#8 - My first challenge EVER!

[Felicia]

I am so new to this, never having entered in a challenge. So any critique/comments you give me are VERY appreciated!

#1 Sunrise
http://lvcaiques.smugmug.com/photos/169204828-M-1.jpg


#2 Crash!
http://lvcaiques.smugmug.com/photos/169195267-M-2.jpg


#3 Life
http://lvcaiques.smugmug.com/photos/169204785-M-1.jpg


#4 Remains
http://lvcaiques.smugmug.com/photos/169204558-M-1.jpg

[PaulThomasMcKee]

Welcome!

I like the first and second images best for this challenge. #1 for ‘sedate’ and #2 for ‘explosive’. It seems that either would be good entry (IMO).

Best of Luck!

paul

[HoofClix]

I second that! Though I think that #2 is the better image overall. Looks like the LB that I know..

Welcome to DGrin, and to the Challenge. Remember to have fun!

[VisualXpressions]

#2 is a great explosive shot... #3 is very nice, I believe sea urchins are quite sedate... where did you find a purple sea urchin? I love the color...

Good luck and welcome to the community...

Winston

[Felicia]

#2 is a great explosive shot... #3 is very nice, I believe sea urchins are quite sedate... where did you find a purple sea urchin? I love the color...

Good luck and welcome to the community...

Winston

Thanks, everyone, for your comments so far . I'm at the stage in my learning process that I soak them all up!:ear

I went down to the beach this morning at sunrise which coincided with low tide. There were sea urchins everywhere.

[dlscott56]

They're all nice shots. #1 does seem sedate but, to me, not as much as #2 says explosive.

Good luck to you!

[richtersl]

They're all nice shots. #1 does seem sedate but, to me, not as much as #2 says explosive.

Good luck to you!
:agree

[Tentacion]

:agree

:agree wholeheartedly

[Felicia]

:agree wholeheartedly
Thank you, everyone, for your welcome and input. I'm entering #2.

[BistiArt]

I'm entering #2.

Felicia,

This shot seems to have been taken toward midday instead of around Magic Hour... as a result, while explosive, it has a sort of bland implication.

Would it benefit from some blending using multiply or screen at very low opacity for touch up?

I'm glad you moved the copyright signature; when I first saw it, it seemd to conflict with the breaking wave.

My remarks may be late (you may have already entered); but we work on such features in digital competitions I enter...

[Felicia]

Felicia,

This shot seems to have been taken toward midday instead of around Magic Hour... as a result, while explosive, it has a sort of bland implication.

Would it benefit from some blending using multiply or screen at very low opacity for touch up?

I'm glad you moved the copyright signature; when I first saw it, it seemd to conflict with the breaking wave.

My remarks may be late (you may have already entered); but we work on such features in digital competitions I enter...

Thank you so much, BistiArt, for your critique. The photo was actually taken right at sunrise. I really want to incorporate your ideas, but being such a newbie to intentional digital photography and photoshop, I'm not really sure what you mean about blending or screening. It's going to be something I'll have to play around with. Maybe once I'm done, I'll put it in the whipping post.

[BistiArt]

Thank you so much, BistiArt, for your critique.

Felicia,

I wondered about sunrise...

Blending modes are ways to use a brush and slightly or greatly modify select elements of your image. Its best to do so in CS, CS2, or CS3...

You select a brush, ctrl D to set foreground/background colors (black/white), and then decide where you want to darken or lighten certain areas of your image.

Perhaps you can use Google to search for blending mode tutorials. Advanced Google search lets you more quickly find what you want...

I use a technique Scott Kelby provided for creating a new layer, setting blending to Overlay, choosing 50% gray, then choosing either Multiply to darken (select the black foreground) or Screen to lighten (select the white foreground [these rotate by hitting the X keyboard shortcut]). I am careful to set opacity to small values, then see what it does to the image.

This morning, I reworked the banner for Awards gallery at BistiArt.Smugmug.com
In essence, in Gods Hand, I slightly darkened the overexposure on the big cliff face, then emphasized crevasses in the image, then did some pixel sharpening before combining it with Majestic Blessing which I blended several days before..

I'm not at my main machine now... when I get home, I will download your # 2 photo and a take a preliminary stab at it...

[BistiArt]

Felicia,
I wondered about sunrise...

Felicia,

I liked your wave breaking shots so much I may have gone slightly overboard...

Not knowing your Photoshop base, the advice I'm about to supply may not be applicable. Nonetheless, I played with your image a bit, trying to bring out subtle enhancements.
Most digital cameras have lens blur and matrix metering tends to average the pixels. To overcome blur, I usually sharpen before I do anything else. Then, to overcome averaging, I run a channel mixer action which spreads colors slightly between channels ~ the effect is as if you either shot the image on Velvia film or took it as a JPEG.

Now that I've got the image preprocessed, it's time to subtly enhance the evocative details.
For this purpose, I move to blending modes, either lightening or darkening significant features using a brush and pen tablet with subtle opacity changes.

The combo of sharpening and blending added quite a bit of emphasis.
With a dark Multiply, I tended to enhance shadows about 20%, slightly less on the basal waves. Then, if the wave was breaking against the rock, I tended to darken the rock for emphasis. With a light Screen, I tended to enhance highlights on the rocks about 10%.
Then, just clicking, rather than dragging, with Multiplies Opacity about 10%, I put a little texture in the clouds.

When done, I think there's a remarkable example of an initially good image taken to another level...

To provide the workflow with Photoshop CS3 steps, I created a PDF using Before, After, and Layers images for a single comparison. You can find this PDF here (http://www.geocompa.com/LayerInstructions.pdf).

Congratulations on your fine photographic instincts!
I think you're going to simply love Last Photographer Standing...

[Felicia]

Wow! Thanks, Joe, for all of the time and effort you put into this lesson. :D I have CS3, but don't really know how to use it efficiently. In fact, I tried learning some lessons from the included DVD and had to watch them about 5 times before I started to get a clue... :rolleyes I'm going to have to eek out some time in between wrangling my 3 little boys to practice. I'm probably not going to make if for the deadline, but c'est la vie...

[BistiArt]

I have CS3, but don't really know how to use it efficiently.

Felicia,

Wasn't sure about the Photoshop level - but this approach will help a good image become a great image and judges will nudge it up in the rankings...

Your composition is good - this just gave it some snap!