Merry Christmas everyone!! OK, even with only 5 entries, this was harder than I thought it would be to choose. I was going to post my choice last night, but I had to keep looking at the attributes of each edit over and over again. … Some really good stuff here – technically among the best edits I’ve seen in a long while.
Jared – Virtually everything you chose to do to this image was spot-on. The soft overlay blend afforded the sharpness to some of the rocks, without making the edges of the rocks too harsh. The combined desaturation followed by the adjustments to black, gray & white were balanced absolutely perfectly. Whenever I try, I always fail miserably and my desats-resats never attain the perfect balance that yours has. Finally, the combination of a tight crop, with the vignette and selective blurring draw focus & hold it. … I participate in a small group of photo enthusiasts and we often talk about editing techniques. … If you don’t mind, I may use your edit as an example.
monty – This is just plain spectacular. Every last detail is superb. By varying the heights and tilting each of the logs, combined with slight differences in the shadow depth, the logs don’t simply look like clones of each other. This picture is absolutely surreal in so many ways, that I can’t really count them all. The softness of the initial long-exposure sets the tone for the entire image, and is juxtaposed to the sharp, solid feel of the boulders and the logs. The scale of the logs versus the boulders is balanced very well. Why are those logs there? Who stood them up, and why are they placed in a line? Where do they lead? Why are they topped with small rocks? Why are the rocks missing from some of the logs? … I could go on, and on. Finally, the smaller rocks on the logs provide a link with the other rocks/boulders in the image. Monty, this is some of the best work I’ve seen from you (and I’ve seen you do some amazing stuff!!). … This image should be entered in the POTN book in some category – It’s that good. You should enter it. Or at a minimum, display it on your wall. All I can say, is WOW.
Justin – I may have studied your edit the longest. At first I thought the contrast was too deep and the colors too richly saturated. But as I continued to come back to study your picture, I realized that it still worked. The deeper green (including some of the green in the rocks) gave me the impression of an entirely different season of the year. The deeper brown of the log adds to that feeling, almost as if the log had been wet all winter, and was finally drying out, with a hint of mossy green stuff appearing on some of the rocks. The vignette added to that seasonal perspective. – I’m not sure what you were aiming for, and I’m not sure what “color issues” you have been battling with, but this was what I saw in your image. Definitely an interesting change from the drab original pic that was a bit washed out when I snapped it.
PoSaiDoN – If you had spelled Differences correctly, I could see this as one of those “Motivational” posters. The BG blur definitely draws attention to the log & little rocks. Your adjustments also enhance my original reason for taking the picture – I was experimenting with natural side-lighting & shadows. – The shadows cast by the little rocks are absolute, while the curved side of the log graduates from significant shadow to direct sunlight exposure. You also enhanced the shadow cast by the log itself upon the irregular wild grass surrounding. Very nicely enhanced.
PictureDisk – That is pretty cool stuff!! I think I like yours better than the one in the Tennis thread. I love the way you created a thin wafer from the log and tilted it to make sure the shadows were oriented properly (based on where the sun must be to illuminate the earth). Also, the image is nice and sharp, which (I guess) is what it would look like in space without the interference of environmental factors (ie, smog) to make the image look dull. Outstanding work. – You should play this and the Tennis thread more frequently!!
OK, sorry for talking so much, but there was some serious skill exhibited this time, and I studied the images so long, that I wanted to share what I saw in these outstanding edits. … But with that said, monty is the winner. … Superb.
