9 replies to this topic

[Merco_61]

Welcome to this weeks editing challenge!

First a message from this week's file submitter, whitelotus9:

The photo was taken on July 13, 2014 at the Lakeside Park at Lake Tohopekaliga in Kissimmee, Florida.   We locals refer to the lake as “Lake Toho”.
The photo was taken with my Nikon D7000 using a 18-70mm lens that I had bought for it based upon that lens reputation for delivering sharp images.


Dropbox file:

Dropbox - DSC_0018.NEF - Simplify your life
 

 
And then the rules:

The challenge is weekly, a new thread with a new raw (preferably) or jpg fine file for each week.

Cutoff time for submissions is midnight between sunday and monday pst (UTC-8).

This is a round-robin challenge, the order of submitting the week’s raw file is based on an alphabetical list of applicants’ user names. If the next submitter on the list is unable to post at his/her turn he/she may ask the thread master to be moved down the list no later than friday morning. Late applications will be added at the bottom of the list.
We will revise this when every applicant has had a go, and perhaps change this model.

The submitter for the week must make the file along with any specific text for the post available to the thread master during the weekend preceding the challenge week. The thread master will then copy the file to a Dropbox location for the challenge and make the starting post for the week.

Images provided, as well as the images resulting from the challenge remain the sole property of the photographer who took them. Those participating in the editing challenge may not use or display the photo outside the challenge thread.

The owner of the photo declares a winner after the challenge is over.

As this challenge is a tool for learning and inspiration, multiple entries are not only ok, but encouraged if a participant gets a new idea for how to present or interpret the photo, including artistic interpretations.

Participants must share how they have achieved their take on the photo.

Participants are explicitly not limited as to what software is used for the challenge.

 

[Merco_61]

Here is my take:

 

Tonemapped in Photomatix.

Cropped in LR

Skylight filter effect applied in CEP.

 

[Jerry_]

Here are my takes on this week's shot

Starting from the initial capture



I have first tweaked the capture by diminishing the highlights and slightly increased on definition and contrast, resulting in



As an alternate processing I used a pencil to specifically lighten a bit the branches and gave it a slight crop

[nbanjogal]

Ack! What's happening to our editing challenge? Is it dying? Where is everyone?

 

Well, this image didn't require much in Lightroom--just a wee bit of clarity, contrast, and sharpening. Brought it into Photoshop and played with Nik and Topaz filters.

 

This image is so serene and lovely…I hope I didn't commit sacrilege by making it moody and dramatic. Used Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 filter no. 24 (one of my favorites for drama, especially in clouds).

 

 

And last week I bought the Topaz Labs Impression plugin and couldn't resist playing around with it--applied the impasto filter and fiddled with smaller brush sizes and volumes. Such a fun toy, this Impression plugin.

 

[Merco_61]

A little more than two hours to go on the challenge, and I will as usual be away from a computer when it ends. Congratulations to all who took part, and a big thank you to whitelotus9 who let us play with his raw file this week.

 

Nicole, I think that this week's photo was a bit too good sooc, so most of the regulars didn't find anything to mess with. All of us three found it necessary to change the mood in the photo, which says something about how well executed the raw file is.

[whitelotus9]

I'm going to do this via two separate windows open on both monitors so I can look at each contestant's entries while commenting...

 

Peter, I love the very vivid colors that you attained.  It really made the clouds "pop"!  The green water plants also became much more pronounced.

 

Jerry, You also brought out more blue in the sky and more green of the water plants though not as much at Peter's entry.  In your alternate entry, I do not see much difference in the overhead branches.  I do like the crop on this version in that it brings the horizon below the middle of the photo like Peter's entry.

 

Nicole, While I'm not a heavy fan of B&W (having shot nothing but B&W (Tri-X) during my learning years), I do like your first entry.  A significant amount of the overhanging branches were decreased to make them less pronounced.  The clouds took on darker bases almost as though a storm or shower might be just starting to brew.  One thing I noticed is that the clouds that did darken were mostly over the portion of the lake that was slightly rippled and thus reflected on the lake.   Your second entry I believe was a "let's play with this new plugin to see how it works" using the lake photo as a test.  There appears to be some artifacts (white spots) both in the sky and in the lake which do not match up.  The three spots on the left side in the lake seem out of place. 

 

I have to say, the three of you did some VERY good editing!!  I did notice that none of the entries attempted to remove the two channel marking pilings near the right on the image.  I was wondering if they would even be noticed.  While Peter and Jerry's entries both deepened the sky's blueness, the cloud bases were not correspondingly darkened.  Nicole's B&W rendition did darken the cloud bases with the darker appearing sky.  Less light from above penetrating thru the clouds and less light reflecting off the water would make the cloud bases darker.  Therefore, I declare Nicole's B&W image the winner of this week's challenge.

 

As for what I did with the image, I'm one for minimalist PP, preferring to display a photo of a given scene as captured for my own use.  This image is my wallpaper image on my home and work desktop systems and my laptop for the reasons Nicole mentioned...it is very serene and lovely.  When work or life gets stressful, I just have to look at my wallpaper and visit the lake... 

 

I would be very interested in hearing everyone's comments about the original image?   This was the first photo that I took with my Nikon 18-70mm lens on my Nikon D7000. 

[Merco_61]

I liked your original very much, but with one reservation. I don't usually like centered horizons as I feel they give too much foreground. If the lake had been absolutely still, like a mirror, the composition would have worked for me but not with the little ripples. Otherwise I agree that it is a very calm and serene photo.

[nbanjogal]

As Peter said, this image was so good straight out of camera that it didn't require much editing--it was very well exposed with sharp focus. All that was left to do was play.  I was tempted to crop so that the horizon wasn't dead center, but I thought that this was one of those cases where I prefer to break the rule so that the clouds and reflection carry even weight (I see Peter and I are disagreeing on that-- --but I do agree that the perfectly calm mirror effect would have made it a stronger composition for a centered horizon). I did notice the pilings, but I don't usually alter an original scene too much unless there is a huge distraction--and I didn't find them hugely distracting. I suppose if I took them away, I might find the scene even more serene. If I found anything distracting it was the branches…they were perhaps a little heavy for my taste, though I see the value in having something to frame.

 

I think the white artifacts you are seeing in the plugin play are intended to be little white spots left on the canvas as an artist might leave a bit of the canvas unpainted. At least that's my guess based on what it looks like when I zoom in. I don't think they are meant to be actual bits of the image that would need to be reflected (or not). Still learning how to use this plugin--it has some fun pencil and pointillism options too...

 

I think it is a beautiful image, and I can see why you'd have it as your "happy place" wallpaper--when I first looked at it, my first thought was that the feel reminded me of that "Bliss" image that all Windows users have. (At least I think they do…it's been years since I've used a PC though, so I could be wrong.)

[Jerry_]

The initial picture doesn't need much post processing - if any - which made it a "difficult" capture for the contest

As already mentioned by Peter and Nicole, it is a very serene scene. Also as mentioned by Nicole the only bit of distracting (to me) are the bulk of branches on the top. Therefore I tried to get more structure in there, even so didn't succeed as much as I wanted (I had aimed at some structure like in Nicole's B&W).

Cloning out: I hadn't considered to remove the poles, however had thinking about the leaf floating on the water - then, with the cropping done it went off as a side effect.

Nice capture, whitelotus.

[whitelotus9]

Next month I will be traveling to a different state and will have my camera gear with me.  I hope to capture some future challenge material during that trip.  I will leave the destination a secret for now...