Picnic view

[HowLowCanYaGo]

Pizza in a park, and I noticed this little tree...Comments, suggestions?

photo info

[Tyson L. Sparks]

The out of focus doesn't do it for me, I don't know.......................... I am at a loss here. I know that doesn't help much, sorry.

[CLKunst]

Hi HLCYG~

I like your image here although I agree with Tyson that the focus seems quite soft. Did you try an Orton Technique on this? I think it is a pretty scene and well framed. I like being able to see the reflections on the water in the far distance. From your attached EXIF info I'm going to have to say that part of the softness problem has come from a shallow DOF and part from it being hand held at a slower shutter speed. The lighting is beautiful. I think a re-visit to this spot at the same time of day to try and recapture the light would be great. Maybe bring along a tripod or try to brace the camera on a steady spot first to minimize shake.

[Seb]

I like the composition and the lighting at that time of the day but the softness definitely hurts the scene as Tyson and CLKunst pointed out.

Also, I see why that scene grabbed your attention but I can't help thinking that this should be a setup for something else. I think that it would work best with something more in the very background (such someone walking his dog or a bunch of kids running).

Seb

[HowLowCanYaGo]

The image was composed of duplicate layers all blended. Some were multiplied, and some were color burned, which made the first picnic table come out so shaded/orange/dark. There was also a slight gaussian blur used on one of the layers, which gave it a somewhat soft effect (all done intentionally). There was quite a bit of post-processing on this image, in fact, the tree in the center was just as green as the rest.

Thanks for looking

[Don Schaeffer]

I love to play with techniques very similar to yours. I think the image looks sculpted, almost 3 dimensional. I can almost feel the weight of those tables. Keep it up.