As most of you probably know, I spent last week in Austin (TX), and I had a great time. I managed to go out shooting a couple of times (despite the Arctic weather) and both my workshops went really well: I had a great bunch of students for both of them, and Dave Wilson did a great job of organising them. All being well we'll organise another workshop out there in the future.
Anyway, I'm now back in the UK for a week to run some one-to-one training and will be posting shots from my Austin trip while I'm here. I thought I'd start with this one though as no trip to Texas can possibly be complete without a shot of the state flag: taken in Johnson City.
If you take a look at the original you'll notice that the trees were quite a bit more defined in the original. In the final version I blurred them using Bokeh as I felt that they were just a bit too obvious. If the sky had been good – deep blue, fluffy clouds, and so on – this probably wouldn't have been necessary, but the shot just looked too stark and cluttered with a flat grey sky.
As always, let me know what you think.
captured camera lens focal length aperture shutter speed shooting mode exposure bias metering mode ISO flash image quality RAW converter image editor plugins (etc) cropped?
comment byCarlos Garcia at 12:29 PM (GMT) on 9 February, 2011
Despite the crazy weather, sounds like you had a wonderful time. Nice capture here. It took me a while to decide whether or not I like the "Bokeh" tree or the original, but the "Bokeh" tree won :)
comment byIan Mylam at 12:41 PM (GMT) on 9 February, 2011
Dave, I use OnOne's FocalPoint 2 plug-in whenever I want to to add bokeh in post. Have you tried it, and if so, what are the reasons you prefer Alien Skin's Bokeh plug-in?
comment bydjn1 at 12:49 PM (GMT) on 9 February, 2011
Thanks Carlos.
Ian: I have't tried FocalPoint, but it looks like it has similar features. If you're interested I found a review that compares the two:
comment by DedicatedRR at 03:01 PM (GMT) on 9 February, 2011
I like how you handled the tree, it kinda fills out the image without being, like you said, too obvious.
comment byDan Kaufman at 04:36 PM (GMT) on 9 February, 2011
I agree that applying the Bokeh was an improvement.
comment byChris at 05:54 AM (GMT) on 10 February, 2011
I agree as well. The tree would have been a bit distracting and the grey sky doesn't work all that well. The image is a lot cleaner with Bokeh and there is a sense of depth.
comment by Douglas at 06:27 AM (GMT) on 10 February, 2011
Beautiful! You handled the tree perfectly.
comment bydjn1 at 04:03 PM (GMT) on 11 February, 2011
As most of you probably know, I spent last week in Austin (TX), and I had a great time. I managed to go out shooting a couple of times (despite the Arctic weather) and both my workshops went really well: I had a great bunch of students for both of them, and Dave Wilson did a great job of organising them. All being well we'll organise another workshop out there in the future.
Anyway, I'm now back in the UK for a week to run some one-to-one training and will be posting shots from my Austin trip while I'm here. I thought I'd start with this one though as no trip to Texas can possibly be complete without a shot of the state flag: taken in Johnson City.
If you take a look at the original you'll notice that the trees were quite a bit more defined in the original. In the final version I blurred them using Bokeh as I felt that they were just a bit too obvious. If the sky had been good – deep blue, fluffy clouds, and so on – this probably wouldn't have been necessary, but the shot just looked too stark and cluttered with a flat grey sky.
As always, let me know what you think.
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
image editor
plugins (etc)
cropped?
Canon 5D Mark II
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
120mm
f/5.6
1/320
aperture priority
+1
evaluative
100
no
RAW
Camera Raw
Photoshop CS5
Bokeh
minor
Despite the crazy weather, sounds like you had a wonderful time. Nice capture here. It took me a while to decide whether or not I like the "Bokeh" tree or the original, but the "Bokeh" tree won :)
Dave, I use OnOne's FocalPoint 2 plug-in whenever I want to to add bokeh in post. Have you tried it, and if so, what are the reasons you prefer Alien Skin's Bokeh plug-in?
Thanks Carlos.
Ian: I have't tried FocalPoint, but it looks like it has similar features. If you're interested I found a review that compares the two:
http://www.ronmartblog.com/2009/02/review-onone-focal-point-vs-alien-skin.html
I like how you handled the tree, it kinda fills out the image without being, like you said, too obvious.
I agree that applying the Bokeh was an improvement.
I agree as well. The tree would have been a bit distracting and the grey sky doesn't work all that well. The image is a lot cleaner with Bokeh and there is a sense of depth.
Beautiful! You handled the tree perfectly.
Thanks everyone.