A street scene in Bordeaux. This is one of my daughter's favorite hangouts (she's in school there), so I'm going to frame this for her when she gets home. Any suggestions?

[donras]

Love the photo --- it is so Parisian! Personally, I would crop to about 8x10 (or dimensions in ratio of 4:5) to get rid of the distracting elements on the right and left sides of the picture, then add some vignetting to add to the retro mood. Easier to do than explain, so I attached a quick and dirty modified photo.

[aurele]

i'm not a super fan of HDR, but the picture is nice.

Paul is a company that sell bread and pastries is big city, in France, so even if they show an old image of the french bakeries, it's a very modern brand.

Bordeau is closest to the picture american people have of french cities. more than Paris for exemple.

[donras]

Ooops --- didn't notice the picture was from Bordeaux --- thanks aurele. Don't have much experience in France, but it did remind me of my favorite parts of Paris.
--- Don

[Sailor]

Normally, I'm not excited by heavily processed photos, but I think this one is outstanding. To my eye, there's no reason to crop (which makes the scene feel claustrophobic and confined to me) - I'd leave it just as it is: expansive, colorful and vibrant.

Jer

[donras]

Good point Jer. When switching between the two pictures, I do in fact agree with you. I was initially struck by the retro mood introduced by HDR, and thinking of ways to enhance that mood --- but it does indeed make it claustrophobic.

[GeoJerry]

Thanks all for the feedback. I agree that a crop doesn't work so well (I like the everyday feel of people walking along the streets, but I like the idea of vignetting and I think I'll do that.

This is not HDR, BTW. I processed this in Topaz Adjust to try and get a warm and softened look, something that would look cozy and retro, because as the years go by for my daughter this will be a nostalgic look back at her days in Bordeaux.

[Schraubstock]

This is not HDR

Hi

Yes it is, Topaz is High Dynamic Range software. It can do High Dynamic tone mapping in all channels. People think HDR can only be achieved by combining several photos with different exposure values.

I, and this is only my personal opinion, think HDR is maxed out too much and too often nowadays by a lot of people. Subtle enhancements are often better. I step into dangerous territory here I know, but in my opinion your treatment is a fair bit overdone and it kills it a bit for me.

I must agree though the image, the way I see it, needs cropping. But I would reduce the top of the picture so as to make it a bit more balanced. By doing this you do not sacrifice the character of the typical French building as you really not take anything away to spoil it. I also cut off a bit from the right to remove this strange object from the picture there. But I think the pic is better balanced that way. (Sample enclosed because I think a sample can give you immediate assessment of the idea.)

Another thing to consider in view of framing the picture in the future is to make sure that if it is to be mounted behind a Passepartout (American English "mat") that the mat is cut in such a way that the bottom part of the mat is approx. 30% wider than the other three sides. This is the classic way. It prevents a viewer from getting the impression the picture wants to slip downwards out of the frame. I only mention this; if you apply this technique to your original format it would not look so nice in my opinion.

Sorry to babble on a bit, but I thought I pass on some some of my experiences (if I may be so forthright) which may be of help in your project.

Best regards

[GeoJerry]

Yes it is, Topaz is High Dynamic Range software. It can do High Dynamic tone mapping in all channels. People think HDR can only be achieved by combining several photos with different exposure values.

No. I am aware that Topaz Adjust has HDR effects, but I didn't use them. I used the following pre-sets in the order listed:
Brilliant Warm
Warm Tone 1
Mild Color Pop
Detail Strong I
Soft Focus I
with a few modifications here and there in the pre-sets and also following Topaz I warmed it up further in Aperture to create more of a dreamy and nostalgic effect. I also applied some dodging and burning in some areas, which may have given the effect that some may assume to be HDR. For example, you could hardly see anything inside Paul's, so I applied some lightening in there to bring out the subtle color and detail.

BTW, I have no problem with HDR, I use it myself and I see a lot of HDR's I like very much. I'm not one for rules, but I'm aware that there are many people who will not like any HDR as a matter of principle. I say anything goes, if you like it.

I, and this is only my personal opinion, think HDR is maxed out too much and too often nowadays by a lot of people.

I agree that sometimes the method is over-applied, but that is just our tastes. Some people like extreme grunge looks. But this is not one of those, not by a long shot.

I must agree though the image, the way I see it, needs cropping. But I would reduce the top of the picture so as to make it a bit more balanced.

Your crop looks fine to me, but I wanted to get the facade next door to the right in the picture. I like that element and I think my daughter will too, having spent so much time here. I liked the maroon color which relieves the somewhat overwhelming golden tans of the stone work. To me having that presence outweighed the strange shape on the extreme right, which I agree subtracts from the image a little. However, I'm going to take donras suggestion and apply a rather strong corner vignette which will de-emphasize that shape. Finally, I also like the railing on the extreme upper right. That plus the maroon door sets Paul's apart from the surrounding structures.

Thanks for the tip on the matte, I had never even considered that. But it makes sense, especially if I want to write a little something on it.

[Schraubstock]

Hi GeoJerry

Thanks for replying

All is well.

When you wrote "Any suggestions ?" I plucked up the courage to acquaint you with my thoughts and how I would see the task at hand. You replied with detailed reasons why you think differently and how you feel about the image. That is good, we are all different and I feel assured that you thought thinks through carefully. So all that is left for you to do is execute your wishes and desires. And I hope all will be satisfactory in the end.

I am glad that at least on one point you think my suggestion re. mat cutting will/could be of use. Using the extra space to write information makes sense.

I enjoyed the exchange of ideas.

Best regards

Edit:
I travel to France very often, have friends there (Paris) and never get tired of this place. Some years ago I took a photo which I think personifies France and in particular Paris. (And I know you wanted that French feeling to shine through in your pic.) It was reprinted in a French travel magazine some years ago. It is in a new thread.

[slowpez]

I enjoyed looking at this one very much GeoJerry. This technique of your works so well when there is lots to see inside the frame. I did like the crop but hated to see the red sign on the left go. I thought it added something. I have to admit that I did not notice the maroon doorway as the half people in the lower right drew my eye but, the photo is for your daughter and it is her memories you have captured so she will certainly notice elements that mean much to her and it would be sad to leave them out. My two cents which is only worth about 1/10 of that. I love this technique of your however and it suits so many of your photos. Thanks for sharing them with us.

[Rupert]

Love it. very nicely done. Don't do any cropping, it is fine just like it is! Excellent!

Regards!

[interested_observer]

In my mind, the scene is the typical French city, and the bakery / pastry shop on the city corner, what ever the season is absolutely perfect. Not cropping leaves in a lot of elements. The processing for me is perfect....

[GeoJerry]

Hi GeoJerry

Thanks for replying

All is well.

When you wrote "Any suggestions ?" I plucked up the courage to acquaint you with my thoughts and how I would see the task at hand. You replied with detailed reasons why you think differently and how you feel about the image. That is good, we are all different and I feel assured that you thought thinks through carefully. So all that is left for you to do is execute your wishes and desires. And I hope all will be satisfactory in the end.

I am glad that at least on one point you think my suggestion re. mat cutting will/could be of use. Using the extra space to write information makes sense.

I enjoyed the exchange of ideas.

Best regards

Edit:
I travel to France very often, have friends there (Paris) and never get tired of this place. Some years ago I took a photo which I think personifies France and in particular Paris. (And I know you wanted that French feeling to shine through in your pic.) It was reprinted in a French travel magazine some years ago. It is in a new thread.

This is all good. I appreciate honest opinions and am not just looking for approval. In fact you donated two good ideas that I liked, the matting and also that dark shape on the right. Once you pointed it out, I agreed that it detracted from the scene (turns out to be a backpack of a nearby pedestrian). So by posting this I got three good ideas, your two plus the vignetting. The cropping I liked, but I recognize that everyone has a personal opinion, so that's fine.

The personal taste aspect is interesting to me. I post a lot of pictures on another site, reddit, where there are only limited comments, and the viewers (most of whom you can tell are not really photographers) give feedback in the most quantitative way: a thumbs up or a thumbs down. It never ceases to amaze me what people vote for and against. I have seen what I thought to be very poor, at least technically speaking, photos which got very high scores (many of these are highly oversaturated pictures, or heavy HDR's complete with garish halos). I've seen some I thought technically and artistically superb get ignored. So what I get out of this is to seek opinions that to me make for a better picture. If I don't think the pinion makes a better picture, I know that's just me, and doesn't really reflect on the talent of the commenter. So thanks for taking the time! :-)

[GeoJerry]

I enjoyed looking at this one very much GeoJerry. This technique of your works so well when there is lots to see inside the frame. I did like the crop but hated to see the red sign on the left go. I thought it added something. I have to admit that I did not notice the maroon doorway as the half people in the lower right drew my eye but, the photo is for your daughter and it is her memories you have captured so she will certainly notice elements that mean much to her and it would be sad to leave them out. My two cents which is only worth about 1/10 of that. I love this technique of your however and it suits so many of your photos. Thanks for sharing them with us.

Thanks very much for your comments... this soft focus is a look I like to use a lot, but especially for a subject like this one.