C&C + blog+ crop question

[lyonsroar]

I haven't posted anything in a while so I thought I might post my favorite pics out of my Canon XS so far. C&C would be great, I'm always open to improvement! Any edits you want to do are fine with me as well.

#1

I like the spiky feel and the texture. I'm not sure about the centering, but I think it works.

#2

My favorite picture so far. Obviously it's an HDR. I really like the unwashed appearance of it. The waterspots bring out a good texture I think. I'm not sure if I should crop it anymore? I tried, but it ended up looking weird.

#3

Another of the Porsche. This one I don't like as much. I think it's still really cool, but it just lacks something...

#4

A stream shot at a long shutter speed. I was messing around and made an HDR of it. I realize it doesn't need it, but I don't have any of the single pics on me here at work. (these had to be saved off of facebook so excuse the quality.)

Also, I just started a photo blog and would appreciate a few followers, etc.
Linky: 0-60 Photography

Thanks!
:hug::

 

[lyonsroar]

Also, my crop question:

I like to use my photos as computer wallpapers. My laptop has a 15.4 inch widesceen monitor (1280 x 800) and until now I have just been resizing my pictures to that size to use as a wallpaper. The problem with that is, when I do that, there is NO quality left in them. In plain words, they look crappy.

How do most people make their pictures into the proper size for wallpapers?

Thanks.
:hugs:

 

[tirediron]

C&C per req:

1. The shot has potential, however a couple of niggles: (1) It's too centred, and the back and foregrounds are too busy and cluttered. You've made good use of selective focus to keep only the centre bloom in focus, but there is just much detail in the rest of the image. Shooting subjects like this, walk around a little and concentrate on the appearance of the background as well as the subject in your composition.

2, 3: Good HDR work here, you've avoided the extreme 'cartoon' appearance that many take on, but I don't like the appearance of the dirt on the car; that however is personal preference. I like the compositions here, but again, as per #1 with respect to the background, esp. in #3.

4. This one doesn't do a lot for me I'm afraid. The mono conversion is rather mid-tone rich and lacking and real blacks or whites, and there isn't a lot to hold the eye.

As far as cropping your wallpaper goes, what are your .jpg settings? Rather than cropping an image to 1280x800, I would crop at 1.6:1 at your highest quality setting (set the quality slider to maximum when saving/converting to .jpg.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[Derrel]

You're doing okay I think. I liked the first Porsche shot, and the stream photos at longer speeds show a willingness to experiment. The bull thistle shot's okay,and shows nice light. As far as making wallpapers...see if you can get your image-editing program to NOT re-sample the photos, but to merely shrink the area...that should solve the issue with low quality after re-sizing. Look in the preferences, and un-check the box that says "Re-sample Image" or something similar.

 

[aprhockey]

In my opinion, it's odd that the side of the porsche looks like it was just washed. There is a lot of detail in the reflection. In #3 it almost looks like the car is transparent next to the front right tire. I guess there's just too much contrast between the unwashed and washed(?) portions.

 

[lyonsroar]

As far as cropping your wallpaper goes, what are your .jpg settings? Rather than cropping an image to 1280x800, I would crop at 1.6:1 at your highest quality setting (set the quality slider to maximum when saving/converting to .jpg.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

That worked awesome! Glorious wallpapers!!
If I could click the thanks button more than once I would!

You're doing okay I think. I liked the first Porsche shot, and the stream photos at longer speeds show a willingness to experiment. The bull thistle shot's okay,and shows nice light. As far as making wallpapers...see if you can get your image-editing program to NOT re-sample the photos, but to merely shrink the area...that should solve the issue with low quality after re-sizing. Look in the preferences, and un-check the box that says "Re-sample Image" or something similar.

Re-sample image did the trick!

In my opinion, it's odd that the side of the porsche looks like it was just washed. There is a lot of detail in the reflection. In #3 it almost looks like the car is transparent next to the front right tire. I guess there's just too much contrast between the unwashed and washed(?) portions.

No part of the car was washed. It had been waxed, it rained, and the rain beaded up the dust that had settled on the flat surfaces of the car, but ran off of the vertical surfaces. I see what you mean though, I don't think there's a whole lot I could have done about it though.

I suppose I could have pulled out a bottle of quick detailer and a microfiber and wiped it down with the security people staring me down the whole time!

I see the transparency too. I didn't notice it before, but it is kind of bothersome now that I do... thanks a lot!

 

[Foxwolfe]

I'm not a huge fan of square images but I cropped the second pic of the porche to better center/emphasize the area of the pic I liked the most (the rear fender). I like the way the dried water/dust plays with the clean portions of the car in the reflections, I just didn't care for the rear being completely covered in it, just looks kinda messy to me.

 

[DanFinePhotography]

2, and 3 are nice have to agree just wish the dust was not on the car . Nice HDR images.

 

[lyonsroar]

I'm not a huge fan of square images but I cropped the second pic of the porche to better center/emphasize the area of the pic I liked the most (the rear fender). I like the way the dried water/dust plays with the clean portions of the car in the reflections, I just didn't care for the rear being completely covered in it, just looks kinda messy to me.

This is a good crop. Thank you.

Any more people want to take a crack at editing?
Much obliged.

 

[cyngus]

get rid of the halo'ing on the image.. that is my no1 gripe in all HDR.. it looks cool yes.. but the halo'ing is a no no in almost allllllll photos.. HDR is not an exception.. and its also a fairly easy fix..

layer the original image with the HDR and mask out the halo with the original image..

make sense?
pm me if you need more help with getting rid of the haloing..

 

[lyonsroar]

get rid of the halo'ing on the image.. that is my no1 gripe in all HDR.. it looks cool yes.. but the halo'ing is a no no in almost allllllll photos.. HDR is not an exception.. and its also a fairly easy fix..

layer the original image with the HDR and mask out the halo with the original image..

make sense?
pm me if you need more help with getting rid of the haloing..

Maybe I'm just not seeing it, but I didn't think there was much of a problem with haloing on these...

I could just not see it, that is a distinct possibility.

 

[cyngus]

anyplace where the sky meets the edge of a car / tree / lightpost / traffic light.. you see a color difference.. much brighter right at that edge.. thats the haloing im referring to