Light and Dark by ctfchallenge

ctfchallenge | all galleries >> Challenge 192 - Catch the Light >> ELIGIBLE > Light and Dark


16-AUG-2009	Penny Street

Canon EOS 5D Mark II ,Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
1/800s f/4.0 at 105.0mm iso200 hide exif

other sizes: small medium original auto

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ctfchallenge		25-Aug-2009 00:15
thanks Rod. It was your sponge tool idea that saved me. Penny Street

ctfchallenge		24-Aug-2009 22:36
This does look a lot better now Penny as the big yellow flower has normal looking colour now & isn't demanding the attention it was before.For this topic I think it works better as is, the range of nice light on display seems to talk more about light than what is the focal point etc. It seems like you have tamed this beast to convey what you originally intended. Very well done on the rework.

John Prichard		24-Aug-2009 19:43
You are probably right. I felt there was enough light interplay on "old Mr Green and his orange scarf" to still satisfy the challenge.

ctfchallenge		24-Aug-2009 16:50
oh, and thanks for the comment John.

ctfchallenge		24-Aug-2009 16:49
but but but... this challenge is about light. What I wanted to contrast (interplay) the most is light versus dark. If I cropped this at all it would be a little from the top and the right side, just to get rid of the busy-ness, but not to detract from the light, the shadows, and the overall floating "feel" of the picture. Since that wasn't anything suggested, I didn't bother doing it. The age issue was an added plus that I also wouldn't want to give up. I will admit that I wish I had this to take again but I'm choosing to leave it as stands. I know it won't get many votes, but I like it. Penny Street

John Prichard		24-Aug-2009 13:39
I will put in my two cents too, Penny. Since your "interplay" is not in focus, it doesn't seem as strong as your in-focus exquisitely exposed other subject. So to get the interplay you would like, you might have to trust the viewer's mind. I even suggest a tighter crop of vertical (include perfect out of focus flower above but not to include the flower on the right) OR crop horizontal to include the wonderful "crippled" shadow with some of the perfect flower to the right that rounds out the picture. Let the viewer contrast the perfect/not-perfect, green/yellow in their mind and let them guess if your statement is to contrast or just document the poor plight of this flower (damaged since youth or old age).

ctfchallenge		23-Aug-2009 21:48
Okay, so I guess I'm just too complicated. Or, maybe since the challenge is to find the light, but I think I still prefer the interplay between the two subjects. I do like your crop though. And thanks. Penny Street

ctfchallenge		23-Aug-2009 19:09
It is because my eye is still leading to the object on the right, which is fine... but I find the little green guy on the left more better exposed, in focus, and I believe that is where the eye should lead. the other colors/flowers just nicely set him off. jano

ctfchallenge		23-Aug-2009 15:41
I don't mind at all, Jano. Thanks. And I'm liking both of them now but I'm wondering what you didn't like about this that you felt would be better served by the crop - is it just too busy? Penny Street

janewigginsphotography		23-Aug-2009 14:24
This is better Penny. I put an alternative crop in pending for you to consider also. (hope you don't mind)... jano

ctfchallenge		23-Aug-2009 13:35
thanks Techo.

ctfchallenge		23-Aug-2009 03:14
Penny, I don't particularly remember how it looked before but this image looks good to me. It's quite artful. I like the bold yellow and the position of the buds in the shot. The bright yellow is just enough to showcase the light. -Techo

ctfchallenge		22-Aug-2009 01:09
Okay. I toned down the brightness a little on the yellow with the sponge tool, brought up the dead flower highlights slightly, and added a tiny bit of USM. How is it now? Penny Street

ctfchallenge		20-Aug-2009 11:56
It's not a crop and I still haven't touched it again but I'm thinking about what to do - all suggestions appreciated. Thanks Jano. Penny Street

janewigginsphotography		19-Aug-2009 03:47
This is very pretty penny - perhaps a bit bright on the right and I love the flower on the left. Perhaps a crop ( is this a crop)... focusing on the in focus flower and cutting the OOf one in half?? Depend on whether this is a crop. Love the green little flower against all the yellow. Very nice. jano

ctfchallenge		18-Aug-2009 11:39
thanks, I'll give it a try tonight. I never used the sponge tool before.Penny Street

ctfchallenge		18-Aug-2009 07:52
Yes I think you're right about the floating because of the narrow DOF & it would have worked a treat here if the closest flower was a lot less bright I think, then we wouldn't notice the oof so much. I wonder if it could be burnt in a bit. If you do you may have to use the sponge tool set on desaturation as the colour may go a bit funny.

ctfchallenge		18-Aug-2009 02:39
Thanks for all the comments. Okay here's a basically unprocessed version - very slight crop, sharpen, resize, add some contrast. If I had it to do over again I would use f8, but I like the fact that flowers are kind of floating in space, even if the focus isn't quite there, and I think the narrower dof helps with that (am I right?) Penny Street

ctfchallenge		18-Aug-2009 01:24
Where are these flowers.. no black-eyed susans in our yard. Good idea a bit overcooked. -tv

ctfchallenge		17-Aug-2009 15:19
How about a vertical crop on the dead flower? Of course, if you have to wait till the weekend, you'll have even more dead blossoms to choose from. ;-) --Mary Anne

ctfchallenge		17-Aug-2009 14:37
You nailed the topic perfectly. I love the way the light falls off dramatically. Too bad its a little oof. -Doug

ctfchallenge		17-Aug-2009 12:19
I think this is the only one with the dead flower, but I'll look tonight. I wouldn't be able to reshoot until next weekend. Maybe it would the thought that counts. Penny Street

ctfchallenge		17-Aug-2009 05:39
Rod There's some lovely light here Penny but the yellow flower is out of the DOF making it soft & the colour is a bit hot.Maybe try F8 for more DOF, if you're close enough you will still get a blurred background at 105mm. The dead flower looks just perfect & it would have made a great shot being the main subject. The two dead petals hanging down have caught the light perfectly.Are you close to these for a reshoot?

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