self-portrait

[DanK]

A Vivian Maier I will never be, but I thought this was fun. I was in a sculpture garden, trying to get photos that are more than snapshots of sculptures, when I came upon this semi-mirrored structure. C&C welcome, as always.

[William W]

I like it. The 'semi' mirrored surface adds to the appeal, mystic.
I also like that you think it was fun. I get that. Shop windows and curved chrome surfaces in street scenes comprise part of my fun.
The B&W choice in Post Production (i.e. not colour) suits the Photograph.

WW

[DanK]

Thanks. I'll post the SOOC image below. The color was definitely a distraction. This was a bit of an experiment. It needed a fair amount of local adjustment, and a few years ago, I would have finished it in Photoshop. But given the huge improvements in Lightroom masking over the past few years, I tried doing it entirely in LR. Between the subject recognition and the ability to add to and subtract from masks, it wasn't hard to do in LR.

[billtils]

Dan, I never thought I'd say this, but I prefer the colour version! That apart, nicely imagined and executed.

[DanK]

Bill,

Here you go: a color version with the same edits and two more.

Lightroom makes this incredibly easy. I created a virtual copy with all settings other than the profile (B&W), so all of the local edits were copied to a new color version. I then desaturated the distracting yellow leaves, first by using the color mixer and then by selecting on the color and narrowing the range a bit. Took virtually no time. I didn't clock it, but probably two minutes at most.

Dan

[William W]

Dan, I never thought I'd say this, but I prefer the colour version! That apart, nicely imagined and executed.

haha - I love it - two opposing Bills!

I might need a small Single Malt, to sooth the nerves.

***

Here you go: a color version with the same edits and two more.

Thanks, Dan - loading up the colour versions is much appreciated.

Upon further consideration, I shall stick with liking the B&W best when contrasted to both the SOOC and the Post Production Colour versions.

For interests sake: I reckoned first off, that the B&W suited the photo best, because of the Self Portraits I have made using shop windows. So indeed, I came to an assumption with unconscious bias.

Colour seems to add another layer of 'confusion', where as B&W cuts to the meat of it.

Additionally I am not keen of the colour casts / colour cloud casts of blue through the hair - B&W sorts all that quickly.

WW

[Manfred M]

Dan - I agree with Bill on this one. The B&W works best for me because it simplifies an image that is quite complex and busy.