Heavenly Grazing

chrisfenison · Jul 28, 2004

First post, just registered. Neat forum here. What do you folks think of this image?

1/10 sec, f/18.0

voodoocat · Jul 28, 2004

I really like this shot. I like the crop you did on the photo. :thumbsup:

jtanyawilliams · Jul 28, 2004

I like the picture a lot but the cow blends in a little. Maybe mess with the levels in photoshop so that he stands out a little.

MDowdey · Jul 28, 2004

great shot to start it off with!!

md

chrisfenison · Jul 28, 2004

jtanyawilliams said:
I like the picture a lot but the cow blends in a little. Maybe mess with the levels in photoshop so that he stands out a little.

Here's another version with a little different lighting effect.

voodoocat · Jul 28, 2004

I like the original more. I can live with the cow blending in because I realize the cow is in shadow. Did you use the shadow/highlight tool in photoshop on the first one to bring out the shadow detail?

chrisfenison · Jul 28, 2004

Thanks for all the replies. Here's one more variant with the same lighting and sepia tone as the first, but with the cow a little lighter. Better?

chrisfenison · Jul 28, 2004

voodoocat said:
I like the original more. I can live with the cow blending in because I realize the cow is in shadow. Did you use the shadow/highlight tool in photoshop on the first one to bring out the shadow detail?

Yes, although not much (5% or so.) This shot is a combination of two exposures. One for the sky, and one for the shadow of the tree.

Big Mike · Jul 28, 2004

Nicely done...and welcome to the forum

hobbes28 · Jul 28, 2004

I like the first one the best. The way the cow blends in makes you search the picture.

Welcome to the forum!!!

Alison · Jul 28, 2004

I like the first one the best, the colors and nice and you've got a really strong composition.

canonrebel · Jul 28, 2004

They are all great images. I agree with voodoocat, the first one is the best and the last image is very close.

In the last pic, the processing makes the cow the main subject and the cow hijacks the image.

In the first pic, the sun, lighting, and technique is the main interrest. In the last pic, the cow is the main interrest. They're two separate portraits actually. Both are great images.

Would you share your processing technique in the first image?

chrisfenison · Jul 28, 2004

hobbes28 said:
I like the first one the best. The way the cow blends in makes you search the picture.

Agreed. When I was composing this picture, I didn't intend for the cow to be the focal point. But, since everyone seemed to be mentioning it, I thought maybe I had made a mistake. I'm glad to see there are a couple of people who enjoy the first, blended cow, version better.

Thanks for all the feedback.

chrisfenison · Jul 28, 2004

canonrebel said:
Would you share your processing technique in the first image?

I'd be happy to.

Combined two exposures.
The line between the two exposures was to distinct so I gave it a small gaussian blur.
Flattened image.
Convert to sRGB.
Shadow/Highlight (5-10% on the shadows, 0% on the highlights).
Resize.
Unsharp Mask (75%, 1.5px, 0).
Photo Filter (Sepia Tone, 95%)
Save.

I think that's it, but this is just from memory. I actually took this pic a couple weeks ago, and did the post processing for it then. Thanks for the critiques. Any other questions, just ask.