Good morning All!
Wow – what a great bunch of variety. You’ve made it very difficult for me to pick a favorite because every variation has brought something unique to the table. Bravo.
Here are my thoughts – as always, not critiques, just my observations.
Tas – Thanks for kicking off this challenge with a very interesting take. I like the texture and your choice to shift to a warmer tone. You set the stage for what would become the ‘boat-or-no’ in the background by removing the extra boat as well as the power line. The de-saturation calms the whole thing a lot, too.
mariwalt – Those of us here in Co. Galway applaud your ‘sunning us up’ with a rare sight – blue sky and puffy clouds. I think you’ve also warmed it up slightly. You opted to keep the boat in the background and eliminate the light pole and the power line.
mixalis_kalymnos1611– Moody is what you wanted and moody is what you got. I think my single most favorite bit of your version is the extra emphasis on the light shining through the window of the cab. You’ve hedged your bets on the boat in the background by leaving half of it in.
xs400 – As yet another member of the ‘no-boat’ club, you’ve removed the boat in the background, but emphasized elements of the pier in the process. You’ve warmed up the sky and added what appears to be a very realistic portrayal of the last gorse fire we experienced here.
Seriously, I have an image from two summers ago where it actually did look like this over the Bay after a farmer’s field burning tactics went a little over the top.
tuggie76 – Another take that is actually more realistic than what one might think! That is exactly what happens when a strong southerly wind hits us during high tide! Your waves have removed the often-offending power line and part of the light pole as well.
graeme83 – This is probably the most faithful to what I was seeing, actually. The colors were a bit stronger, but ‘cold and bleak’ – yeah, that’s exactly what it was. To me, this adds a ton of emphasis on the rotting steel hull of a boat destined to go nowhere other than the scrap yard. You opted to keep the boat and the powerline bits, too.
savoche – I gotta hand it to you on that sky – you’ve brought out a ton of detail that was really there. I actually never even noticed that gull in the original moment. I’m a sucker for detailed monochromes.
xs400 – I’m not sure how our little village would deal with a visit from Godzilla, but it’s handy that he’s brought his own skyscraper with him because he would otherwise only be tearing apart pubs and our local Indian take-away. Bravo for bringing some much-appreciated humor to all of this serious photo processing stuff. I would like to add some lines from Blue Oyster Cult:
“He picks up a bus and he throws it back down
As he wades through the buildings toward the center of town
Oh, no, they say he's got to go
Go, go, Godzilla (yeah)”
tmlawes – An interesting take on a sky modification. I like the softness of the background, again with removed boat and power bits. I notice you have largely eliminated the seaweed in the foreground, too.
astonm – You’ve found the other half of the vessel! You definitely got my attention with the complete creation of a new reality on so many levels. Not only did you correct the foreground boat’s terminal list, you also provided the symmetry to the cab that actually doesn’t exist in real life and drives me crazy when I look at the real boat (the cab is off to one side to allow the crew access to the bow). That sky is angry and very much like the storm skies that appear over Galway Bay on a regular basis. You have opted to keep half of the boat in the background, but rotate it 180 degrees (thus-bringing it ‘into’ the pic instead of it looking to ‘leave’ at first notice). Moving the safety buoy to the other side is also a nice touch. Pretty cool.
jmacias – first, you’ve anted up another brave monochrome amongst a pack of color takes. For the most part, you’ve kept everything from the original image bar the extra seaweed up front. In your color version, you have opted for some blue sky but have kept the image cold and a bit dreary (like it was in real life).
Wow, like I said, hard to pick out one that I like more than the rest. Today, though, I think I’m feeling like I want to emphasize (more than alter) reality. It’s a cold wet place right now, and I think Graeme’s image strikes the closest to home.
graeme83, your image is my choice du jour and I’ve selected you to lead PPC #351.
I think it’s only fair to show my hand on this. Below is one of my takes on the scene.
Thank you all for participating!