Twisted tree

[KenCo]

Been lurking round here for a while now and just decided to join up....So this being my first post here. I have only been into photography for about 2 years now and have much to learn but enjoying every moment.....Just wished I'd picked up a camera sooner.

Anyway....A 3 shot HDR.
Hope you like.

http://www.kensphotography.poijoy.com/images/Forums/1-copya.jpg

C&C welcome.
TFL.
Ken.

[policy]

Nice. I like the water and the mood of this picture.

[yahoo]

lovely shot, i've been dying to give HDR a chance, the more i see the more i like. Do you use photomatix?

[AV Mode]

Welcome Ken,

Nice picture good type of scene for HDR.

[KenCo]

Cheers guys, thanks for the comments.
Do you use photomatix?
Yes I do use Photomatix, I just can't get on with CS2 HDR.
Thanks again.
Ken.

[SOX 404]

Beautiful! I like the color composition and the picture is very sharp. What lens did you use?

[Sweedishcarrot01]

I like. Does HDR compromise with saturation?

[KenCo]

Thanks again for the comments.....
What lens did you use?
I use a canon 350d and my most expensive lens is a Sigma 70-300 apo dg macro ;)....this was with the 18-55 kit lens. I can only dream about L glass.
@ NZFritz.....I tend to desaturate quite a heavily or at least in this shot...Yellows and greens.
HTH.
Ken.

[Sweedishcarrot01]

Thanks Ken. I havn't really used HDR before

[Anthony J Howe]

Welcome to the forum Ken and a cracking good shot to start with.
The composition of the shot is superb and that twisted tree gives the scenery a nice touch, well done.

[KenCo]

Welcome to the forum Ken and a cracking good shot to start with.
The composition of the shot is superb and that twisted tree gives the scenery a nice touch, well done.
Cheers mate and thanks again for all the comments....hope to submit another real soon.
Ken.

[Tsmith]

Welcome to POTN Ken _ you did an excellent job with this. Perfect looking exposure while blending the entire scene very well.

[justin carpenter]

great shot i love the mood. I have still not got around to playing with HDR. This does make me want to though. Good work.

[Albert Harrison, Jr.]

tack sharp! great pic!

[Becca]

Great shot! I like the composition and the HDR really did a good job of bringing out the details in the foreground. Nice job!

[HrcRacing]

Very nicely composed Ken. You've really captured a lot of interest in this.

[Dimitri_V]

Nicely compossed and executed but the final outcome is flat,that HDR for you.
Instead,and i don`t even know if its OK with you as you haven`t activated the...image editing OK option...i worked on it a touch,tell me what you think now.

PS: Welcome to the forum.;)

[KenCo]

Instead,and i don`t even know if its OK with you as you haven`t activated the...image editing OK option...i worked on it a touch,tell me what you think now.
No problems with anyone editing my pics.....as long as they let me know what was done...and I will activate image editing thing as soon as.
I think you are probably right in that it may be a little flat but it was deliberately desaturated, maybe too much. I thank you for trying to help and without meaning to sound rude, I think the colours on your version are a little too much for me.....If you'd like to check out my site, the last two pics in sunrise/set Here (http://kensphotography.poijoy.com/Sunriseset.html) are pre desaturation......I'm sure at some point after learning a few tricks in CS2 i'll have another go at this...just hope you don't get sick of it.
Many thanks again for all the comments.
Ken.

[zacker]

sweet! nice shot and welcome!

[R Hardman]

Nice photo. Very uncluttered and simple. Well done.

[Dimitri_V]

No problems with anyone editing my pics.....as long as they let me know what was done...and I will activate image editing thing as soon as.
I think you are probably right in that it may be a little flat but it was deliberately desaturated, maybe too much. I thank you for trying to help and without meaning to sound rude, I think the colours on your version are a little too much for me.....If you'd like to check out my site, the last two pics in sunrise/set Here (http://kensphotography.poijoy.com/Sunriseset.html) are pre desaturation......I'm sure at some point after learning a few tricks in CS2 i'll have another go at this...just hope you don't get sick of it.
Many thanks again for all the comments.
Ken.
Right Ken,before we go any further,i don`t get why you desaturated the picture of the twisted tree.
Second,the colours on your (early sun/Stanhope) look great with good contrast.
The Derwent reservoir looks good and so does (on waste ground) with the last one needing a bit of contrast.
IMHO,a picture should be well contrasted to look good,for example...in your landscape section,left row and 4 down,that picture does it for me,good contrast and superb colours.
I need to remind you,photography is not always about purism,remember velvia film that everybody loved?;)

In general,you`ve got a good eye for photography,keep at it,i`d like to see more of your efforts.

[KenCo]

You asked me to "tell me what you think now" Essentially I was agreeing with you, in that it may be a little on the flat side.....but I still think your version is way over exaggerated. Now I am not saying you are wrong........but it's not my cup of tea. I have spent this last year trying to get on top of my processing and steering away from the over processed look, the pics on my site were processed some time ago and I am in the process of re-doing some of them.....it is very frustrating for me but I am not into the "in your face colours" you produced here. My attempt already suffered slightly from a faint halo around the tree......yours highlights that even more so and the blue in the water bottom of frame is just so unrealalistic.
I need to remind you,photography is not always about purism,
Don't get me wrong, I am not against colour or well contasted shots as you say....but it was not what I was after here.
Right Ken,before we go any further,i don`t get why you desaturated the picture of the twisted tree.
The sun was going down and really the only colour left was that of the sun hitting the cliff face.....I didn't want to take away from that.
remember velvia film that everybody loved?;)
Err, no....I have only been into photography for a couple of years now and know nothing of film photography and little about digital photography. Prior to a compact camera I bought nearly 2 years ago, I have never held a camera......
IMHO,a picture should be well contrasted to look good.
Once again I won't disagree with you but just to say in the right context and that also everyone has different tastes. I take pictures to please myself but hope somewher along the way some others may also enjoy what I see.....Having said that, I am also very, very keen to learn BUT.....I know what I like and what I don't.<br>Please don't take offence to anything I have said here....the last thing I want to do is fall out with someone after only just joining the forum. <br>Thanks again for your comments and look forward to further critique on any of my future posts.<br>Ken.

[Laziferous]

Wow, excellent.

[photojag]

welcome and wow.. i love what you have here.. great detail and the color is spot on.. cant wait to see more

[Sharpy]

Great work Ken, a very nice example of HDR. Colours and detail are spot on!
Regards Alan.

[Dimitri_V]

You asked me to "tell me what you think now" Essentially I was agreeing with you, in that it may be a little on the flat side.....but I still think your version is way over exaggerated. Now I am not saying you are wrong........but it's not my cup of tea.
Of cours,very undertandable,different people / different taste.;)
I have spent this last year trying to get on top of my processing and steering away from the over processed look, the pics on my site were processed some time ago and I am in the process of re-doing some of them.....it is very frustrating for me but I am not into the "in your face colours" you produced here. My attempt already suffered slightly from a faint halo around the tree......yours highlights that even more so and the blue in the water bottom of frame is just so unrealalistic.
You can go around that problem in PP.
Don't get me wrong, I am not against colour or well contasted shots as you say....but it was not what I was after here.

The sun was going down and really the only colour left was that of the sun hitting the cliff face.....I didn't want to take away from that.
I see your point.
Remember velvia?...Err, no....I have only been into photography for a couple of years now and know nothing of film photography and little about digital photography. Prior to a compact camera I bought nearly 2 years ago, I have never held a camera......
The only reason i mentioned velvia is because it was producing very vivid colours and contrasty images and for that it was the loved film of all pro landscape photographers and most of the briliant phots you see in the magazines have been taken with this film.
Once again I won't disagree with you but just to say in the right context and that also everyone has different tastes. I take pictures to please myself but hope somewher along the way some others may also enjoy what I see.....Having said that, I am also very, very keen to learn BUT.....I know what I like and what I don't.
Absolutely right,everyone with his/hers own style.
Please don't take offence to anything I have said here....the last thing I want to do is fall out with someone after only just joining the forum. <br>Thanks again for your comments and look forward to further critique on any of my future posts.<br>Ken.
Take offence?
Fall out?
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:,no,i don`t think so.
We are here to learn from each other and help each other and thats where it stops my syber friend,take care of yourself and bring around good pictures but most of all have fun taking them.;):D

[Mike Bell]

Phew - I'm glad you two have kissed and made up! :) :lol: [Not that you ever did fall out, really!]

Welcome to this forum. :)

I love the composition and exposure balance of this shot but I do tend to agree with Dimitri that some boosting of colours would be appropriate to produce what is generally regarded as 'the right result' for a landscape. By that I suppose I mean what we see in exhibitions and in magazines and what seems to win in competitions. You must of course do what feels right for you - others are free to form their own opinions. :)

I look forward to seeing more of your work. :)

[Dorman]

Ken, welcome to the forum. I like this image, and I like the boosted color image as well. I'm staying out of the middle of this. ;)

You seem to have a great handle on HDR, I took a browse through your gallery and you have some really nice work there. If you get some time (and wouldn't mind) fire me a private message or e-mail, I'd like to hear about your HDR workflow. I'll understand if you want to take the secret to your grave. ;)

[KenCo]

Many thanks for the further comments, much appreciated.
You can go around that problem in PP.
Oh please tell me how...processing wise (CS2) I only do the basics and any simple cloning, masks and things never work for me.
Thanks again for your input and as I have said.....I have much to learn and have no problem with anyone making any constuctive comments or editing my pics, so please feel free on any future posts.

I'm staying out of the middle of this.
:p :)
You seem to have a great handle on HDR, I took a browse through your gallery and you have some really nice work there. If you get some time (and wouldn't mind) fire me a private message or e-mail, I'd like to hear about your HDR workflow. I'll understand if you want to take the secret to your grave.
Many thanks for taking the time to have a look at my site.....no secrets here but, I really don't think I am qualified enough to be giving advice on processing ;) However....if you give me a short while I'll refresh this post with a run down on what processing I used on this pic.
Hope that's ok.
Many thanks again for the comments and welcomes.
Ken.

[Dorman]

Thanks, it'd be much appreciated.

[Dimitri_V]

Many thanks for the further comments, much appreciated.

Oh please tell me how...processing wise (CS2) I only do the basics and any simple cloning, masks and things never work for me.
Thanks again for your input and as I have said.....I have much to learn and have no problem with anyone making any constuctive comments or editing my pics, so please feel free on any future posts.

Basicaly the halo is created usually form the use of shadow/highlight.
When you are adjusting them,make sure the radius is turned down to zero or there about,do this and check the preview and you`ll see what i`m talking about.

[KenCo]

You seem to have a great handle on HDR, I took a browse through your gallery and you have some really nice work there. If you get some time (and wouldn't mind) fire me a private message or e-mail, I'd like to hear about your HDR workflow. I'll understand if you want to take the secret to your grave. ;) Okay!!!
DISCLAIMER:
I am in no way saying that this is the correct way to use photomatix.....it's just what seemed to work best for me and this pic. At the end of the day it is all trial and error, just getting stuck in and messing around and seeing what works and what doesn't. Every pic is different and obviously all settings are dependant on this.....I am (in my oppinion) new to photography and processing, although I have been PLAYING with Photomatix for some time now ONLY because I can't get to grips with CS2's HDR.
Anyway....

RAWSHOOTER.
Taking atleast 3 shots using the bracket feature -2, 0, +2, I processed firstly in RSP (Raw Shooter Professional) Setting Auto exposure and picking the white balance.....That's it, nothing else.

PHOTMATIX.
Then loading the saved tiff's in Photomatix....I reduced strength too 25%, Dynamic range varies and I think for this I used -5, reduced the saturation to 30% and adjusted the white and black point.....once again this depends on the scene and what you want from it but, just check the histogram making sure not to clip it. Smoothing on + and micro contrast 0.....oh and 48 bit.
Gave me this.

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/1988/treephotomatixqf0.jpg

You all have your own processing methods but for the sake of finishing what I did and for those that really want to know.....
CS2.
A slight contrast curves layer, small amount of shadow/highlight, in the version to follow I added a touch more contrast via another layer for my mate dv2004 ;) Another layer to desaturate yellows and greens a little....resized and sharpened.

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/6200/treecs2yq4.jpg

I think i'd have prefered to desaturate a little more and maybe use a little less contrast.....but please bear in mind that this was done rather quickly, so please don't shoot the messenger.
Hope it helps.
Ken.