Which ?

[Bobobird]

My PS skills are pretty rudimentary at best and I have learned a lot of simple tricks right here at CIC. Thanks everyone for that.

Was trying my hand at a sunset pic I took yesterday evening and came up with 2 versions.

Which one ?

1 - this one is more like what it was like but with saturation increased to make it a bit more dramatic.



2 - this one is a bit more subdued but aims to balance the light in the 4 horizontals to each other


Thanks for looking.

[ktuli]

Bobo,

My vote is for #1. I feel it has the more natural colors and just feels right. The second one seems to have a bluish cast to the grass that throws me off. And the yellow to green transition in the sky right behind the goal is just harder for my brain to accept than the same transition with orange to greenish-orange in the first.

Collect about 100 more of these (my two cents) and you'll be able to get yourself a cup of coffee... well, a regular cup of coffee, none of that fancy-schmancy Starbucks stuff.

- Bill

[Bobobird]

Thanks Bill. You are right, out goes 2. Sometimes there are those little things that do not seem obvious unless pointed out.

I don't get para 2 but a nicely brewed cup of coffee is great anytime/anywhere.

[Shadowman]

For some reason this image works for me. It doesn't have a lot, meaning high detail, composition, or contrast but it sets up a premise for a story. The foreground area is reasonably sharp (don't look to closely) and while it adds very little to the overall story it is less distracting by its emphasis on the slant of the land and distance to the figure.

[Bobobird]

Thanks John.

This was a f2.8, ISO 400, 1/30 handheld shot. Lack of sharpness is due to my inexperience. Firstly I have yet to develop the skills to get everything sharp (and have been failing miserably). Supposedly to get everything sharp I should focus somewhere about a third into the scene which was the grass but there was no contrast for the AF to get a lock so was forced to go midway to the edge of the slope.

On top of that, I am always very confused with a "targetless" scene such as this. I keep trying but no luck so far.

Any help here would be most appreciated.

[ktuli]

Bobo,

Don't be afraid to use manual focus... AF is great and all, but if it isn't picking what you want for focal point, manual will always work.

However, at f/2.8, you're going to be hard pressed to have much of anything sharp. f/2.8 is going to produce a very shallow DoF... but stopping down to say f/8 or f/11 would have caused you to either (a) use a much slower shutter speed (1/4 or 1/2 second respectively which just aren't handholdable), (b) crank up your ISO (which would increase noise), or (c) use a tripod.

It is all about compromises.

- Bill

[Bobobird]

Thanks Bill.

Yes higher iso, smaller aperture did cross my mind but did not have a tripod with me and since I can do 1/15 most times 1/30 seemed fine too ---- at the time. LOL

MF did -not- cross my mind at all. Thanks for that reminder.

I must lick this DoF issue that has been dogging me for a couple of months now especially in low light situations.

[ktuli]

I must lick this DoF issue that has been dogging me for a couple of months now especially in low light situations.

HAH! When you do, be sure to make a *ton* of money with it... because I am certain the rest of the photographic world would love to lick that same issue! Like I said, it is all about compromises, and the ambient light is one that never cooperates on your schedule.

- Bill

[Bobobird]

LOL now you are scaring me...