Kayaks on Lake Nockamixon

[gahspidy]

This was one a several shots taken. This I thought was one of the better ones. Post processing and cloning out of some cars and people in the background (fishing pier)
what do you think?
thanks

[Greg McCary]

It looks like a mid day shot, but you still pulled out a lot of color and detail. I see no fault at all. The composition is great as always. Do you use filters at all? I have always been curious you never mention using them.

[gahspidy]

Thanks for commenting, Greg.
Yes, this was mid day and a hard sun to boot. I never like shooting in this time of day, but sometimes your there at a scene and will not get a chance to go back. . .so you shoot anyway and hope for the best. I do not use filters very often, but in this case I thought my polarizer would help out. It certainly helped with the sky and some of the bright areas on the kayaks. I also reduce exposure by a 1/2 to full stop knowing that I can pull out some more detail later on. Bringing back some of the green in the foliage was done in PP as the polarizer tends to lose the greens.
thanks again for the time

[Mr Yuck]

I like this composition and the sky looks good. If you shot this in RAW, it would make a great "HDR" to bring out a little bit more detail.

a slight tilt might be good too

[gahspidy]

I like this composition and the sky looks good. If you shot this in RAW, it would make a great "HDR" to bring out a little bit more detail.

a slight tilt might be good too

thanks for the comments, Mr.Yuck. I shoot almost everything in RAW. This was underexposed to reduce the effects of the hard midday sun, and the detail that I recovered here is about as much as it will give, while still holding it's integrity in a large print. I'm not seeing the tilt in the picture. . which way would that be
thanks again.

[livin4lax09]

its great, but a little crooked. I like it as it is, don't HDR it. It looks much more realistic this way.

[Mr Yuck]

It's tilted clockwise I think, look at the right hand shore.

[LeeIs]

I very much appreciate the composition. The hard shadows are minimal and sort of anchor the kayaks. Even the tree branches don't bug me here because the vastness of the sky to its right sorta balances that busyness out. I think the colour of the kayaks is what gives this shot its punch and pulls it together. very nicely done.

[readingr]

Gary,

This is a really nice pic and it looks so tranquil. I really like the composition but I would have like to see the stern of the last kayak in its entirety. Love the clouds

One bit that bugs me is at the end of the trees heading out into the water there seems to be something there which I can't make out but I'm sure in the full size its obvious. Looks like it could be a branch or something.

I have never noticed my old linear polariser sapping green from a pic, I still haven't tested my new circular for the new lenses must try it soon. Mind you with the lack of sun in the UK at the moment it seems a waste of money :lol:

Nearly forgot if you look at the water level in the far distance near the tree then there is a slight clockwise tilt but it didn't really bother me that much. I would hate to loose more off the kayak.

Roger

[Greg McCary]

Thanks Gary for sharing your thoughts. I have noticed that when using a polarizer I get some strange off green yellowish tint that I don't like. But here I really can't tell you used a filter, you pulled out some great color. That's why I ask, Polarizer or ND grad? Have you noticed any difference in color reproduction on your pictures since going digital?

[swmdrayfan]

Gary,
Everyone's pretty much got the technicals covered, so I have nothing to add in that respect. What I like about this is the tranqulilty. In my mind's eye I see people out of the frame enjoying a cookout. Nice capture.
John

[gahspidy]

glad to know your thoughts on this. . .

Thanks Brent. . .I reposted a slightly adjusted version here. I think there was a slight slant but there is also the curved shoreline at the right as this is the end of the lake. I have tried HDR on other pics a few times, and while I have found pleasing results at times, I find that when looking at an image at 100% there is always some sort of fringing, artifacts or slight blur from leaves or trees swaying a bit between exposures. I'm not convinced of HDR yet.

Mr. yuck. . .thanks, you are right. This image is now one that has been adjusted. There is also a curve in the shoreline which adds to the perception of crooked horizon, but it truly was slanted a bit I think.

Liban . . . I appreciate your take on this. Yeah, the strong colors of these Kayaks was what inspired the shot to begin with. I'm considering buying one of these and going out on this lake when I can. These Kayaks were waiting for people to arrive that had signed up with the L.I.Bean company . L.I. Bean was basically demonstrating some of it's products.

Roger . . . That thing at the end of the "fishing Pier" is actually the surface of a rock protruding from the water. Like a small bird in the sky that does not add but rather distract, I just might clone it out to clean it up a bit. When i look through my polarizer and adjust it, I notice the vibrancy of green hues become somewhat subdued. There is never something for nothing . . . I did adjust the tilt a bit but used the perspective tool to pull up the line rather than lose any more of the boat, as you mentioned.
thanks

Greg . . .Yeah, there are sometimes a strange cast when using the polarizer. this is part of what I was correcting. A split ND filter here would have wreaked havok on this scene.
Actually, I find that there is great color saturation with digital than with scanned negative film. Scanned transparencies (positive film, slide film) gave me just as much or more saturation, very little noise and grain, but practically no ability to further edit the image.
Digital seems to give me the initial quality, and low noise/grain of slide film but with the latitude for compensation and adjustment of negative film, and perhaps better. Best of both . . .

John. . . thanks for your thoughts. I did not feel like this was a tranquil scene at the time of shooting it, as there were lots of people and activity going on around. (some of which i cloned out in the bg) I'm glad that it seems to be here now and that it is a strong aspect of the scene. thanks again

[mtbbrian]

Post processing and cloning out of some cars and people in the background (fishing pier)
what do you think?

Gary, Gary Gary...
Come on!
Cloning out this and cloning out that?
What you should have done was found a better way to compose the photograph in the camera!

Seriously, well semi seriously, that is..
The light isn't all that great on this one Gary, it's too harsh.
I can see a lot of potential if the light were better, say a few hours later.
And those clouds would likely pop better against a darker sky.
Brian

[GB1]

A very peaceful and relaxing photo. I might crop out a little of the foreground, but that's it. The sky and clouds really help make the shot. There doesn't have to be any people in the shot, imo. That might inject some tension. I guess the exposure was just perfect that day. Your PP went well.

G

[gahspidy]

Gary, Gary Gary...
Come on!
Cloning out this and cloning out that?

Brian, lol, how would I know you might feel that way Listen, to tell you the truth the cloning tool has been a huge help in my attitude towards people in general. I tend not to yell and get blistery knowing that I can remove them later on. I smile so much more often now. . . thanks Photoshop
But yes, the lighting was so harsh that I didn't feel like taking any pictures to begin with. Upon seeing this scene, I decided to have a go and was hoping to reduce or overcome the effects of the lighting by doing a few things as well as pp later on. Sorry to know this has not succeeded in your view.
btw, good to see you pop in once in a while. I like the various series you have going on in your website
Regards

[gahspidy]

A very peaceful and relaxing photo. I might crop out a little of the foreground, but that's it. The sky and clouds really help make the shot. There doesn't have to be any people in the shot, imo. That might inject some tension. I guess the exposure was just perfect that day. Your PP went well.

G

Thanks for the comments,GB1. Actually, when i first posted this in my gallery i had a suggestion from OT about losing some fg. I agreed and edited a bit off the bottom and reposted. The original had a bit more fg than this even. I tend to agree with you here that perhaps I could lose a bit more. I just don't want to have to trim anymore off of either side.
However, this may not look bad in a slightly more pano type framing if I took a bit more off the bottom and a slightbit off the sky. i may experiment with that.
Good to know you feel the post processing looks fine.
thanks

[mtbbrian]

Brian, lol, how would I know you might feel that way Listen, to tell you the truth the cloning tool has been a huge help in my attitude towards people in general. I tend not to yell and get blistery knowing that I can remove them later on. I smile so much more often now. . . thanks Photoshop
But yes, the lighting was so harsh that I didn't feel like taking any pictures to begin with. Upon seeing this scene, I decided to have a go and was hoping to reduce or overcome the effects of the lighting by doing a few things as well as pp later on. Sorry to know this has not succeeded in your view.
btw, good to see you pop in once in a while. I like the various series you have going on in your website
Regards

LOL to you Gary!
I guess if using Photoshop helps reduce your stress levels, then I guess that's a good thing!
No Need to be sorry Gary, you were out photographing which is always a good thing!
Thanks for taking a look at my site, as you know I value your opinions on such matters.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Brian

[Yoyo Szeto]

Hi Gary,
I especially like the comparison between the canoes and the clouds. They have the same pattern but in opposite directions. The colour is a bit muted; I imagine a B&W version would deliver a diifferent mood.
All the best.
yoyo

[Overbeyond]

Dear Gary
The colours of the boats are just what was needed and I also like the 'kayak' shapes of the clouds and the angle of the clouds. Whatever cloning out you have done has been done very well. The time of day does no damage here at all.

[jkriminger]

I've come back to this for the third time and it's grown on me..the sky and the greenery and the kayaks are very nice and subtle. If anything...I think i would like to see some of the shoreline twigs brought out ..slight brown or some shadow adjustment would be great ..I think

[gahspidy]

Yoyo. . .Nice to see you here again. I had not noticed in particular the formations of the clouds resembling the line up of the Kayaks. Very keen observations. Muted colors is something that I do in PP to most of my pictures. . .I tend to like the sureal effect it gives most of the time. Thanks for your comments

Tom. . .I'm glad to hear that you feel the time of day does not hurt the picture. the pier that extends out into the lake surrounded by trees and foliage is actually a large concrete slab of a pier that vehicles can drive out on. there were a couple of trucks and people standing on it, and so cloning the small figures out was not all that tough.
thanks tom.

jkriminger . . .Glad to know your thoughts on this. . . I think thats a good idea about bringing out the shore twigs. I will experiment with that and see if i can get it to have more depth and definition rather than appearing flat.
thanks