Not far from home

[Marie Hass]

I have been at a photographic impasse as of late and needed a fresh start. I did the 100 paces challenge.

Here are the results:

100 paces.






200 paces.






300 paces.






Please comment.

Marie

[mknittle]

all nice but I like the black and whites best. I am thinking #2 may also look good in black and white.

[cliffmccartney]

Hi Marie,

I like #3, #4, and #7 best.

The composition of #3 is great. I'd try to lower the highlights just a bit and find your white and black points. Maybe just a tad more contrast. To top it off, I'd add a slight post-crop vignette.

#4 is wonderful. I'd add a post-crop vignette.

The textures on #7 are good, and I love the contrast of the red and blue with the foliage. The sky is blown out - I'd try a tighter crop to remove it. I think this one is a great HDR candidate.

May I have your permission to download these and try my suggestions?

Great set, very nicely done!

[Karm Redland]

Marie, I also like the two BWs best. Just two suggestions. On the first BW, I would play a little bit with dark vignetting. On the second picture it might interesting to bring out more strongly the difference in the texture between the wood and the stone.

Karm

[Marie Hass]

Thanks Mark. I love B&W, but was afraid this series would become a B&W set. LOL.

Cliff, you can download and edit away. It is the way I learn. I had already done an HDR version of #7, but not a crop. Cannot wait to see what you come up with.



Karm, I did something like that in Silver Efex Pro, but was hesitant to get too "gritty". If you want to have a go, please feel free.

I cannot wait to see everyone's edits!!

Marie

[cliffmccartney]

Thanks Marie,

All edits in Lightroom 4.

Here's #3:


Increased the contrast just a tad, lowered the highlights, raised the whites, and lowered the blacks. Added a post-crop vignette.

#4:



Added a post-crop vignette

#7:



Cropped out a lot of the sky on the top and left, and also a lot of the truck on the right. Converted to HDR in Nik HDR Efex Pro 2

Thanks for letting me play!

[Marie Hass]

I like what you have done!!!

I have the Nik collection as well, so I can reproduce your efforts.

Thanks again,

Marie

[cliffmccartney]

You're welcome. I really like your images.

I *love* Nik software. I bought the whole collection a few weeks ago when Google put it on sale for $149. I'm still learning how best to use all of it, but it is very powerful stuff.

[Marie Hass]

Tried just inserting a smiley, but quick reply did not like just that.

It was a fun walk. I used my 24-105 lens and took a polarizer and 550 closeup lens. I was able to be more flexible when shooting.

Give it a go as well. Tennessee is beautiful.

Marie

[ShaneS]

Nice shots Marie! I am fan of the horse shot, the wood & stone close up and the two trucks (the mono conversion). I too have been at a bit of a stand still lately with my photography as well but getting out and shooting is half the battle as your lovely results prove

[Marie Hass]

Hi, Shane,

Thank you. Lizzie is our rescue draft. We've had her 4 years now. We guesstimate that she is about 24. She is aging and arthritic, but can still reach the grass.

I'll bet Hawaii is beautiful. I would love to see some pictures.

Marie