2019 P52 - 2nd Qtr - Sandy(Skitterbug)

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Originally Posted by skitterbug

Hi Manfred - I'll give your suggestions a try - maybe on one of the bullfrog RAW pics that I haven't done yet and see if I can accomplish better results. It will probably take me a bit to figure out what all your steps entail especially while trying to do it in Affinity Photo.

As for the difference in the web image's appearance versus a printed image, knowing the difficulty involved in the production of the print makes me appreciate other's efforts even more. :)

Thanks for the additional information! <smiles to you!>

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The instructions I outlined were tested in Affinity. While it has a lot of similarities to Photoshop, they are by no means identical. Fortunately I bought Affinity so that I can test these things out.

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Originally Posted by Manfred M

The instructions I outlined were tested in Affinity. While it has a lot of similarities to Photoshop, they are by no means identical. Fortunately I bought Affinity so that I can test these things out.

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Hi Manfred - when I read this reply, I have to say that I got a big smile. I'll still have to sort through the steps but knowing that these are in relation to Affinity Photo's procedures helps a lot. Thank you! :)

Week 23 - sorting through images hoping to catch up on this P52 project. Seems like we've had rain almost every day. Many of the farmers have thrown in the towel, and given up. Crops that were planted, have been washed out of the ground. I haven't seem much hay being made either even though the foliage is lush. It just isn't dry enough to do much of anything. And that has interfered with photo outings too. <sad>

But enough of my whining and complaining.... life is decent!

So our lilies are blooming. I worked on this pic trying to understand USM procedure. AF recently updated so I had to hunt the menus to even find the command. <hopeless me, I know...> but I did and this is the result of my masking/editing efforts.

I used EFS 17-85mm lens, f/11, 1/200 and auto ISO - It was dreary with threat of rain in the air when I was roaming through the flowers.

Tiger Lily

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...nGJXJmZ-X2.jpg

I feel for you regarding the weather, its been the same around here with two or three days of dryness followed by the "r" word. Nie capture, composed very well.

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Originally Posted by Shadowman

I feel for you regarding the weather, its been the same around here with two or three days of dryness followed by the "r" word. Nie capture, composed very well.

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Hi John - the fortunate part for hubby and me is that we left farming many years ago so we aren't faced with the monumental problems this industry is having currently. The unfortunate part is that we are all affected when farming is harmed.

Thank you for the comments about the image. :)

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Originally Posted by skitterbug

Week 23 - sorting through images hoping to catch up on this P52 project. Seems like we've had rain almost every day. Many of the farmers have thrown in the towel, and given up. Crops that were planted, have been washed out of the ground. I haven't seem much hay being made either even though the foliage is lush. It just isn't dry enough to do much of anything. And that has interfered with photo outings too. <sad>

But enough of my whining and complaining.... life is decent!

So our lilies are blooming. I worked on this pic trying to understand USM procedure. AF recently updated so I had to hunt the menus to even find the command. <hopeless me, I know...> but I did and this is the result of my masking/editing efforts.

I used EFS 17-85mm lens, f/11, 1/200 and auto ISO - It was dreary with threat of rain in the air when I was roaming through the flowers.

Tiger Lily

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...nGJXJmZ-X2.jpg

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Beautiful colors in this one! The flower seems to be facing left--so from my composition point of view you might try cropping a little more on the right--even though this puts the flower in the middle, the effect is not really bullseye.

Thanks for the positive comments and your suggestion. I'll give it a try and see what I think about the result although I feel like it might bring the edge too close to the unopened bud. Won't know until I check it out though! :)

Beautiful flower....

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Originally Posted by Wavelength

Beautiful flower....

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Flowers never seem to last as long as I would like, but I enjoy seeing them! I'm glad you like this one! :)

I've been out with my trusty camera but haven't been really satisfied with my work. Sorting through them again, I thought maybe these 4 would be interesting and should catch me back up to where I ought to be in my P52 effort. Definitely feel free to let me know where I can make improvements! There are days when I think "golly, maybe I've got it" and then the next thing that happens is that I fall "flat on my face" again. <is that a 'chuckle' or a 'sigh' comment.....? Depends on the mood I'm in when I'm looking at the images. >

Anyway.... here they are:

1. Lily - after a rain shower
Settings used: f/9 - ISO400 - 1/125ss

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...sbBTb5w-X2.jpg

2. Clematis
Settings used: f/16 - Auto ISO2000 - 1/100

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...qzwF7FF-X2.jpg

3. Half Grown Raccoons headed for our garden! <yikes>
Settings used: f/16 - 1/160ss - ISO500

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...N5G9zt6-X2.jpg

4. Hiding in the weeds!
Settings used: f/9 - 1/1000 - Auto ISO6400

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...SvV3Cm5-X2.jpg

Hi Sandy,

For images 1 and 2, if you have the time you can really work the subject and try different things to get the image you want. For the 3rd and 4th, you have to be ready and if you have time to chimp you might have time to adjust to the lighting conditions. Nice efforts, good catch on the raccoons and toad.

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Originally Posted by Shadowman

Hi Sandy,

For images 1 and 2, if you have the time you can really work the subject and try different things to get the image you want. For the 3rd and 4th, you have to be ready and if you have time to chimp you might have time to adjust to the lighting conditions. Nice efforts, good catch on the raccoons and toad.

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Hi John - Time is a funny thing to deal with when capturing images.... I was out during the breaks in the rain and had several tries for the lilies. I felt this lily was the best of the lot. I didn't want to edit out the "dirt" since it indicated the conditions the flower was dealing with. I often think that another lens would probably capture what I'm after better but never have it on the camera. That is part of the thinking process I probably need to consider more carefully. This applies to the clematis too. It was not raining but the wind was around 20-25mph... I'd wait until there was a lull and then pick my shot.

Wildlife seems to be my favorite target when I can get the opportunity to capture them in action. (BTW - don't laugh, but I had to look up the word "chimp" when used in photography...") I actually do it fairly often when I start out on a photo shoot but in the heat of the moment, I can only trust that the settings I've chosen are okay for what I want. No time to look. I totally missed out on an interesting snake image because I had way too much brightness on my resulting images of it. That was disappointing!

Thanks for your comments! I've missed being "here" and am sorting through all the efforts of others now. People have been busy! :)

Very lovely flowers...is raccoons very much similar to meerkats?

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Originally Posted by Wavelength

Very lovely flowers...is raccoons very much similar to meerkats?

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I don't think they are related other than maybe they might eat the same type of food? Raccoons can be pests, digging in rubbish cans for leftover food items, raiding the garden for fresh corn, snatching the bullfrogs from the koi pond. They look "cute" but I don't really like them around the buildings. :)

The flowers are beautiful right now since we've had soooooo much rain!
Thanks for commenting! :)

With #2, Sandy, I suspect you can get away with adding just a fraction more hightlighs to give it more 'pop'. I would crop the Raccoons image slightly at the bottom and crop slightly from the top with the last image.

Otherwise, these look good to me.

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Originally Posted by Geoff F

With #2, Sandy, I suspect you can get away with adding just a fraction more hightlighs to give it more 'pop'. I would crop the Raccoons image slightly at the bottom and crop slightly from the top with the last image.

Otherwise, these look good to me.

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I went with your suggestions for the clematis and raccoons but I decided that I liked the bullfrog as it is. :) I think the clematis is a definite improvement and for the raccoons, I like either one of the crops - however the crop you suggested, brought them a bit 'closer' without deteriorating the sharpness of them so it does work. :) Thanks!

Here are the two images with suggested changes :)

1. Clematis

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...BfQJncS-X2.jpg

2. Raccoons

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...J49KJNq-X2.jpg

Sandy, I like both your edits.

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Originally Posted by Cantab

Sandy, I like both your edits.

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Thank you Bruce!

I know it is a very basic concept - framing the subject - but in the heat of the moment, I often forget to do that exercise. Or I find that I cannot get a better view but still want to capture what I see. So my efforts to improve will continue! <chuckle> And now I'll close this quarter of the P52 and move on to the third one.

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions! Please do keep them coming! :)