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04-06-2015, 04:31 PM   #1
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Trying out something new in post - Cape Kiwanda, OR
Lens: Pentax HD Ltd. 20-40mm f/2.8-4 Camera: Pentax K5IIs Photo Location: Pacific City, OR ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: Above 6s Aperture: F10 

Hi, I'm since I'm recently evaluating Color Efex Pro as part of my post-processing flow I've started to explore more dramatic effects. I'm more used to replicating what I saw with my eyes but it's fun to experiment with something new and see what gets out of it. This is one of the examples, let me know what you think and if that works for you or not - constructive feedback is appreciated and encouraged



04-06-2015, 11:35 PM   #2
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Hi
If you are after a more dramatic effect perhaps a slight increase in contrast or tone mapping and bumping up colours a bit might give you the desired effect. (Without overdoing it of course).

Also have you considered to crop away a bit of the foreground to give the image a bit more of a panorama feel ? (Which would suit this picture I think)

I am not a huge fan of long exposure water pictures because I don't like water to look like fog, but this is entirely an individual thing. All in all I like the image.

Greetings

Last edited by Schraubstock; 08-28-2015 at 02:47 AM.
04-07-2015, 08:16 AM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Schraubstock Quote
I am not a huge fan of long exposure water pictures because I don't like water to look like fog, but this is entirely an individual thing. All in all I like the image.
My first thought of this image was that the long exposure was TOO long for this image. There isn't enough water "space" for the "fog" effect to be dramatic or pleasing. It seems more "empty". Probably no more than 1 second would have been advisable for this scene. You would still get the motion blur, but the waves' crests and dimensionality would have been maintained.

One thing I try to do is shoot the same scene at 3 or 4 different exposure times so I can pick later which shutter speed yields a more desirable image. But I also know it's tough as the last light fades to keep shutter speeds "up", so I try to make an educated guess what would be best and shoot that first. I have rarely found anything longer than 2-3 seconds to be pleasing to my eye. When shooting ocean scenes, I try to keep it closer to 1/2 sec to maintain the wave forms.

In terms of processing, I think I like schraubstock's slightly "brighter" suggestion.

In terms of composition, I think the scrubby trees in the top left are very distracting and the water cut through seems too middle-ish. I would experiment with a more panoramic cropping, starting with the top of the rock where it makes the 65 degree-ish turn. I think much of the top 1/4 of the image provides no value; the drama in the sky is near the horizon and just above. additionally, I'm not sure this image needs as much rock foreground. I might experiment with cropping from the bottom, as well, somewhere about where the green patch almost disappears but then returns.
04-07-2015, 08:22 AM   #4
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@Schraubstock @nomadkng - thank you both for great feeback - I'm still bad at cropping I usually tend to stick with what I've captured originally and don't think too much about cropping when I'm processing the image, I definitely need to work on this - I do like the boosted contrast scene - I had one similar edit but in the end I couldn't find the right balance between higher contrast and natural(-ish) look. I had few shots that were made without the ND filter but the waves didn't do anything for me so I went with the long exposure in the end. Lots of good points to think about next time - thank you!

04-07-2015, 08:58 AM   #5
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i'm having a bit of trouble with the tightness of your composition and wish there were more sky and water to enjoy. Closer and wider would help, IMO. Color efex is fun in that sometimes a fairly dull rock reveals a few unseen colors when pushed a bit. The location looks very interesting!
04-07-2015, 11:06 PM   #6
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I like the softness of the first version. The elements of nature, wind, fog, spray, seem more amenable to a softer treatment in my opinion.
04-07-2015, 11:37 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by JohanPDX Quote
I like the softness of the first version. The elements of nature, wind, fog, spray, seem more amenable to a softer treatment in my opinion.
I am not saying you are wrong, but the OP wanted "to explore more dramatic effects" and was asking for help or opinions.

04-08-2015, 08:13 AM - 1 Like   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Schraubstock Quote
I am not saying you are wrong, but the OP wanted "to explore more dramatic effects" and was asking for help or opinions.
I highly value all constructive feedback (and it's always nice when someone says the original looks good )
10-23-2019, 01:28 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by voy-tech Quote
Hi, I'm since I'm recently evaluating Color Efex Pro as part of my post-processing flow I've started to explore more dramatic effects. I'm more used to replicating what I saw with my eyes but it's fun to experiment with something new and see what gets out of it. This is one of the examples, let me know what you think and if that works for you or not - constructive feedback is appreciated and encouraged
nice colors and softness
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