/aviz46.jpg

They are all very. nice. #2 on the other hand is spectacular!

Thanks Joe. I caught a glimpse of pic #2 while driving down the road. Had to take a u-turn to go back and get some photos.

+1 to Joe's comment! Terrific shots but #2 has won my heart! It reminds me of my childhood. My "river" was a small waterway, but I played away the days during the winter running in the snow along side of it! Thank you for this one! It is beautiful!