Three for C&C

latchiko

Here are a few I took yesterday in between showers. I got an infrared filter so I've been playing with that! All feedback is very welcome.

ThOnda

That is soooooo nice. Especially the second and the third one. First one is "too bright" or "too sharp" for me. But still it is very nice.

Ruu_Old

I prefer the first one to the others, the b+w one doesn't work for me. The blueish tone one is growing on me.

ThOnda

Ruu, you are completely wrong. The BW ones are better! :-D

Xiney

I love them, but I think it might be nice to try killing some of the yellow in the first one... one of the green filters in photoshop ought to do the trick. I'd love to try for the "ethereal" look with it.

elven

The first one really puts across that beautiful 'green canopy' thing you get in the forest, it's a gorgeous sort of light. I'm slightly bothered by the water being much darker at the front - but I love that mossy rock in the foreground.

The second one, I can't help but feel I'm missingout on some beautiful glowing greens...

The third is beautiful. Love the out of focus leaves at the top, very glowy. Being a bit picky - and it could be the compression of the jpg, there's a bit of an awkwardness in the transition of light to dark in the bottom left.

Lovely stuff.

magicbastarder

they're very nice, except for the fact that there's no strong focal points.

latchiko

Thanks for the feedback everyone! It's interesting to hear the different opinions, especially regarding the same shot!

Xiney: Thanks for pointing out the yellow cast in the first one. I had forgotten to change the colour profile before uploading it and I have now corrected it. I know what you mean by the ethereal look - I've done it to similar shots in the past but I wanted to keep this truer to what I saw.

elven: Thanks. I've lightened up the water on the bottom right of the first one and it's better balanced now I think. I'll post a colour version of the second one shortly for comparison. As for the last one, yes there's some banding on the bottom right. It's much more noticeable at this resolution. I'm not sure how to get rid of it to be honest.

magicbastarder: I was aware of that when taking them. In the first one the path/steps going through the trees was my main focus, but I wanted to put them in context. With the second I wanted the sapling at the bottom to stand out, hence the infrared. The last one was all about the rock!

Thanks everyone.

latchiko

Here's a "normal" version of the second shot. Any preferences?!

ThOnda

What have you done to me? My heart is bleeding with colour... :eek:

Fajitas!

Third one does it for me. Really nice. I would, however like a bit more contrast in the foliage above the rock, it seems to be missing something, not a whole pile, just a bit.

The lack of a focal point in the second really takes away from it.

The first one might have looked better in IR, but while it's in colour, try making it a bit more green maybe? Again, the tree's above the water are slightly lacking contrast, which is leading the eye away from the river, rather than the river leading the eye through the photograph.

The last one you posted there, the rock seems a bit soft for it to be the focal point, but who cares, the third one is much better. Really like it.

Hugh_C

2nd and 3rd are beautiful, 2nd especially. The first looks like visible spectrum not IR at all.

solus

wow beautiful pics...
I prefere the 1st one... but im a contrast freak.. would like to see the bw version with more contrast

latchiko

Thanks again for all the feedback.

ThOnda: LOL!

Fajitas!: Thanks. I've added some contrast above the rock in the third one. Just a touch but it did make a difference as you said. I also put some of the green back into the first one and added some contrast to the trees there too. When you say:

Fajitas! wrote:

the tree's above the water are slightly lacking contrast, which is leading the eye away from the river

I thought areas of contrast attract the eye rather than the other way around? Or does it depend on the image?

hughchal: Thanks! I should have mentioned that only the second and third images are infrared.

GristlyEnd

I'm a sucker for rich greens so the first one jumps out at me but the last one is my favourite. IR when done right looks fantastic and this is a great example to me.

Fajitas!

Generally brightness attracts the eye moreso. Contrast usually denotes sharpness which focuses the eye. There's loads of theory about this, but I find if you're surrounding something in a U shape of contrast like in the image above, where the U is where the contrast lies, the eyes will move up, rather than stay where you want them to.

Try blocking the top of the image with your arm, and seeing where your eye falls. Take your arm away, and try again?

Zillah

I adore the third one, the IR really gives it a surreal quality, very rich looking. The first one doesn't do it for me at all though, far too green, looks artificial. Did you bump the saturation?

ThOnda

Zillah - you're my man! :-)

I was thinking about soft (vaseline on lense) efec on the first one, like the ****e callendars from eighties?

Fionn

nice shots i suppose it's a symptom of shooting in a forrest that you'll get a lot of green - sometimes it can overpower the rest of the photograph

well done

Spyral

3rd one = teh sex

tadhgrrr

what kind of shutter speed/ aperture settings do you have to use to get the smooth water effect in the first one?

Valentia

The second one for me, though I prefer the tones in the third. The second seems a more complete image, The little twig growing at he bottom of the frame starts a natural progression of the eye through the rest of the image, well it does for me anyway. That seems to work without their being a specific focal point.

Lovely work all round though.

latchiko

Fajitas: Thanks for explaining that. I think I know what you mean!

Zillah: I had the white balance set to cloudy which helped bring out the greens. I used a polarising filter as well which probably boosted the saturation even further. I might knock the saturation back a smidgen though.

tadhgrrr: The shutter speed for the first was about a second at ISO100 at about f16 iirc. The exposure for the IR shots was about 5 mins or so.

Valentia: Thanks. I liked the little sapling too. I might go back and see if I can work it so there is a better focal point.

Thanks for all the feedback - I appreciate it.

Zillah

latchiko wrote:

tadhgrrr: The shutter speed for the first was about a second at ISO100 at about f16 iirc. The exposure for the IR shots was about 5 mins or so.

Five minutes? Must have been a very dark filter.

RCNPhotos

Love the first (original) and third. Have to get an IR filter. Could I get a price off the top of someones head?

latchiko

Zillah: Yep, it's a very dark filter. I need to set the whole shot up then screw on the filter because once it's on I can't see anything through it. It was very shaded as well so that added to the exposure time.

RCNPhotos: You can pick one up on ebay for €30-40.

440Hz

Its all been said there really!!! Personally I really like the second one, its a bit grainy though, which distracts me slightly but its still a great shot!!

rahtkennades

Latchiko,
what camera were they taken on? Is there any modification required to use the IR filter? I'd be interested in playing with it, especially if the filters are cheap enough.
Thanks
des

mikeanywhere

Well done on all the shots. I like #1 & 3 over #2.

I had a look at your site and love some of the images you have on there.

Is the Basingstoke Canal shot in Basingstoke, UK or somewhere else?

latchiko

440Hz: Thanks! IR shots tend to get grainy, due to the long exposure.

rahtkennades: These were taken using a 400D and 17-85mm lens. You don't need to make any modifications to use an IR filter but you do need to make sure your camera is senisitive to IR (you can point a remote control at it and press a few buttons to see). Some lenses are better than others for IR work too. Google is your best friend for help with specific cameras/lenses. You can also get your camera converted so that it only takes IR shots - the benefit of which is that you can get normal shutter speeds.

mikeanywhere: Thanks a lot. Yep the Basingstoke Canal is somewhere around Basingstoke in the UK. I kinda came upon it by accident when visiting some friends, fantastic place.