LightandShadow

The softness in the clouds gives it a paint-like appearance. I’m always drawn to the opposing cliffs and a disappearing path.

The base image is different from the original, eliminating the edge of the pot on the bottom of the frame. Here’s a quick change to b&w (1 click in Lightroom) plus a bit of added contrast, darkening the shadows as I almost always need to when converting to b&w.

I really like the feel of this. I also don’t think the vignette helps a lot or maybe should be lightened some. The step at the bottom is a little distracting for me. All in all, a stunning image and my negatives are likely to be matters of taste.

Stunning. Makes me want to walk into the scene or at least simply stop, stare, breathe the air.

I think I see “The Thing” from Fantastic 4 in there.

Interesting. The shadows in both are not overly harsh which helps with the framing you mentioned. I do like the 2nd one a bit better as far as the orientation of the shadows is concerned. Striking image and oh, that eye, that bill, that crest!

Whoa! This absolutely demanded your portrait orientation.

Thanks, all. Here’s a redo of the base image–color, less blur/softening effect on the blooms, possibly as @loki asked for.

Yikes! Run away!!

I really like this. So different from the usual blooms images.

These are all great–inspiring even.

I agree with Beth’s comment about light in the eye. It even has a name: catchlight and some software has a setting to add it to an image–sort of the opposite of red eye reduction. I’ve not had much luck with it, though.

Something I’ve sort of learned the hard way is that the normal way for autofocus works produces unsatisfactory results. You may…[Read more]

I have had trouble with my extension tubes. Focus with them is very very fiddly and they can demand you get extremely close to your subject. I’ve had best luck with the 12x one–and it’s mostly luck with me.

Today’s cameras do a remarkably good job with digital noise. One key is to get a good exposure to begin with. If you have to lighten your…[Read more]

I do like the crop. It reduces the black blotches in the background (no longer go from green to black back to green). It make the small background green lower right of the bottom bloom appear almost as a framing object. I don’t think you needed all of the stems on the left. What you have left is quite nice, almost suggesting hair beads some wear…[Read more]

I like the idea and am especially grateful for the advice on diffusers. Shark Tank and its distant cousins provide so much benefit to the sideline participants as to the submitter.

To my eye and on my monitor, the reds and greens are too “loud”. So often, in still life images, the colors are in more muted tones that I like.

I should always include the “on my monitor” phrase when commenting on these sorts of issues. I have found that my histogram might show no blown highlights when an area has lost texture—it is truly unrecoverable—and further exposure attempts even in a small area simply darkens it, making it an ugly smudge.

I suggest you view or re-view the film WALL-E. It has much to say about the possible effects of the transfer of effort from human activity to “machines”, even if we leave aside the very very real uses of AI for exploitation as described by Robert and even beyond the example he has chosen.

I wonder whether painters bemoaned the ability to buy…[Read more]

I especially like the pano view. There is 1 small blow-out in the cloud above the center of the bridge. When the large part was over-exposed, I didn’t notice the small bit.