2017 Project 52 - First Quarter by Arno (AG64)

[Wavelength]

Classic images

[AG64]

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.



#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.



#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.



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.

[Geoff F]

All look OK to me.

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

[Goldcoastgolfer]

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.

[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

[Wavelength]

Class stuff

[Goldcoastgolfer]

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

That's my favourite now

[Shadowman]

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

[joebranko]

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

[bnnrcn]

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

[AG64]

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.


#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


#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.



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.

[Shadowman]

Week 8, nice crisp images.

[bnnrcn]

Very good trials in week 9

[AG64]

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

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Love #2 and #3 - fantastic captures

[joebranko]

Beautifully done!

[AG64]

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


#2


#3


#4

[joebranko]

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

[AG64]

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.

[skitterbug]

+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!