I've had a great week in the UK. I met up with my good friend Craig (who I haven't seen since we moved to Bulgaria in May 2009) and we took a couple of strolls along Fleetwood beach and co-shot a wedding in Kendal at the weekend. I also had a great 1-2-1 training session today with a photog who wanted to improve his post-production skills. We spent most of the day working on the Curves tool, but also covered black and white techniques and RAW conversion using Camera Raw. It's always a pleasure to teach someone who's passionate about improving their skills, and really rewarding to be able to help them.
As for this shot: there's not much I can tell you about it other than to explain that it's a shot of the waves breaking against a groyne on Fleetwood beach. As always, let me know what you think.
If you're interested in seeing the exact changes that I made to this image it's our latest Mini-PSD. Further info here:
comment byDan Kaufman at 06:27 PM (GMT) on 14 September, 2010
You're an artiste !!! Exquisitely and beautifully done !!
comment by Oli at 06:48 PM (GMT) on 14 September, 2010
Love it. As always, an inspiration to keep playing with curves layers to turn a reasonable photo into something that shouts out.
comment byStephen Brewell at 06:52 PM (GMT) on 14 September, 2010
Wow. What vision and skill. Impressed - as ever.
Also, I'm just tucking into "Extreme Exposure" - another masterpiece Dave.
comment bylightseeker at 07:09 PM (GMT) on 14 September, 2010
I like the way you 've managed to get almost side-on to the wave. Just the right shutter speed too.
comment byCarlos Garcia at 07:48 PM (GMT) on 14 September, 2010
You belong by the shore :) Exquisite artistry. The image has so much energy and just love the painting and processing. Bravo!
comment by Will at 08:28 PM (GMT) on 14 September, 2010
Stunning transformation. Only nitpick is that the water at the bottom-left and middle looks quite dirty after the transition; as though it was shot in the Gulf after the spill.
comment by Barb Bain at 08:37 PM (GMT) on 14 September, 2010
beautiful - love it!
comment by DedicatedRR at 09:09 PM (GMT) on 14 September, 2010
Very very cool. I really like how you chose to edit this one
comment bymilou at 09:09 PM (GMT) on 14 September, 2010
Handsome abstract. The colours are fab.
comment by@id7 at 09:32 PM (GMT) on 14 September, 2010
Now I know what you were doing with my lens...... Love the image. I'll be posting a few form that walk over the next few evenings... I thoroughly enjoyed my trip North. I hope there will be many more opportunities in the future.... Cheers Dave.
comment byJames Howe at 12:31 AM (GMT) on 15 September, 2010
I love the transformation from the original to the finished image. I really like the color and the sharpness of the water in the foreground.
comment byMat at 12:35 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2010
Great colour and life - I really like this shot.
comment byChris Yakimov at 02:54 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2010
I really love the contrast in the wave - brings out some truly organic shapes. In general, I love how you're using skew - I never thought to use it for photographs, believing that you'd inadvertently distort your image in obvious ways. So thank-you: It's exciting to see such successful and thoughtful applications of it - one more tool in the box! :)
comment bydjib at 06:32 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2010
Really awesome! You're made the colours really shine out and froze a perfect moment :D
comment bydjn1 at 02:17 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2010
Thanks everyone.
Craig: you're welcome to visit any time.
Chris: I use the skew tool quite often - it's a useful way to alter a composition, and if you don't overdo it it's rarely noticeable
comment byDan Kaufman at 03:26 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2010
Two of the things about this shot that I really love are the color punch and the almost glass-like clarity given to the splashing wave.
comment by Kevin at 01:26 AM (GMT) on 17 September, 2010
Interesting change in perspective David - it makes the wave look hungrier.
Also - I have an image of you in my head spending hours cloning out rare single droplets here and there simply because you're such an artist.
:) Well done.
comment byRoy at 09:27 PM (GMT) on 18 September, 2010
No one has mentioned Hokusai - the first name that came to mind when I saw the thumbail.
comment bydjn1 at 04:37 AM (GMT) on 20 September, 2010
Roy: I hadn't thought of the association either, but I take your point. I think I've got some way to go though before I can produce anything quite as good as the The Great Wave off Kanagawa :)
comment bymooch at 01:00 AM (GMT) on 21 September, 2010
I like the colours and milky texture to the water.
comment bycaleidos at 10:45 AM (GMT) on 21 September, 2010
Impressive sharpening ! :D
comment byYngve Thoresen at 08:16 AM (GMT) on 11 August, 2011
Really nice. Excellent post work. I especially like how you got out the colours.
I've had a great week in the UK. I met up with my good friend Craig (who I haven't seen since we moved to Bulgaria in May 2009) and we took a couple of strolls along Fleetwood beach and co-shot a wedding in Kendal at the weekend. I also had a great 1-2-1 training session today with a photog who wanted to improve his post-production skills. We spent most of the day working on the Curves tool, but also covered black and white techniques and RAW conversion using Camera Raw. It's always a pleasure to teach someone who's passionate about improving their skills, and really rewarding to be able to help them.
As for this shot: there's not much I can tell you about it other than to explain that it's a shot of the waves breaking against a groyne on Fleetwood beach. As always, let me know what you think.
If you're interested in seeing the exact changes that I made to this image it's our latest Mini-PSD. Further info here:
http://www.chromasia.com/tutorials/online/mini_psds.php
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
plugins (etc)
cropped?
Canon 5D Mark II
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
200mm
f/5.6
1/1600
aperture priority
+1/3
evaluative
200
no
RAW
ACR
Topaz Detail
relatively minor
You're an artiste !!! Exquisitely and beautifully done !!
Love it. As always, an inspiration to keep playing with curves layers to turn a reasonable photo into something that shouts out.
Wow. What vision and skill. Impressed - as ever.
Also, I'm just tucking into "Extreme Exposure" - another masterpiece Dave.
I like the way you 've managed to get almost side-on to the wave. Just the right shutter speed too.
You belong by the shore :) Exquisite artistry. The image has so much energy and just love the painting and processing. Bravo!
Stunning transformation. Only nitpick is that the water at the bottom-left and middle looks quite dirty after the transition; as though it was shot in the Gulf after the spill.
beautiful - love it!
Very very cool. I really like how you chose to edit this one
Handsome abstract. The colours are fab.
Now I know what you were doing with my lens...... Love the image. I'll be posting a few form that walk over the next few evenings... I thoroughly enjoyed my trip North. I hope there will be many more opportunities in the future.... Cheers Dave.
I love the transformation from the original to the finished image. I really like the color and the sharpness of the water in the foreground.
Great colour and life - I really like this shot.
I really love the contrast in the wave - brings out some truly organic shapes. In general, I love how you're using skew - I never thought to use it for photographs, believing that you'd inadvertently distort your image in obvious ways. So thank-you: It's exciting to see such successful and thoughtful applications of it - one more tool in the box! :)
Really awesome! You're made the colours really shine out and froze a perfect moment :D
Thanks everyone.
Craig: you're welcome to visit any time.
Chris: I use the skew tool quite often - it's a useful way to alter a composition, and if you don't overdo it it's rarely noticeable
Two of the things about this shot that I really love are the color punch and the almost glass-like clarity given to the splashing wave.
Interesting change in perspective David - it makes the wave look hungrier.
Also - I have an image of you in my head spending hours cloning out rare single droplets here and there simply because you're such an artist.
:) Well done.
No one has mentioned Hokusai - the first name that came to mind when I saw the thumbail.
Roy: I hadn't thought of the association either, but I take your point. I think I've got some way to go though before I can produce anything quite as good as the The Great Wave off Kanagawa :)
I like the colours and milky texture to the water.
Impressive sharpening ! :D
Really nice. Excellent post work. I especially like how you got out the colours.