Peaceful Haven Downtown Ottawa

[Round Tuit]

Yesterday, I rediscovered a photo that I took shortly after sunset on a hot summer day last summer. Downtown Ottawa was buzzing with activity. Less than 100 metres behind me, hundreds of tourists were milling about waiting to be picked up by their tour buses, admiring the locks on the canal, checking out the Chateau Laurier hotel or simply enjoying the relief from the hot sun that nightfall had brought. Yet this stretch of the Rideau canal between the National Art Centre on the right and the Convention Centre on the left seemed to be miles away from all the bustle and offered an unexpected but peaceful haven.



I tried to capture the serenity of the scene but I am not sure that I succeeded. Should I have gone for a softer look? Would a different crop be better? Should I have toned down some of the bright highlight?

Your comments and suggestions will be most welcomed.

Andre

[bnnrcn]

You certainly succeeded to capture the serenity Andre.I'm happy with the image as is.Cloning or toning down the highlight on the bottom left only might help as it draws my attention to the left of the frame but I wouldn't touch the other highlights

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[Round Tuit]

You certainly succeeded to capture the serenity Andre.I'm happy with the image as is.Cloning or toning down the highlight on the bottom left only might help as it draws my attention to the left of the frame but I wouldn't touch the other highlights

Thank you Binnur. Excellent suggestion. I will definitely tone it down.

[Round Tuit]

Nicely captured.

Thanks John

[Manfred M]

It is peaceful in spite of the light from the Congress Centre coming through the trees. A nice shot, regardless. While I understand where Binnur's comment is coming from, I suspect that removing / toning down the lower left highlight would look strange as it is clearly the reflection of the lamp along the canal.

I don't think I've ever shot in the direction you did. Any boat shots I've taken have tended to be from the opposite bank with the National Arts Centre acting as my background.

[bnnrcn]

The lower left highlight looks bigger than the lamp itself anyway. So toning down the biggest part of it slightly (or cloning some part of it if you can ) may not spoil the image, because the reflections are not the main subject of the photo. I think it is best to try and see the result Andre

[Wavelength]

Serene scenery......

[Round Tuit]

... I suspect that removing / toning down the lower left highlight would look strange as it is clearly the reflection of the lamp along the canal.

... I think it is best to try and see the result Andre

I tried both toning down and removing the lower left highlight. Of the two approach, removing it completely works better but neither works as well as leaving it there. Thanks you both for your thought.

Andre

[Round Tuit]

Serene scenery......

Thank you Nandakumar.

[Manfred M]

I tried both toning down and removing the lower left highlight. Of the two approach, removing it completely works better but neither works as well as leaving it there. Thanks you both for your thought.

Andre

I kind of suspected that is what you would find. Toning it down would likely make it look gray and removing it would leave an empty area in the composition. One thing that might be a half-way solution would be to add a slight yellow tone to it and a similar reflection near the second boat, but this might not be worth the effort.

[Round Tuit]

I kind of suspected that is what you would find. Toning it down would likely make it look gray and removing it would leave an empty area in the composition. One thing that might be a half-way solution would be to add a slight yellow tone to it and a similar reflection near the second boat, but this might not be worth the effort.

Agreed,
However I might have found a another solution playing with lytebox. I think that cropping the bottom of the photo just above the offending reflection could very well result in a better balanced shot. I'll give that a try.

Andre

[Manfred M]

Agreed,
However I might have found a another solution playing with lytebox. I think that cropping the bottom of the photo just above the offending reflection could very well result in a better balanced shot. I'll give that a try.

Andre

Could be. When I played with the image in the same way I found that you might have to consider trimming a bit off the right as well and the tone of the image is going to start changing. I don't have the same problem that Binnur does with that light, in fact I think it adds to the shot.

[John 2]

Given that you have made a really good record of what was there, I wouldn't modify much at all. The only highlight that might benefit from being removed is the starburst far left. It dominates a bit but................

[bnnrcn]

Hi again Andre IMO you shouldn't crop the image because you need that calm water for the feeling of serenity. Sometimes we are a bit too worried/careful about the images here in CinC but I don't think outsiders will make a fuss over such a beautiful image So, if there is no solution to recover the very bright reflections (or the starbust) on the left, just leave the image as is

[Round Tuit]

Could be. When I played with the image in the same way I found that you might have to consider trimming a bit off the right as well and the tone of the image is going to start changing. I don't have the same problem that Binnur does with that light, in fact I think it adds to the shot.

Manfred,

This is the crop that I had in mind in post #12.



It also makes a nice picture. I like the wider crop ratio and the fact that the boats are now lower in the frame. However, I agree with Binnur that it looses my original intent and I would have to rename the picture "Boats on the Canal" or some similar title. So it is full circle back to the original. Thanks for your help.

Andre

[Round Tuit]

Given that you have made a really good record of what was there, I wouldn't modify much at all. The only highlight that might benefit from being removed is the starburst far left. It dominates a bit but................

John,

I don't find the starburst distracting because it is close to an area of the picture that is quite bright already. I don't know what caused it but I find it interesting. Thanks for commenting.

Andre

[Round Tuit]

Hi again Andre IMO you shouldn't crop the image because you need that calm water for the feeling of serenity. Sometimes we are a bit too worried/careful about the images here in CinC but I don't think outsiders will make a fuss over such a beautiful image So, if there is no solution to recover the very bright reflections (or the starbust) on the left, just leave the image as is

Binnur,

Please see my reply to Manfred in post #16. The original image wins. Thanks for your help.

Andre