how can this be improved???

pamcakes · Jun 16, 2007

shot yesterday at the beach with my nikon D80

Trenton Romulox · Jun 16, 2007

Get rid of the towers on the left side of the horizon, they take away from the natural beauty depicted in the shot. And maybe it's just too blue.

And if there's a way to get rid of the birds too. I'm not sure.

pamcakes · Jun 16, 2007

that's funny....i never noticed the plant (towers) on the left. i didn't edit the pic at all, the bright blue is how the picture came out naturally!

TimboAA · Jun 17, 2007

I like it, i just wish i was closer to the waves as I look at it. Perhaps less foreground? And i'm sure you've heard this a million times, but a polarization filter will help with the glare on the water. If you were using one...Holy cow it was a bright day!

New England Moments · Jun 17, 2007

Yep on the towers, loose em lol... but overall I like this.. What it needs is Foreground interest.. as it is now, it appears flat or 1 dimensional , it needs some kind of interest in the foreground...

abraxas · Jun 17, 2007

I'd crop out the dark part of the reflection (it would put the horizon in the middle tho

) and clone the tower out.

Looks nice.

Can I try an edit?

pamcakes · Jun 17, 2007

abraxas said:
I'd crop out the dark part of the reflection (it would put the horizon in the middle tho ) and clone the tower out.

Looks nice.

Can I try an edit?

please do! and could you also comment/edit this add'l pic?? much appreciated. pam

abraxas · Jun 17, 2007

I hope this turned out cool for you. I softened the sky a bit (and lost the mountain) and sharpened the waves. I took out the tower and cropped the bottom (the reflection looked, maybe urban or something to me).

I enjoyed looking at it while I was editing.

I don't get to the ocean too much anymore and am looking forward to my trip in August (delayed from next week).

I'll take a look at the pier shot and get back. Thanks for letting me work on your shot.

pamcakes · Jun 17, 2007

wow, i love it! thank you so much....it looks ever so much better now.
thanks again, pam

abraxas said:
I hope this turned out cool for you. I softened the sky a bit (and lost the mountain) and sharpened the waves. I took out the tower and cropped the bottom (the reflection looked, maybe urban or something to me).

I enjoyed looking at it while I was editing. I don't get to the ocean too much anymore and am looking forward to my trip in August (delayed from next week).

I'll take a look at the pier shot and get back. Thanks for letting me work on your shot.

abraxas · Jun 18, 2007

Glad you like it. --I miss the ocean!

This next shot might not be so good,... I lost a lot of the good things you had in it, but I tried to correct two things.

1), It looked a bit tilted, so I moved it ccw about 1.7.

2), I like saturation, but this seemed to have a bit too much even for me. I tend to maybe over do it too, so I brought this down a bit. That and it had too much blue (IMO). I've been under a few piers in my day (

) and think I know where you were going with it, but it just seemed like too much of a flash.

I've been wanting to experiment with dodge and burn so I figure I'm far more reckless with other people's stuff and had at it.

Hope it's not too offensive.

LaFoto · Jun 18, 2007

I so LIKE the reflection and think it IS the foreground element, a good one even!
The added sharpness in your edition, Walter, sure helps a lot, though, too! The colours are more natural, too, now.
Even if the camera produced such a blue original, that does not mean the camera did it RIGHT, it does what was programmed into it by the camera builders, so someone has already put "a hand" in the way your photo came out, so if that is a tad unnatural, there is pp-software to make it more right again.
And yes, the two towers on the left are a bit distracting, but the birds are not, I say.

pamcakes · Jun 18, 2007

LaFoto said:
I so LIKE the reflection and think it IS the foreground element, a good one even!
The added sharpness in your edition, Walter, sure helps a lot, though, too! The colours are more natural, too, now.
Even if the camera produced such a blue original, that does not mean the camera did it RIGHT, it does what was programmed into it by the camera builders, so someone has already put "a hand" in the way your photo came out, so if that is a tad unnatural, there is pp-software to make it more right again.
And yes, the two towers on the left are a bit distracting, but the birds are not, I say.

danke!

pamcakes · Jun 18, 2007

abraxas said:
Glad you like it. --I miss the ocean!

This next shot might not be so good,... I lost a lot of the good things you had in it, but I tried to correct two things.

1), It looked a bit tilted, so I moved it ccw about 1.7.

2), I like saturation, but this seemed to have a bit too much even for me. I tend to maybe over do it too, so I brought this down a bit. That and it had too much blue (IMO). I've been under a few piers in my day ( ) and think I know where you were going with it, but it just seemed like too much of a flash.

I've been wanting to experiment with dodge and burn so I figure I'm far more reckless with other people's stuff and had at it.

Hope it's not too offensive.

thanks i like it.....although i tend to like the "cattywampus" aspect of pics (the off center, crooked, etc) LOL! but i do like how you toned down the saturation. it is easier to make corrections for others. i always have trouble editing myself!!!

Tangerini · Jun 18, 2007

Oooh I really like both of your photos. I love the use of repetitive lines in the 2nd and I agree with LaFoto about the reflection being the "IT" in the photo, very nice!