Oregon Desert

[chuckmoser]

Hello all. It's been a few months since I've been here.
I was out playing in the desert this weekend, and took a few shots when I stumbled upon something other than sage brush. Obviously, I played with the contrasts in Photoshop a bit. Wanted to know what your thoughts were.

Thanks,
Chuck

[GB1]

Chuck - Mostly a success I think. You placed the subjects very well within the photos, they are relatively sharp (I bet resizing affected that a bit..) and the lighting was exciting. Overall I would give all of them pretty much an 8/10. They seem to be close to really good, but not quite there... Not sure why. One thing you might watch out for is splitting the vertical frame in half (I see that with all of the except the fourth). The vignette effect on the last one is an interesting touch. The fence has a lot of detail, but the angle you took it at is pedestrian - pretty much the angle we all see as we're standing. Might try to get lower or, if you can think of how, shoot from above, for a different perspective.

Welcome back to the boards.
GB

[Tyson L. Sparks]

I think they all look great, very nice.

[Mr Yuck]

I dig the color treatment on all of them. The foreground blurriness on #3 is awesome.

Very cool building in 1 and 2. Well done all.

[chuckmoser]

...One thing you might watch out for is splitting the vertical frame in half. The vignette effect on the last one is an interesting touch. The fence has a lot of detail, but the angle you took it at is pedestrian - pretty much the angle we all see as we're standing. Might try to get lower or, if you can think of how, shoot from above, for a different perspective....
GB

You're absolutely right. I couldn't figure out what was bothering me about the composition. I DID split these vertically dead center. I can't believe I didn't catch that. As for the fence (rock jack) photo, I was trying to catch all the detail of the dead brush and cow doo, and was having trouble finding a good angle. I have a couple of other shots, but the detail isn't there, probably due in no small part to the stock lens on my 20D. It's pretty soft.
Thanks for good crit. It's much appreciated!
-Chuck

[jbaldocchi]

Very dramatic images. I find the close up of the fence the least interesting but really like the others. The color tinting effect really works well with these images.

Jim B.

[pez31]

images 2, 3, and 5 are well done. Thanks for sharing.

Phil

[Xia_Ke]

All nice shots but, the last one, of the tree, is the winner hands down for me. Awesome, awesome capture

[KyRain]

I would like to see the first photo in natural colors, the second two don't work as well for me and I agree with Xia that the last one is just awesome, the dirt road that leads off into the mtns, the color, the lighting, the sky..it is very dramatic. It is like a vision from a dream or a movie.

[chuckmoser]

Points well taken. (I love this site)
The problem with this part of the country is that it's largely uninteresting, unless you show up around sunrise and have the lighting just right. So, Photoshop to the rescue. I consider this cheating a bit, even though I just played with the constrasts.
Here is the original of the old homestead (the colors are bumped a bit), but as you can see, it's pretty bland unless you really hammer it.
I was hoping to make it as dramatic as the "road pic", which, as you can see is pretty boring in the original. I'll have to go back and work on the composition a bit.

Thanks for the responses!

-Chuck

[Xia_Ke]

...The problem with this part of the country is that it's largely uninteresting, unless you show up around sunrise and have the lighting just right....

Au contraire mon frair I love shots from areas like that. That house would make a nice heavy contrast b&w shot.

[Xia_Ke]

Here's a gallery you might want to check out: http://www.pbase.com/delog/ghost_towns He takes shots in similar areas. Might give you some ideas.