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01-20-2012, 11:09 AM   #1
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Please Critique
Lens: smc PENTAX-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL II Camera: Pentax K-r Photo Location: Bombay Beach, CA ISO: 400 Shutter Speed: 1/2000s Aperture: F5.6 


aliencamp by ~Loveless

looking for advice as to achieve better shots like this...

01-20-2012, 11:35 AM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by loveless Quote
looking for advice as to achieve better shots like this...
You had plenty of light, so shooting at F/5.6 was a creative choice that limited your depth of field to only a few barbs or so of the barbed wire. I tend to try a few apertures in shots like this, and a few focal points, and decide later which I prefer.

The most interesting parts of the image to me are the fenceline, the resulting shadows, and the tower. The tower is out of focus (aperture choice) and the fence isn't really in the frame, then is further obscured by the vignette (which I assume was added in post).

I like the idea. The exposure is spot-on, nice mix of light and dark. The muted colors lend themselves well to the environment. I look forward to seeing more!
01-20-2012, 03:08 PM   #3
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I like the death-at-the-edge-of-the-Salton-Sea look. The exposure is fine. IMHO the vertical angle isn't quite right; the in-focus near fence wire should be better separated from the further fence line next to the tower.
01-20-2012, 06:29 PM   #4
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I'm not fond of vignette or HDR in general , so there's that out of the way :-)

However, it seems a bit busy with all the small overlapping elements. I might have done more out of focus in the background, or less fence, and not had the wire go across the tower. I like the general wide-angle feel.

I've been to Bombay Beach, and survived. Up the hill to Salvation Mountain and Slab City is interesting as well.

01-20-2012, 07:20 PM   #5
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I'll start by saying I like the photo. The composition and near lack of color (other than the sky) work well.

I might like it even more with less post processing. Did you really use the 18-55? If looks like you added vignetting and a fisheye effect. I'm curious to see what it looked like before that.
01-20-2012, 09:50 PM   #6
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Thanks for all the feedback.
This is my first “real” camera and I have only been shooting for 6 months, (I love it) can’t wait to go back to the Salton Sea.

FYI, I could use some constructive criticism on this one
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/photo-critique/172282-other-lady-salt.html#post1787468

DeadJohn; Here is the original for reference. I started playing with Photoshop on my winter vacation.

_IGP3005
01-21-2012, 12:25 AM   #7
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I agree with RioRico: if you had positioned your camera a bit lower, shooting slightly upwards, you would have got a better composition: the front wires would not be superimposed with the background poles, there would not be so much empty sky at the top, and the front wire would not be in the middle of the frame. I like the way you processed the image.

01-21-2012, 09:36 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by loveless Quote
DeadJohn; Here is the original for reference. I started playing with Photoshop on my winter vacation.
Thanks. Now I can see that I prefer your processing to the original. The colors and vignette adjustments make the scene look older.

The only thing that doesn't appeal to me after processing is the fisheye effect. There's an artificial curvature added to the fence posts on the right and their shadows. That's just my preference, though, because I never like to see more fisheye added to a photo.
01-21-2012, 11:51 AM   #9
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The washed out colours work much better than the original. I also don't care for the fisheye, and probably would have even fixed the barrel distortion that is curving the nearest post. The vignette is perhaps a bit much - I'd either reduce the amount of darkening or move the midpoint so that the transition is less drastic.

None of those PP choices can change the composition - the intersecting objects and lines, that errant wire in the top left, or the narrow depth of field. As always, the base image is the most important
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