Project 52: Week 18, A cliche bit I like it

[billtils]

Spent a couple of days in the highlands at a black grouse photoshoot, and made a round trip of it by returning by way of the east coast. On the way we stopped off at the village of Portknockie, to allow me to give in to baser instincts and photograph Bow Fiddle Rock. The site is a bit of a photographic cliche, and there are very few if any opportunities for a creative approach that hasn't been done already. I did manage to avoid another cliche - long exposure shots - however I did give in to processing with rather more saturation than would be normal for me.

Bottom line is that when I got home and looked at the day's results, the ones that flew off the screen were not the birds, but the rock, hence "I like it".

Here's my favourite of the set. The little "spot" in the V of the rock is a gull and I'm not sure whether to leave it or remove.




And a B&W without the the bird:




Finally, a slightly different view:




C&C welcome

[Manfred M]

It may be cliché to you, but the shot works well.

I also find the virtually identical shots; one in colour and one in B&W quite interesting. People will probably have different takes on it, but here I find the colour one to work better because of the contrast between the rocks that are lower in the frame and the water. The tonal range in that part of the image in the B&W is quite similar and gives a completely different effect.

As for the impact of the gull, it is such a small element that it does not have a significant effect on the image. I slightly prefer the one with it in the image.

The one negative; I feel that the image is a bit over-sharpened. This is especially apparent in the water.

[billtils]

The one negative; I feel that the image is a bit over-sharpened. This is especially apparent in the water.

Thanks Manfred. You are (partly) correct about the sharpening. No direct sharpening was added, however, the processing to increase the saturation had the same effect. I chose to leave it as a personal protest about over-use of "milky water" treatment .

[rudi]

I prefer the first one Bill. For the vibrant colors perhaps, but for sure for the textures, the shapes and the lines. I don't mind the
'bit-over-sharpened' water.
The bird got my attention. For now I would be tempted to leave it in.
Just my 2 cents from a viewers point off view, iff you know what I mean.

[Manfred M]

Thanks Manfred. You are (partly) correct about the sharpening. No direct sharpening was added, however, the processing to increase the saturation had the same effect. I chose to leave it as a personal protest about over-use of "milky water" treatment .

In my experience oversharpened water (and clouds) tend to look worse than the silky water.

In general water is smooth and does not have micro-constrast. The balance needs to work.

[Geoff F]

I prefer the second scene simply because you have over exposed areas in the clouds of the first image. That issue has been avoided with the second shot.

[Shadowman]

I wouldn't call it a cliché especially if you've never been there or never seen an image of the place. Nicely captured.

[billtils]

In my experience oversharpened water (and clouds) tend to look worse than the silky water.

In general water is smooth and does not have micro-constrast. The balance needs to work.

Manfred

I went back and looked again at the processing (and revisited my memory bank!). This was shot at 1/320th because I wanted the water to come out like it looked when I shot it. I do have some slow(er) shutter speed shots that I'll take another look but didn't really like much in the first pass.

[billtils]

Thanks John. It's a cliche in that I'd guess at least 75% of the visitors are photographers, and there are basically only 2 variants on the composition.

[billtils]

I prefer the second scene simply because you have over exposed areas in the clouds of the first image. That issue has been avoided with the second shot.

Geoff

You raise an interesting point there - I agree that the sky looks overexposed but both Capture One and DxO Photolab told me otherwise.

[billtils]

Thanks John