More snow & old tractors

[mjs1973]

I went for another drive today, just me and my camera bag. It's been a pretty foggy, drizzely day here, but I managed to capture a few images that I like. So here they are for you to judge for yourself. Please let me know what you think. Any and all comments are greatly appriciated.

[readingr]

I really like 1 and 2 the bottom one does not really grab me - to bland and feature less and the fence yuk!

The other two really have a feeling of I don't want to be here and I wish someone would love me. I think the faded reds really add to the feeling and the composition and framing excellent

[metoliusdmm]

I love the top two, the composition is great in them, and the dull colors with the brighter red and just how crisp everyhting is makes this a sweet shot, i like it a lot.

Devin

[Aaron]

I love the little bird sitting on the radiator cap on #2, almost looks like an orniment there. The last one reminds me of a sculpture by James Fraser called the "End of the Trail" for some reason. The starkness of the wintery setting is used quite nicely here.

[mjs1973]

Thanks for the comments everyone! I'm not a huge fan of #3 because of the fence. I like the mood that the image creates for me. An old, abandoned tractor stairing out over the fields it once took care of... but I would have liked to had the tractor on the other side of the fence. I thought about cloning it out, but didn't want to take the time...

Thanks again!!

[Eagle_Eye]

I like all 3 photos Michael, but then I really like old tractors. 1 and 2 are my favorites and I agree with Aaron on the 3rd. I restored a 1942 John Deere LA tractor about 3 years ago so you can see why I wouldn’t miss a chance to check out your photos. Oh well, back your photos. Capturing the old tractor with the snow was a super ideal. The snow adds to the lonely feeling of the old tractor left out in the field.

Post some more tractor pics.

Dudley

[Seb]

I went for another drive today, just me and my camera bag. It's been a pretty foggy, drizzely day here, but I managed to capture a few images that I like. So here they are for you to judge for yourself. Please let me know what you think. Any and all comments are greatly appriciated.

Hello,

These are interesting shots. I like the first and the third one best. I like how you captured the tractor at angle in the first and I just love your composition for the third picture. Having shot the tractor all alone at some distance in a field give a feeling of sadness and abandon. I think that it demonstrate the useless nature of the old engine which served its owner well for several years and that nobody want to use anymore.

Somehow, I really don't like the angle used in the second shot (I am not too sure how to explain it) but I do like how the bird on the grid almost looks like an orniment.

One general comment, the snow is overexposed in every shot. It is tricky to get it right. I think that it would be safe to bracket in these situation in order to be able to choose from few different frames. I think that you could have afforded to underexpose every shot here without darkening the tractor too much.

Seb

[gahspidy]

Good shots and great subject. lol, I'm still smiling over Rogers description of what the tractor looks to be feeling. Needing to be loved . . . I believe he put it..
What a cool looking piece of history. I love old machines like that. The snowy setting is ideal to bring the mood and colors textures to play in this tractor. I like the second shot best as I feel the tractor is best exposed and interests me most and the bird on the radiator is a plus. The third shot I like the composition you were going for but as you said, the fence was in the way and somehow messing up the intent. I'll have to dissagree with Seb on one thing about the snow. Snow scenes tend to underexpose as does anything with lots of bright white areas like bright sky or sand on a beach during day. My initial feeling on these shots were that if anything, I would have wanted to see a half stop more exposure, as some areas of the tractor are lost in shadow. The snow should be white. I think this is acceptable exposure but do not feel like it is overexposed at all.
btw, di you get to see the loose 150lb Kangaroo that was menacing Wisconsin? I believe they caught it already. . .said to have packed a mean kick

[mjs1973]

Thanks for taking the time to look and comment everyone, I really appriciated it!

Gary, that Kangaroo has been the talk of the town all week. It was caught in the neighboring town, only about 5-10 miles from my house. They have it quaranteeded at the zoo in Madison for 30 days, then who knows... nobody has claimed it and nobody seems to know where it came from...

Thanks again everyone for the feedback!!!

[Seb]

I'll have to dissagree with Seb on one thing about the snow. Snow scenes tend to underexpose as does anything with lots of bright white areas like bright sky or sand on a beach during day. My initial feeling on these shots were that if anything, I would have wanted to see a half stop more exposure, as some areas of the tractor are lost in shadow. The snow should be white. I think this is acceptable exposure but do not feel like it is overexposed at all.

Actually, I think that these shots are extremely difficult to expose. I admit that some details on the tractor are lost in shadow. On the other hand, some parts just seems too bright. Perhaps my eyes get fooled by the worn out, fade paint on the tractor. The snow should definately be white and any built in camera meter will tend to indicate values that would lead to underexpose snow. The thing that distract me here is that the snow has no details in it. I guess that I would like to see something betwen the exposure that the camera would most likely give and the overexposure that MJS used here.

just some thoughts

Seb

[readingr]

Seb,

As a skier under these conditions you can't sometimes see a mogul let alone anything details in the snow. I once did a mogul field in this sort of weather and only saw the ones where people had fallen. Felt my waydown the hill.

Under these conditions I believe that you wouldn't get much more detail. Also the snow normally reflects the colour in the sky and can sometimes seem blue and other times yellow.

[Seb]

Seb,

As a skier under these conditions you can't sometimes see a mogul let alone anything details in the snow. I once did a mogul field in this sort of weather and only saw the ones where people had fallen. Felt my waydown the hill.

Under these conditions I believe that you wouldn't get much more detail. Also the snow normally reflects the colour in the sky and can sometimes seem blue and other times yellow.

Indeed, which is why most of us wear tinted googles (mostly orange) which exagerate contrasts (I am a skier too). Ultimately, I guess that I was more concerned by a final result which would suit my personal tastes than something realistic.

Thanks for puting things into perspective. You make valid points.

Seb

[Overbeyond]

I went for another drive today, just me and my camera bag. It's been a pretty foggy, drizzely day here, but I managed to capture a few images that I like. So here they are for you to judge for yourself. Please let me know what you think. Any and all comments are greatly appriciated.

Hello Michael
I like these so much + your other snow shots. I have no problems with the exposure of the snow but what I love are the colours against it. Your camera recorded the contrasts very well.
I would have to dig deep to find any faults here. I have no problem with the fence in the third one but how better it would have been had the tractor been abandoned between two of the posts instead of in front of one, and then that large tuft of grass would not have been in the way. I love the second but I like the composition in the third best.
Tom

[mjs1973]

Thanks for the taking the time to post some feedback Tom! I love hearing what others think, good or bad, it encourages me to keep trying, and learning.

[Chunk]

One of my earliest memories is of an old 10-20 on our farm. By the time I started driving tractor the 10-20 was gone. Thanks for the memories. Google 'McCormick 10-20' for more pics (much less artistic than yours) of this old workhorse and a couple stories about them.

[readingr]

Yes I know but my gogles were in the chalet!

Just thought can you add the effect of an Orange filter using PS?

[CarbonTerry]

The happy coincidence of the bird in #2 sets it far above the other pix. I would have deleted the telephone pole where it juts out of the steering wheel and gotten rid of the phone lines also. An easy clone/patch job.
A local contrast adjustment on the tractor using channels will work to snap the colors just a bit while leaving the snow alone.
If you are talking about using PS to warm a color pic, add a layer above the image, fill with orange, set blend mode to soft light, overlay, or try others that may work for you and then adjust the opacity of the layer to suit you.
For B/W use your channel mixer to adjust contrast.

Coverting an image to black and white usually means reducing the saturation or just using the red, green or blue channels. By using a channel mixer, you can specify how many of each channel you want in the black and white image.
1
Open the image for editing.
2
Create a new "Channel Mixer" adjustment layer (Layer> New Adjustment Layer> Channel Mixer). In the "Channel Mixer" dialog, checkmark "Monochrome" and adjust the channels. Increase or decrease the "Constant" to adjust the brightness of the image.

[readingr]

Thanks for the tips I will find a photo and play.

[mjs1973]

The happy coincidence of the bird in #2 sets it far above the other pix. I would have deleted the telephone pole where it juts out of the steering wheel and gotten rid of the phone lines also. An easy clone/patch job.
A local contrast adjustment on the tractor using channels will work to snap the colors just a bit while leaving the snow alone.
If you are talking about using PS to warm a color pic, add a layer above the image, fill with orange, set blend mode to soft light, overlay, or try others that may work for you and then adjust the opacity of the layer to suit you.
For B/W use your channel mixer to adjust contrast.

Coverting an image to black and white usually means reducing the saturation or just using the red, green or blue channels. By using a channel mixer, you can specify how many of each channel you want in the black and white image.
1
Open the image for editing.
2
Create a new "Channel Mixer" adjustment layer (Layer> New Adjustment Layer> Channel Mixer). In the "Channel Mixer" dialog, checkmark "Monochrome" and adjust the channels. Increase or decrease the "Constant" to adjust the brightness of the image.

Thanks for the comments and the filter tip! I did clone out the pole and the power lines last night for the version I'm going to have printed.