| Author | Thread |
|
|
06/11/2007 01:36:14 PM |
| I think this is lovely - I adore country settings, and this one is well done. |
|
 Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/29/2007 05:01:19 PM |
| Wow, I like how I learn to see things better just by reading others comments - Melethia is dead on to note how the undulation of the color bands in the sky echoes the undulation of the land. That's very cool! |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/26/2007 11:32:56 AM |
Positives:
Pastoral setting, composition and framing of the farm are its best features. Unusual lighting and color has attractive features.
Technicals:
Subdued color works well for this composition. Thought at first the color/contrast was off but checked and it appears right. Dodging the area of the red barn works well to attract attention to it and add interest to the image.
Overall the technicals are weak in several areas. As mentioned in comments it appears to much noise reduction was applied. When overdone noise reduction shows up as the 'smoothies'. In this image it shows up most obvious in the dome of the barn and trees. In the trees you can see the image goes all smooth where there should be fine detail. Clouds are probably oversmoothed as well but clouds can be smooth like that under certain conditions.
The image is framed to highlight the clouds but they lack enough detail and "drama" to command enough viewer attention to justify the title.
Sharpness is to soft, probably affected by the noise reduction process. There is a small speck at the bottom of the top cloud bank that, though real, acts as a viewer distraction and should be cloned out. There is haloing along the treeline.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Noise reduction alert!
Noise reduction is always a battle between getting rid of unwanted electronic noise in an image and losing real detail. You want to get rid of the noise, but not the good detail. That is done through careful balance of parameter setting adjustments. A good way to approach the problem is to display problem areas, like pesky trees with a lot of fine detail, while you try several adjustments. Just before the trees lose significant detail you stop. Another approach to take is to apply a lot of noise reduction over the whole image and back it off in the trouble areas with masking. Sometimes you might have to work on some areas by "hand". Do whatever is easiest and least destructive.
Alert over!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Challenge:
Yup, its a landscape all right. No question. In a challenge with expert rules voters expect higher technical quality and that is the primary reason this image got a low score.
4.9 is about .4 below the general DPC group average for scoring and almost .8 lower than the group average for this challenge. That means the group felt it was not very good. I gave it a 7 which is what I give an average image. I was struck by the composition and lighting and apparently overlooked the technicals. To be honest, if I were scoring it now I would give it a 6 which means it is barely passing but below average and it is at the lower end of that.
Suggestions:
This image is well concieved and composed and improved technicals would dramatically improve it, though I suspect there may be some inherent aspects of your camera that would be hard to overcome. I noticed a characteristic softness and 'clumpiness' to many of the images in your portfolio.
Obviously, you want to redo noise reduction and work on better sharpness. This image begs to show sharper detail. :) Whatever you did in post processing to generate the haloing along the treeline should be corrected. Clone out that speck in the clouds. Do other stuff like that you might find.
The clouds are the biggest issue. Dodge and burning the heck out of them to add drama like we often see(and sometimes malign) with skies at DPC is recommended. Your title and the amount of image real estate devoted to the sky demands more drama be added somehow. Since it is expert editing you might even consider a sky replacement though that would be difficult given the two larger trees on the right but well worth consideration. There is nothing that says you cannot combine a great sky picture with a great ground picture to make a great landscape picture. Photo "purists" who might suggest otherwise don't understand that in photography... Image is EVERYTHING! |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/25/2007 09:27:44 PM |
| I love the way this looks almost like a diorama, very nice comp. in this also, cool shot! |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/25/2007 12:33:25 PM |
| I like the sky I wish that I could post process as good as you all do. |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/25/2007 08:25:57 AM |
Terry, I really like what you did with the sky. I think this is a very nicely composed and well executed shot with the exception of the focus. If it were a bit sharper, I think this would have scored much higher.
|
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
Comments Made During the Challenge  |
|
|
04/24/2007 12:07:44 PM |
| The subject of your image (the sky, I presume) is extremely blurry. Contrast could have been greatly improved to provide a sense of forewarning. |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/24/2007 11:37:16 AM |
| Not bad but image quality is why I am only giving 5, had the shot been crispy and sharp I would have given a higher score :) |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/24/2007 09:09:19 AM |
| Image quality is not the best, although the moment, the lights and colours are really nice. I started to look for my rain-jacket. :) |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/23/2007 09:16:24 PM |
| Nice but a bit out of focus? 5 |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/20/2007 10:36:31 PM |
| If the background was sharper I think you would get a much higher score because the composition is nice. |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/20/2007 03:29:36 PM |
| I like how the ribbons of clouds echo the curve of the land. |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/20/2007 09:00:06 AM |
| Nice scenic. There's been some loss of detail, via too much noise reduction and/or not focused well enough. Good luck. |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/19/2007 10:06:55 AM |
| I like the waves of clouds overhead. That greenish cast is certainly the way things look sometimes before a storm. If it wasn't there on the original image, it was a good choice to add it! |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/19/2007 09:43:11 AM |
| Everything looks out of focus (or perhaps too much neat image?). Perhaps that is intentional, but it doesn't work for me. Colors are nice, and I like the layering effect of the clouds. |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
04/18/2007 05:25:25 AM |
| Nice composition but everything looks a bit fuzzy. |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 03/13/2025 01:03:56 AM EDT.
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
