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Thread: Ruins in B&W

  1. #1
    Senior Member armando_m's Avatar
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    Ruins in B&W



    Left over of an old aqueduct

    Drove early in the morning hoping to take a picture of the morning sun coming through the arches, but the weather thought otherwise, it was foggy 20kms away from home and stay like that for another 40kms until I got to the location .

    What do you think ?

    I think the crop is a bit odd

    I wish it further in the water, so the reflection would be complete, but the plants start right at the bottom of the current crop

    Thanks for looking

  2. #2
    Senior Member arne saknussen's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    I think this is a brilliant shot. The birds couldn't be more perfectly positioned. The little islands of reeds, also well placed. Very moody in a good way. Maybe the out of focus flora in the lower right could be cloned out.
    But one of the best photos I've seen on this site.

  3. #3
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    The photo has a lot going for it, I really like the overall feel of the scene. Off the top of my head:

    I agree with your own assessment on the positioning/reflection. I also sense a slight clockwise tilt. Minor issues are the oof reeds and the interrupted patch of reeds on the left. I can't quite decide on the extra bird in the top left.

  4. #4
    Re Member LeeIs's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    Top notch this one! Amazing. I love the quality of this. Great capture. Its' so surreal. The black and white treatment is also great. The birds push this one out of this planet. Really amazing job on this one. You should submit it to those national geographic photography contests.. Great job!
    Liban

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  5. #5
    Senior Member jetrim's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    Beautiful shot with a fantasic conversion. The only thing I don't care for is the out of focus weeds on the lower right.

  6. #6
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    I love the photo. Very good. My suggestion - clone out a few of the out of focus reeds in the lower right, the head of the bird and straighten the bottom of the shot - left side has some land showing, the right side does not. I would remove the bird in the upper left - not sure it adds anything - unless it's one of those "hay, wait up for me"? :-)

  7. #7
    Senior Member armando_m's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    Wow! thanks for all the comments
    I'll work on the cloning at the bottom

  8. #8
    GB1
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    Tons of potential Armando, though a little busy as is. I took the liberty of making a few quick edits (crops, mostly..). What do you think of the adjustments?

    Looks like old Roman ruins btw. Where is it?

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  9. #9
    Senior Member armando_m's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    GB, I think the crop on the left works well

    I'll clone the out of focus weeds tonight

    This is at a town called "Teuchitlan " at " De la vega" dam, 60 kms east of Guadalajara, México.
    The view is from the side of the road, there really isn't much room to stand and take your time, it is a really crappy little 2 lane road with plenty of potholes right at the end of a hill so cars coming down are going fast, there are a couple of restaurants to each side of the ruins, here is a view from the side...

  10. #10
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    I really like the basic image. The big blown white spot is a bit of a deraction.

  11. #11
    Senior Member armando_m's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    thanks daq, by big white spot do you mean the sky ?

    here is a second version

  12. #12
    Senior Member PhilF's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    sweet... I like the edited version when you got rid of that distracting grass in the foreground

  13. #13
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    love your edit. works well. now i know the secret of getting such a soft silky exposure! FOG! awesome. i really love this photo.
    Liban

    "There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have." Nelson Mandela

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  14. #14
    Senior Member armando_m's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    Thanks Phil and Liban

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    Senior Member arne saknussen's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    You made a great shot even better.

  16. #16
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    The original crop is hands-down the best.

    People here are way too quick to clone things out. IMO, the stuff at the bottom of the frame is enough to add interest and natural framing to the photo without taking anything away from the main subject.

    Great shot.
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  17. #17
    Senior Member armando_m's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    Thanks Arne and DrRoebuck

  18. #18
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    Armando,

    I've been meaning to comment, but haven't had enough time.

    This is a really striking shot - especially the edited version. Great textures and tonality in the B&W and the slow shutter nicely accentuates the movement of the birds. Muy bien hecho amigo!

    PC

  19. #19
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    Great! I like your last edit here best. My only suggestion would be to crop out the top sky into a 4x8 ratio as opposed to the 4x5 it is now.
    Excellent shot with great mood and the b&w works perfectly in this one.
    Last edited by gahspidy; 10-24-2010 at 04:35 PM. Reason: Sticking as Featured Photo. October 24, 2010
    please do not edit and repost my photos


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  20. #20
    Senior Member hminx's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    Congrats on sticky, +1 on what Gary suggested but make sure you keep that bird in the top left hand corner even if you have to clone it down. Very nice shot.... :thumbsup:
    Pete

    Isn't it a cool thing in nature that the colours never seem to clash...

    I have no issues with you editing my photos

  21. #21
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    Fantastic shot- love the choice of black and white! Although like you, I wish the reflection was complete. Given the fact that you were working with what was there the composition is great. I do think the blurry reeds need to be cloned out, and possibly a faster shutter speed to get better stop action of the birds in flight- overall really well done.

  22. #22
    Re Member LeeIs's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    Congrats on the stickification! Well deserved.
    Liban

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  23. #23
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    The last one is stunning maybe brush up on your cloning skills it could use a few ripples were you cloned the weeds. If you lose some off the top please leave the bird in the upper left even if you have to move it. Great work like this is inspiring.
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  24. #24
    Senior Member armando_m's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    Thanks Mike, Gary, Pete, Liban , Greg

    yeah, I need to improve my cloning of things, may need to use something else than capture nx2 , it's cloning can be brilliant, other times is not the best, the worst is that it decides by itself what to clone, so ... I ended up painting some of the area eliminating the ripples all together, I think picasa can do better

    I do not think I'll crop it any further

  25. #25
    Senior Shooter Greg McCary's Avatar
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    Re: Ruins in B&W

    Quote Originally Posted by armando_m
    Thanks Mike, Gary, Pete, Liban , Greg

    yeah, I need to improve my cloning of things, may need to use something else than capture nx2 , it's cloning can be brilliant, other times is not the best, the worst is that it decides by itself what to clone, so ... I ended up painting some of the area eliminating the ripples all together, I think picasa can do better

    I do not think I'll crop it any further
    Even an older version of PS. I used PS7 for a couple of years. It has all the basic tools you could need. In some ways I miss it. I use CS4 now.
    I am like Barney Fife, I have a gun but Andy makes me keep the bullet in my pocket..

    Sony a99/a7R

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