[libbe]

I took this image a couple of months ago from a boat, so i had to use high-iso and "short" shutter speed at dawn. I ended up throwing it away due to too much noise(at that time i must say that i was a bit of a pixel-peeper, which has totally changed nowadays). Tonight i browsed through my images and ended up trying to edit the image.

Original image, Schneider Krueznasch DA50-200 at 200mm, f5.6, 1/90th, iso1600;



Straightened and sliiightly cropped bottom
Monochromed channelmixed with R18 G17 B65 C-5 ---- 72% opacity
5% Monochrome Gaussian noise
Levels adjustment to sky
USM Sharpened by about 40-60% 0.4px (can't remember exact value, but something like that)
(All of these things, apart from the sharpening which was done on an individual layer, was done on individual adjustment layers to make sure i can make changes if you think some of the values need to be changed)


PS; Hit me hard on the Constructive critiques, i can definitely handle it.

---

Last edited by libbe; 04-28-2008 at 06:52 PM.

[foxglove]

Nice rescue. I think we all tend to worry a little too much about having flawless, sharp photos, but this works very well with the desaturated, grainy look.

It does look a wee bit flat, though - on the whole, I like the greyness (it suits the subject), but it's lacking something. I wonder if you could punch up the sky a little? Tweak the levels to darken the darkest clouds just a bit, make it a bit more dramatic, perhaps? I suspect that what's bothering me is that you've got all this highly textured rock and water at the bottom, and then a rather bland expanse of grey at the top. Making the sky a little more contrasty might correct that imbalance.

Otherwise, I really like it - it's beautiful and a bit forbidding, and the grainy B&W gives it a timelessness. Good on you for not writing it off just because it's high iso and not "perfect".

Julie

[Douglas_of_Sweden]

Great move, clearly works better in BW. Try to get the gable even whiter rather than darken the sky, or do both.

[libbe]

Thanks for the critiques boys 'n gals. Maybe someone else would be able to cast some light on the image as well?

I will definitely try to give the sky some more punch, when i get home from work (only 7 days to go, then there will be six weeks of shooting with my newly ordered 16-50 ;D)

Maybe i should clone away the powerlines as well? That way i think it will get a more "old" feel aswell as the old look. (as if it doesnt have electricity, and that the light in the window is a old "burning lamp")

[Fritz]

I think the image has some possibilities, and it works quite well in b&w or desaturated. If it were me I would crop it differently to get the building out of the center of the composition. I would try cropping some of the sky off the top, and some off the right side as well. I think that your idea of cloning out the power lines is a good one. It would help in removing potential distractions from your main focus, and strengthen the composition.

It is an interesting building sitting up on that barren rock.

Hope you don't mind but the mention of cloning out the power lines made me think of the possibility of instead using them to your advantage and doing a real tight crop so that the eye follows them up to the house (or away from the house). I think it also enhances the isolation by demonstrating that the power lines are a link to the outside world.