Exercise in times of Corona

[mugge]

Metropolitan Melbourne is currently in partial lockdown as well as we all have to wear facemasks when outside. We are going for walks every day and I have walked past this scene many times without noticing it. I think this scene was worth taken. C&C welcome however.

Exercise in times of Corona by Ole Hansen, on Flickr

[Wavelength]

It is a nice view as such; yet you may attempt a little hike in saturation and contrast, i feel

[mugge]

DSCF4946-Edit-Edit-2 by Ole Hansen, on Flickr

[xpatUSA]

DSCF4946-Edit-Edit-2 by Ole Hansen, on Flickr

Nicely edited. Grass "just right" ...

Anywhere near Croydon where my cousin lives?

[DanK]

I think this image has a lot of potential, but it could use substantial editing. For example, there is almost no tonal range in the area above and to the right of the stream, so the interesting detail there is almost entirely obscured.

I have to teach in a few minutes, so I don't have time to do this carefully, but here is a very quick edit that shows the directions I was thinking about. I did this:

--lightened the shadows
--applied some global contrast. I used the normal blend mode, which increased saturation a bit. You could avoid this by using the luminosity blend mode or by backing off saturation a bit, either globally or locally, e.g., the grass.)
--dodged and burned a little, to lighten the area I mentioned and darken a bit of the foreground.
--used smart sharpen, at a very low level

See what you think.

[Wavelength]

Yes, edits working well for me; thank you Ole

[Manfred M]

Somewhat similar thoughts from me as Dan had.

Whenever an image looks a bit "muddy" like your original does, I look at boosting global and mid-tone contrast as a first move and then I go into "Ansel Adams" mode and do some local dodging and burning. I didn't like what the bright areas near the top edge on the left hand side were doing, so I cloned out those areas.

Finally, a touch more microcontrast via USM.

[mugge]

Ted, The location is Darebin Parklands in Thornbury/Northcote and is 33 km from Croydon.

[xpatUSA]

Ted, The location is Darebin Parklands in Thornbury/Northcote and is 33 km from Croydon.

Ta, Ole. Small world!

[mugge]

I agree that there is no detail in the shadow because I think that the shadows should be there. In Ted's and Manfred's versions the scene looks too homogenous for me. My idea was to include some shadows where shadows should be.
Cheers Ole

[Manfred M]

I agree that there is no detail in the shadow because I think that the shadows should be there. In Ted's and Manfred's versions the scene looks too homogenous for me. My idea was to include some shadows where shadows should be.
Cheers Ole

If you look at the work of many of the great photographers, what they do is ensure that there is tonal homogeneity throughout an image. Good flow and details between the lights and the dark; something that flows without being jarring. Ensuring that there are textures in the deepest shadows and in the brightest highlights. That is current "fashion" in landscape (and other photography), just as having a scene in sharp focus from the closest to the furthest object in the scene is.

There is no right or wrong answer here. Just personal taste and current trends. Some of these concepts have been around for decades. Ansel Adams devised the Zone System to ensure textures and details are brought out. He was a founding member of Group f/64. Why did they name their group that way? Because f/64 is an aperture that they tended to shoot at in order to get that sharpness on their large view cameras.

[xpatUSA]

I agree that there is no detail in the shadow because I think that the shadows should be there. In Ted's and Manfred's versions the scene looks too homogenous for me.

Ole, I did not edit your image. The image you're talking about, presumably my post #4, is in a quote from your post #3.

[mugge]

My mistake, I was referring to Dan's edits.
Cheers Ole

[Tronhard]

My sympathies to our fellow ANZACs over in Oz. We were really hoping to extend our NZ bubble to Oz, but with the second wave it looks like it will be some time before we will have the chance to move freely between the two countries. So far it has been about six weeks since we have a case within NZ, and although some are coming in they are being caught at the border with our strict quarantine and isolation protocols.

[mugge]

My sympathies to our fellow ANZACs over in Oz. We were really hoping to extend our NZ bubble to Oz, but with the second wave it looks like it will be some time before we will have the chance to move freely between the two countries. So far it has been about six weeks since we have a case within NZ, and although some are coming in they are being caught at the border with our strict quarantine and isolation protocols.

All of Victorians have to wear face mask now. Over 700 new cases today. Not happy Jan

[Tronhard]

Hi Ole

We have advantages in being an island nation with one level of national government (rather than states), and (if I say so myself) we have an awesome PM who recognized that we should seek to eliminate rather than live with the virus. Considering they were figuring this out as they went, I think they did an amazing job of galvanizing public cooperation to lock us down for an extended period. We are grateful not to have to worry about all the privations that you folks in Oz are dealing with and hoping our border protection will keep it out. All I can say is that wearing masks for a few weeks, combined with strict hygiene and social distancing, will help you folks deal with the thing way better. Hang in there!