Anybody Like These?

[kdoc856]

Trying out some different development techniques for shots that lacked a little "something". I know they are not everybody's cup of tea (not even sure of me at present), but might (?) appeal to some. I'd appreciate your thoughts and ideas. Thanks for viewing.

1.


2.

[Daisy Mae]

Hi kevin,

I really like the first one, nice misty atmosphere...not too sure about the blue tone on the tracks, maybe another tone would work better but it certainly has something.

The second is just too grainy/noisy for me. Sorry.

Actually the blue tone in the first is growing on me at second look.

[Kris V]

I agree with Sharon - Love #1!

[Rhoads238]

Simple answer. Yes.

I enjoy the fog in both. But I'm not sure about the yellow hue in the first. Although the composition is very nice. I like the grain in the second but maybe a little less might be better. Just my thoughts.

-Jason

[Steve S]

Hi kevin, it looks like you're trying a sepia tint in the first one.(which i like and suits this image very well)

You may try this method and see if you like it better.................

First convert to black and white

Next duplicate the image and set to LAB mode

bring up curves tool and set the "A" channel to ...............black arrow to -67 and white arrow to 67 (this will add some color contrast to the image)

Go the "B" channel and set black arrow to -67 and white arrow to somewhere around 30 something or just untill you see the sepia tint you like. Overdo it just a little bit, because you can adjust it with the opacity slider,

Next go to the top of the page and you will see a little square (second from right side) that says arrange documents. Click on that and pick the icon second down on the left that says ' 2 upright ' (you will now see both the black and white image and the sepia tinted one, side by side)

Next click on the move tool (top icon on the left side)

Holding down on the shift key(this will automatically allign the two images) , click and drag the sepia image onto the black and white image and drop it. Then go back to the arrange documents and click on the single window icon at top left.

Now you will see the sepia image as a layer over the black and white image. Now you can make a layer mask---hide all---grab the brush tool and paint whatever amount of sepia you want in any part of the image. (it helps to adjust the opacity slider back and forth to see what amounts you like where, and then paint in those amounts where you like them.)

[Plumcrak]

Kevin, I really like the first one also. Nice composition. The second is just to grainy for my liking...nothing personal, just my taste.

Cheers

[ktuli]

Kevin,

I like the first one, but it needs a bit of clockwise rotation to my eyes... I think the rails hitting the bottom of the frame at different distances from the left/right edges is distracting/unbalancing.

- Bill

[kdoc856]

Thanks, everybody for your thoughts and replies. No need to apologize for unlikes- I claim responsibility only for composition and getting up early enough to get the fog- otherwise this is trying out different sauces for the salad. By my calculation, I have 17 million permutations to go. Here's two more:

Steve- thanks for that yellowing technique - will definitely try it, I just made one up for this.
1a.


2a.

[Karm Redland]

Kevin, I like both of your original images. Railroad bends are always a bit mysterious (What's around the corner?) and with the addition of the fog makes it doubly so. I also really like your second image. It has great mood and elicited in me a sense of early morning and my many days fishing this type of water.

Karm

[Sergio M.]

Kevin, I like them both. The second one reminds me of a photo that has gotten wet and been bunched up, has creases and has faded, but yet we keep it because it's special.

Nice work.

[NLAlston]

There is an air of mystery to both of your photos, but the second one possesses an objectionable amount of noise. But that first one I really like. Mystery, uncertainty and doubtfulness is what I gain from that photo, and the green grass sprouting up between the rails is (to me) like the certainty of life forging through the balance. Very nice, IMHO.

[kdoc856]

Thanks, Karm, Sergio and Nathan
.
Sergio, I enjoyed your description and it's pretty apt- I had this in my digital "closet" and pulled it out to have a play with it.

Nathan, a very thoughtful description and very close to what I had hoped for. The grain was intentional, and added for the mood primarily. I had been admiring some artful shots recently and thought I'd emulate them a bit. Not convinced about it either.

thanks for your input, guys

[NLAlston]

Nathan, a very thoughtful description and very close to what I had hoped for. The grain was intentional, and added for the mood primarily. I had been admiring some artful shots recently and thought I'd emulate them a bit. Not convinced about it either.

Kevin, please don't take what I said to mean that your second photo was devoid of any merit. We must remember that photos are as subjective to the eyes just as songs are to the ears. What may sit within questionable perception to some, may sit just as strongly within someone else's perception of perfection. In fact, after authoring my previous response - and even before coming into receipt of your reply - I had revisited those photos, and had arrived at the conclusion that the second photo did indeed have something to it, even with the noise/grain. So, my use of the word 'objectionable' was much too strong and (I feel it proper to say) unwarranted. It did (and does) have something 'drawing' about it, just by virtue of the fact that I was called back to it .

[Bobobird]

Similar to others I like #1 for the moody feel etc.

The 2nd version of #2 is nice too. It might present better with less of a foreground in a long format. Maybe take away the shrubbery starting from just below the bottom of the island reflection on the extreme left.

[kdoc856]

Thanks, Bobo. That crop might very well be an improvement. I'll play with it and see what feels right. I was trying to keep at least a hint of the muted greens in the lilies, but I'm not certain it's a good trade-off. Thanks for the idea.

Nathan, thanks for your thoughtful clarification, but I think I took it just as you intended. I personally like the overall shot with its mood and hints of color, but am less sure of the grain which is just an experiment. I think I do like it with a touch of grain- less than what I included initially, but the addition of grain is an iffy thing for me, and I certainly didnt expect anything close to unanimity when I posted it. I'm well satisfied and appreciative of the opinions I received.

[WV1]

I think that the first original image is lovely...

[ronlane]

I like the red version of #1 better. To me there was just something about the original that wasn't just right.

[kdoc856]

Thanks, Ron. The red version is closer to the actual light that morning, and I prefer it as well

[jamn4ex]

I like 1a better

[wilgk]

I really like the first 1 with the processing in the original post.
It is perfectly to my liking!
It reminds me of a story - a friend recently renovated his backyard, he has a pool & next to it put in a large skateboard ramp/bowl for his sons - this made the yard very full as you can imagine.
He asked a another friend to take a photo that made it look like there was a path behind the ramp & the yard went on much further with a tromp l'oeil effect - the photo was printed onto metal to withstand the weather.... your shot has me thinking it would work in the same way.