Irving Oil Terminal/Refinery New Brunswick

[bulldurham]

Nikon Z6ii, f/8, 1/8000, ISO 400 24-200@73mm

Under normal circumstances, I would not shoot at 1/8000 but I was showing my wife how to use her Z50 and to artificially create a sense of darkness falling or a storm approaching. I could have moved the ISO down to 1.0 and jacked up the aperture but I didn't want to add further depth in the clouds... I just liked the fire thing going on at the refinery.
90% of post was done in ACR, the rest with Photoshop and a slight contrast adjustment using the TK9 panel.

 

[smoke665]

Posts not conforming to guidelines for posting will be deleted

 

[bulldurham]

Posts not conforming to guidelines for posting will be deleted

I have no idea what this post violates. Please enlighten me, Sir.

 

[Woolsocks]

Basically. What is your theme?

Well I did two edits. One I added solid black set to soft light. And another I cropped and added some light. And you don't see the power plant/refinery.

 

[Woolsocks]

I did not like the refinery it took away from the image. Now if you look carefully there is a leading line that runs from the pipeline to the island and leaves some room for the imagination to wonder what's there. There is also a power boat in the distance and there it draws my eyes between the boat and the end of the power line with the cranes. I think you have a winning image. I'd vote for it to be POTN best of the month whenever that happens!

 

[bulldurham]

@bulldurham You should have received a private warning, but here it is again. All posts must conform to the thread guidelines at the the top of the thread - READ FIRST. Specifically:

1) After you post your photo, please provide as much technical detail as you have. Your camera, your lens, even shutter speed and aperture, plus whatever editing program used. For our analog users, include your film type and development process.

2) In a sentence or two, please let us know what you were trying to achieve with your shot. Letting us know why you took the shot helps us understand your creative thought process, which will inform how someone might respond.

Failure to comply will result in post being deleted or if you prefer it can be moved to another thread

I think this might be the first time in quite awhile that I've posted in the C&C gallery. My boo-boo and it won't happen again.

 

[bulldurham]

I did not like the refinery it took away from the image. Now if you look carefully there is a leading line that runs from the pipeline to the island and leaves some room for the imagination to wonder what's there. There is also a power boat in the distance and there it draws my eyes between the boat and the end of the power line with the cranes. I think you have a winning image. I'd vote for it to be POTN best of the month whenever that happens!

I shot it specifically for the refinery...it is not a power boat but rather a part of the mooring harness for the oil freighters.

 

[Woolsocks]

I shot it specifically for the refinery...it is not a power boat but rather a part of the mooring harness for the oil freighters.

oh

 

[smoke665]

I think this might be the first time in quite awhile that I've posted in the C&C gallery. My boo-boo and it won't happen again.

First thank your for editing your post. The C&C thread was designed to give pointed answers and critique for members, but also requires a bit of self evaluation on the part of the one posting.

As to the image, this is one that's better viewed large, where the details reveal themselves. In a dark thumbnail view, shadows fill in quickly and transitions are lost.

Overall I get the forbidding feeling of an impending storm. The piping/structure from the left creates a strong leading line to the refinery and serves to separate sky and water, as does the highlight on the water. The spot of color from the Flare Stack over the refinery is a good use of color to draw the eye.

Since the mooring point is so far detached that it's not distinguishable, I'd crop in closer on the left maybe even so far as to crop off part of the piping (I know that's somewhat contrary to conventional wisdom), but by doing so you bring the the refinery and it's flame in a more prominent frame position. I'd also consider cropping up from the bottom to top load the image with angry clouds. A little dodging and burning in the clouds would bring out that mood further. The refinery and piping is strong enoug that the clouds won't overwhelm it. Lifting the shadows on the refinery further define it's role as the focal point. Raising the EV on the flame will also provide an anchor.

Changing a daylight image to night requires some finessing, you don't just drop the overall EV. You still want a full data file, choking the blacks/whites causes a loss of transition zones. A luminosity histogram of the image shows how much you lost.

I use a day to night LUT, there are several free ones out there if you google, as one step in the process. It tone maps the image without a significant loss of EV. You can also create a negative layer- duplicate the image>convert to negative - to desaturate the the shadows and highlights without affecting the midtones as much, giving an overall softer feel. Playing with the blending mode and opacity for the best result.

 

[cgw]

Two things struck me immediately: serious cropping to focus attention on the structures; b&w conversion to add some drama.
Played with contrast, color filters and structure enhancement. Opened up detail in the otherwise black storage tanks. Just not enough color interest/information to work with as posted.

Most of us have shot gazillions like this only to find what grabbed us is very small in the frame. I certainly have! Both smoke665 and I would agree there's a striking image embedded in your original. Please excuse my editing choices. They were meant simply to show a few possibilities.

 

[dstreetphoto]

I really like an industrial landscape and for the most part this image looks great. I like the contrast between the bright water and the dark refinery. However, I believe the refinery is a bit to high contrast and one thing I like to do with my own images is add finishing touches in Analog Efex Pro 2. I used one of the film types to soften the dark areas, making the refinery look less harsh. It has also revealed a bit more detail without overediting the shadows.

 

[Golem]

Two posts behind (in novenber) is a BW edit which I will not critique concerning the BW conversion but want to applaud it for eliminating a certain large problem.

In the original color version the brightness keeps increasing from right to left and smacks into the left side limit of the frame. This is disturbing much like seeing an action subject about to run out of the frame rather than into it. The BW version darkens the left side and eliminates that problem very nicely.