Tauranga Harbour New Zealand

[tbob]

C&C welcome. I am particularly interested in opinions on the framing, but pretty much any comment or improvement opinion is welcome

[Geoff F]

Firstly, the obvious bit, Trevor. Clone out that tiny bit of tree on the left edge towards the top.

My only other thought is whether you should have shot one second earlier when that white boat was closer to the yellow buoy. That would place it rather centrally but I think I would prefer that to having it about to disappear behind the right side branch.

But if there was more of a distinct wake I suspect it would work in the present position.

Very tiny suggestions though. Overall a good scene.

[tbob]

I agree about the branches, one of those things that you catch just as you press the upload button. It definitely has to go. I actually uploaded the wrong image, the one I was after was a crop that is just a hair tighter and avoids the branches

The shot was handheld with a 400 mm telephoto, one crack at this while staying stable enough to avoid blur. But you are right. It would have been nice to have a series and if I was thinking I would have set the camera to continuous low rather than single shot mode. Then I could have selected the optimal composition.

[pnodrog]

My first reaction is that I did not like the framing and the broad pine trunk was much to intrusive. Coming back and having another look I find the pine forms a key part of the picture and is typical of many views that are semi blocked by trees. It certainly reminds me of many frustrating (photographically) walks seeing glimpses of views. The rocks and sea bed under the water add interest. Technically good, great DOF, nice blues and greens - it conveys a pleasant relaxed mood.

Is that a statue of a fisherman on the rock peeking above the tree branch?

[tbob]

My first reaction is that I did not like the framing and the broad pine trunk was much to intrusive. It certainly reminds me of many frustrating (photographically) walks seeing glimpses of views.

The people we were staying with at Papamoa Beach informed me it would be bad form to come back with a chain saw and clean up some of the flora. Not a very sporting attitude on the part of the Ngati Te Rangi. However; there you have it.

[tbob]

Is that a statue of a fisherman on the rock peeking above the tree branch?

It's a statue of a Maori fellow in the harbour at Tauranga


Cropped view, seagulls not respecting his grandeur and authority, And again with the intrusive vegetation to the left!

[pnodrog]

The people we were staying with at Papamoa Beach informed me it would be bad form to come back with a chain saw and clean up some of the flora. Not a very sporting attitude on the part of the Ngati Te Rangi. However; there you have it.

I have exactly the same problem with fellow golf club members and I have been forbidden to carry a chainsaw in my golf bag so I fully understand a not very sporting attitude. Under the cover of darkness on a stormy night is the best time to tidy up flora.

Just seen the statue - thanks.

[Shadowman]

I like the closeup shots of the statue and tourists. Regarding the first image, I like your use of framing devices, helps give depth to the entire image, however the sharpness of the foreground suggests that this is the subject of the image. i would reverse your depth of field and pull the viewers eyes into the image, although that only leaves the statue and boat as a center of interest, and their size limits their functionality. As the harbour is your supposed intended subject matter, you should either zoom into the harbour or use something more interesting as the scene anchor. However as a series all three images works better as a collage of your subject; Tauranga Harbour.

[tbob]

John A very good observation and something else to add to my list of mental computations when composing. The trees and vegetation along the pathway were a bit of a pain as there where only keyholes to shoot through. However the basic point is well taken. I wonder if the tree being out of focus would actually be worse however as it would be a big nasty blurry thing rather than an element?

I am a little disgruntled with the statue as I could not avoid the docks and industrial junk in the background. I tried various angles and this was the best I could get. I tried to convince my wife to let me stand on her shoulders but she declined.

[Shadowman]

John A very good observation and something else to add to my list of mental computations when composing. The trees and vegetation along the pathway were a bit of a pain as there where only keyholes to shoot through. However the basic point is well taken. I wonder if the tree being out of focus would actually be worse however as it would be a big nasty blurry thing rather than an element?

I am a little disgruntled with the statue as I could not avoid the docks and industrial junk in the background. I tried various angles and this was the best I could get. I tried to convince my wife to let me stand on her shoulders but she declined.

Trevor,

You can expose for the background which would hopefully render the tree as a dark border.

[Geoff F]

If I had been photographing the first scene, Trevor, I would have done exactly as you did and focus on the tree instead of having that out of focus.

Possibly you could have taken two shots with different focus points then combined them. Assuming you had a tripod and suitable editing software etc. And no problem movement in the subjects.

Your statue photo seems to have fairly firm high contrast edges around the industrial areas so it should be possible to mask them out and add whatever you want for the background.

[tbob]

Your statue photo seems to have fairly firm high contrast edges around the industrial areas so it should be possible to mask them out and add whatever you want for the background.

Thanks for the vote of confidence in the original concept.

Alas; using only Aperture I cannot replace the dockyards. Maybe in future years and with different software.