The Not Ready for The Refinery Player

[double_entendre]

I thought about posting this to Journeys, but I've already written my trip up on ADV. 4,200 miles or so from SoCal to SoCal via the West Coast and Saskatchewan. Linky (http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=497482).

And I don't want to start two separate threads in The Refinery--nevermind setting myself up for P&S crucifixion. :rofl

Sooooooooooo.

Here are a couple pics I took on the trip that I'm kind of fond of. Without intending to set myself up to be flogged per se, I'm open to suggestions as to how they might be improved PP or could have been better in the taking.

1) I love trains and train tracks. Anyone who thinks I've grown up in the past forty-some odd years is dreaming. I took this somewhere up around Jasper, BC.

http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp80/double_entendreadv/DG-DSC02494.jpg

This one I'm even more fond of. I hate to use the word gloomy because I really like clouds and rain (and lightning even more). It's a kind of dark, sorta underexposed photo. I know the focus on the bike is really bad. In my (unconscionably weak) defense, it was a no-tripod P&S shot in the dark. :D ) Perhaps compositional critique is the best here, eh?

http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp80/double_entendreadv/DG-DSC02514.jpg

One of the guys on ADV offered this alternate take: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10748491&postcount=3682, but I'm not sure I like it with the revised curves. The improved color on the grass and asphalt, IMHO, detracts from the overcast sky. It's like the foreground is too bright for the light implied by the sky.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Rancho

[black mamba]

Hi Rancho,

Looks like some interesting territory. I've got to go with the alternate take on the second shot. I find the overall darkness on your rendering just too much.

I, too, ride an FJR. Mine's a 2005.....got it all farkled up.

Ride safe,

Tom

[chrismoore]

:agree
I don't think the light is too much on the edited version, I think the balance is just right. The composition of the first shot is good, I think you can improve it by playing with the levels and curves to give it a little more pop as it looks a bit flat. great job :thumb

[Azzaro]

Hey......You have a really nice shot....If you rather I hadn't done this just say so and I will take it down..... Is this what you were looking for? azzaro

http://azzaro.smugmug.com/photos/666131284_dY5wT-L.jpg

[double_entendre]

Hey......You have a really nice shot....If you rather I hadn't done this just say so and I will take it down..... Is this what you were looking for? azzaro

Don't ya hate it when you agonize over wording something and still get it wrong? :rofl

Absolutely no offense taken to your post and I like having it up there. It spins the pic a different way and maybe someone will pick up on the level-adjusting tip. It seems to me that you can 'argue' in favor of either version depending on how your eyes like to see something. I am finding that the version of the pic that I like depends on my mood. I tend towards the darker end of the mood spectrum as a rule. Mr. Optimist is not a name you'll ever hear someone apply to me. :D

I do appreciate you telling me how you did it. I'll have to get a lot better at Photoshop after I get my D90.

I can enjoy either one and realy wish I had gotten the focus right from the get-go. It could have been a much better photo. This one, for example, I should've posted instead here at Dgrin.

http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp80/double_entendreadv/DSC02568.jpg

Same thing here, really, with the grass being darked-out, but not as badly to my eyes as the other one. You can kinda see it's green. I'll probably be able to do a lot better once I have a DSLR instead of the P&S.

Don't take that edit down from ADV, though. Heck, I'd be thrilled if either one made it to the front page rotation on ADV. (Good to bump into you here too! :nod )

Thanks!!!!!

Rancho