Leech Heaven

Got a thin skin? Then look elsewhere. Post a link to an image that you've made, and invite others to offer their critiques. Honesty is encouraged, but please be positive in your constructive criticism. Flaming and just plain nastiness will not be tolerated. Please note that this is not an area for you to showcase your images, nor is this a place for you to show-off where you have been. This is an area for you to post images so that you may share with us a technique that you have mastered, or are trying to master. Typically, no more than about four images should be posted in any one post or thread, and the maximum size of any side of any image should not exceed 950 px.

Moderators: Greg B, Nnnnsic, Geoff, Glen, gstark, Moderators

Forum rules
Please note that image critiquing is a matter of give and take: if you post images for critique, and you then expect to receive criticism, then it is also reasonable, fair and appropriate that, in return, you post your critique of the images of other members here as a matter of courtesy. So please do offer your critique of the images of others; your opinion is important, and will help everyone here enjoy their visit to far greater extent.

Also please note that, unless you state something to the contrary, other members might attempt to repost your image with their own post processing applied. We see this as an acceptable form of critique, but should you prefer that others not modify your work, this is perfectly ok, and you should state this, either within your post, or within your signature.

Images posted here should conform with the general forum guidelines. Image sizes should not exceed 950 pixels along the largest side (height or width) and typically no more than four images per post or thread.

Please also ensure that you have a meaningful location included in your profile. Please refer to the FAQ for details of what "meaningful" is.

Leech Heaven

Postby biggerry on Tue Mar 07, 2017 12:32 pm

Great weather for ducks.. and waterfalls :)
and leeches :(

Image(C) 2017 Gerard Blacklock, all rights reserved by Gerard Blacklock, on Flickr

Image(C) 2017 Gerard Blacklock, all rights reserved by Gerard Blacklock, on Flickr
gerry's photography journey
No amount of processing will fix bad composition - trust me i have tried.
User avatar
biggerry
Senior Member
 
Posts: 5930
Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 12:40 am
Location: Under the flight path, Newtown, Sydney

Re: Leech Heaven

Postby zafra52 on Fri Mar 10, 2017 1:20 pm

Two very appealing photos, specially the second.
User avatar
zafra52
Senior Member
 
Posts: 4786
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 10:22 pm
Location: Brisbane

Re: Leech Heaven

Postby TonyT on Fri Mar 10, 2017 4:10 pm

The second is a winner Gerry.
User avatar
TonyT
Senior Member
 
Posts: 854
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2007 10:08 am
Location: Narrabundah Canberra ACT

Re: Leech Heaven

Postby ozimax on Sun Mar 12, 2017 3:46 pm

Both are un-bloomin-believable. In regards to the first, would it have been even better without the branches in the foreground? Not sure about this. They do provide another focal point of interest in an already magical scene.

Gerry you wouldn't mind sharing the process for this image? I'd be interested to learn.
President, A.A.A.A.A (Australian Association Against Acronym Abuse)
Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105 F4, RF 70-200 F4, RF 35mm F1.8, RF 16mm F2.8
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)
User avatar
ozimax
Senior Member
 
Posts: 5284
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2005 11:58 am
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW

Re: Leech Heaven

Postby Matt. K on Sun Mar 12, 2017 9:15 pm

Second image is a fine art should be in a high class gallery image. Get it there Gerry! :up:
Regards

Matt. K
User avatar
Matt. K
Former Outstanding Member Of The Year and KM
 
Posts: 9980
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2004 7:12 pm
Location: North Nowra

Re: Leech Heaven

Postby biggerry on Wed Mar 15, 2017 10:59 am

zafra52 wrote:Two very appealing photos, specially the second.

TonyT wrote:The second is a winner Gerry.

Matt. K wrote:Second image is a fine art should be in a high class gallery image. Get it there Gerry! :up:


thanks guys :) always too kind :)
gerry's photography journey
No amount of processing will fix bad composition - trust me i have tried.
User avatar
biggerry
Senior Member
 
Posts: 5930
Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 12:40 am
Location: Under the flight path, Newtown, Sydney

Re: Leech Heaven

Postby biggerry on Wed Mar 15, 2017 11:01 am

Hey Ozi, sorry for the late reply - always happy to share process techniques :)

ozimax wrote:Both are un-bloomin-believable. In regards to the first, would it have been even better without the branches in the foreground? Not sure about this. They do provide another focal point of interest in an already magical scene..


I did consider trying to move these, but time was short and they were probably too heavy :)

ozimax wrote:Gerry you wouldn't mind sharing the process for this image? I'd be interested to learn.


The waterfall shot is panorama image, from memory it would be about 5 horizontal shots at 16mm, shutter 13 seconds (except the left two images they where 25 seconds from memory, this part of the scene had much more in the shadows) and aperture f13, this gives about a 180 degree FOV coverage. The stitched images are single shots, ie not bracketed, the lightiing as pretty perfect on the day, overcast and fairly diffused. The shots where taken on my lightweight pano rail, this is pretty important since the focal length is so wide and the scene complex with lots of near and far objects making parrallax error a big issue. Filters used were a screw-in CPL and screw-in 3 stop ND.

The processing consists of stitching in PS which was easy given the shots are taken on the rail about the lens nodal point. The processing following this consists of:
1) adjustment of the colour balance to correct the polariser and ND filter I basically reduce the blue and red channel thus taking the cast away and also giving the greens a bit more love.

2) Adjust shadows - levels and curves for this, or d-lighting basically even out the light over the scene.

3) Locally bright and desaturate some parts, particularly the water, the water in this is case more a sewerage colour yellow :) hence I smacked it's saturation to hide it and give it more of nicer look :)

4) Add diffusion (locally) I use either a orton effect style in PS, new layer -> Gaussian blur (5ish) + high contrast (80%) and small brightness (20%) increase and blend layer at about 30% opacity. new layer -> filter->other-> high pass apply this at about 4 ish, just enough to see some detail, blend this layer at 100% using soft light.

What the above does is create a nice glow which you can locally brush onto all or parts of the image, in this case I applied it to the entire image. You can also use presets in some programs to create the same effect. Note the high pass filter keeps things nice and sharp but still keeps that glow.

5) some local clarity on the rocks and tree trunks to give them some punch to stand out.

6) basic light room adjustments (i have a standard preset I use) like reduce blacks a bit, increase contrast, reduce haze, increase sharpness, reduce noise - thats all pretty minimal

7) I pushed the warmth (locally up the top) a bit more just to give those trees up the top behind everything else more natural/nicer look. I often also (for waterfall scenes) reduce the blues, I am not big on that blueish colour water :)

8) radial filter to reduce image edge brightness (i also include slight desaturation on this as well) or vignetting - I typically apply this than paint some areas in or out as desired. This step does two things, the vignette obviously tunnels the vision to the centre, but the desaturation also helps remove the eyes from this area and throw them into the other parts where the colour is more prominent..

Hope this helps - it may sound like a lot but not really :) happy to expand on any of the points and I can show the editing steps and the effect on the image if you like :)
gerry's photography journey
No amount of processing will fix bad composition - trust me i have tried.
User avatar
biggerry
Senior Member
 
Posts: 5930
Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 12:40 am
Location: Under the flight path, Newtown, Sydney

Re: Leech Heaven

Postby ozimax on Thu Mar 16, 2017 7:54 am

Sincere thanks Gerry. I think your photoshopping workflow is a little above my level of expertise, but I do understand the gist of your editing.

The actual shooting of the scene is interesting, particularly the panoramic side of things. Might be something for me to consider but I would need to invest in a pano head.

Thanks again Gerry for sharing your technique (and images) which are an inspiration to us here in DSLRusers-land.
President, A.A.A.A.A (Australian Association Against Acronym Abuse)
Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105 F4, RF 70-200 F4, RF 35mm F1.8, RF 16mm F2.8
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)
User avatar
ozimax
Senior Member
 
Posts: 5284
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2005 11:58 am
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW

Re: Leech Heaven

Postby biggerry on Thu Mar 16, 2017 11:03 am

fyi

here is a picture, from that shoot whilst taking this picture - mainly of the pano kit I was using. It's a part of a multi row kit I have put together.

Image
gerry's photography journey
No amount of processing will fix bad composition - trust me i have tried.
User avatar
biggerry
Senior Member
 
Posts: 5930
Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 12:40 am
Location: Under the flight path, Newtown, Sydney


Return to Image Reviews and Critiques

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 53 guests

cron