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[Louloubelle]

I really liked this one - and I don't normally go for images that have had a lot of Photoshop work done to them. However, with this one, you've got it spot on. It conveys a strange, dreamlike atmosphere with just a hint of underlying unease to it. Just out of interest, where was it taken? For some strange reason, Holland Park springs to mind but I could be way off...

Cheers,
Dave

Taken at possibly the most beautiful location in London
The Hill Garden, Hampstead

http://www.ukattraction.com/london/the-hill-garden-and-pergola.htm

I almost don't want to say as, surprisingly, there are very few good photos of the place on line

Best time to visit is late spring as the pergola is covered in wisteria then

I went yesterday around dusk and the plants had clearly suffered from the drought, which is partly why I played around with the levels to give it some colour.

 

[portman]

Taken at possibly the most beautiful location in London
The Hill Garden, Hampstead

http://www.ukattraction.com/london/the-hill-garden-and-pergola.htm

I almost don't want to say as, surprisingly, there are very few good photos of the place on line

Best time to visit is late spring as the pergola is covered in wisteria then

I went yesterday around dusk and the plants had clearly suffered from the drought, which is partly why I played around with the levels to give it some colour.

Yup, I was way off - right side of the river and that was about it!

As for the time of day the shot was taken, at dusk, the shadows certainly gave the image some atmosphere...

 

[Louloubelle]

Yup, I was way off - right side of the river and that was about it!

As for the time of day the shot was taken, at dusk, the shadows certainly gave the image some atmosphere...

If I'm planning a shoot at a beautiful location I always try to do it on a sunny day during in either the first 2 -3 or last 2 -3 hours of the day as the light and shadows are the most beautiful then. Nothing like evertyhign being bathed in early / late light, sometimes it makes things look like they're animated with a fiery light that you just don't see at other times. And the shadows I love shadows I do.

 

[H.Dot]

I like those, especially the black and white ones.

They do look very 1960s don't they?
How did you manage that, is it some special 1960s filter or something?

thanks.

lol, no filters.

 

[Louloubelle]

OK

Here's another one

vine of dreams

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

OK

Here's another one

vine of dreams

I like it: I'm going to have to learn how to use Photoshop.

 

[Louloubelle]

I like it: I'm going to have to learn how to use Photoshop.

good plan
that and the ladder / railings perpective thing and you'll be sorted

you've got some amazing locations in Canada, I imagine you will create some stunning images once you get into it

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

good plan
that and the ladder / railings perpective thing and you'll be sorted

you've got some amazing locations in Canada, I imagine you will create some stunning images once you get into it

Yep, the country is one big photo opportunity.

The thing about what you've done, is not just a technical alteration, but one that imparts a particular feel to the photo. It's that moody, sureal edge that I like.

 

[Louloubelle]

Yep, the country is one big photo opportunity.

The thing about what you've done, is not just a technical alteration, but one that imparts a particular feel to the photo. It's that moody, sureal edge that I like.

Thanks

TBH it's partly being blessed with a great location. If you don't have some kind of decent location it's hard to work from there.

The moody, surreal feeling is I think a lot due to the perspective. If you are a child then you see things from further down, so I spend a lot of time crawling around on floor trying to get a decent 'mini cameraman' shot. They do that in ghost and horror films too, either have the camera low down or have something hanging overhead. It gives a slight feeling of unease and vulnerability that you don't get from say big skies. I think it also reminds you unconsciously of being little and also possibly even invokes an ancestral memory of what it might feel like to be at risk of being attacked by a predator from above.

This might all be bollix of course. LOL

I believe it though, and I've learned what it's like to leave home feeling clean and fresh and return covered in dirt. Taking photos is like making luuurve to a beautiful woman, you have to be prepared to get down and get dirteee! LOL
I've only recently got a decent camera and photoshop and I feel I've learned a lot recently in a short space of time. I still don't know how to use most of the functions on my camera and photoshop, so hopefully I'll get much better soon too.

 

[Louloubelle]

Just one more before I go to bed

I Believe I can Fly!

 

[H.Dot]

nothing at all exciting, but this is my first-ever photograph with my first-ever digital camera, taken yesterday...

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j58/the947/soundsystem-1.jpg

 

[portman]

If I'm planning a shoot at a beautiful location I always try to do it on a sunny day during in either the first 2 -3 or last 2 -3 hours of the day as the light and shadows are the most beautiful then. Nothing like evertyhign being bathed in early / late light, sometimes it makes things look like they're animated with a fiery light that you just don't see at other times. And the shadows I love shadows I do.

Couldn't manage the early morning - do enough of that during the week commuting to work! I do like the last few hours of daylight, particularly on a bright crisp, winters day. Especially in a coastal or estuary location. The photographs I've produced that I would count as my favourites have been shot in winter, late in the afternoon down at Leigh-on-Sea or the seawall at Stanford-le-Hope.

 

[Louloubelle]

Couldn't manage the early morning - do enough of that during the week commuting to work! I do like the last few hours of daylight, particularly on a bright crisp, winters day. Especially in a coastal or estuary location. The photographs I've produced that I would count as my favourites have been shot in winter, late in the afternoon down at Leigh-on-Sea or the seawall at Stanford-le-Hope.

I agree, during the colder months the sun seems to be lower in the sky for longer so you get better shadows and also you get the best sunsets in November IME

 

[Louloubelle]

just for info in case snyone else wants to visit (not happy with this due to the blue halo)
another shot of the Hill Garden, this is the view from the pergola

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/loulou777/HillGardenviewfrompergola.jpg
edited to ask

can anyone advise me how that blue halo happened and if there's anything I can do to lose it?

ta

 

[jeff_leigh]

can anyone advise me how that blue halo happened and if there's anything I can do to lose it?
ta

you mean that blue washy bit at the top? Thats usually caused by by either too much saturation or a applying a darken blending mode on a washed out sky

 

[portman]

just for info in case snyone else wants to visit (not happy with this due to the blue halo)
another shot of the Hill Garden, this is the view from the pergola

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/loulou777/HillGardenviewfrompergola.jpg
edited to ask

can anyone advise me how that blue halo happened and if there's anything I can do to lose it?

ta

Looks a bit like fringeing - can happen on some cameras when shooting towards a light source. When it occurs on an image I've shot, I generally go to the Hue & Saturation menu, go to whatever colour is featuring in the fringeing (blue in this case, but you can check by pulling the slider to saturate), and then pull the slider towards desaturate until it starts to disappear. Well, it doesn't actually disappear as such but changes to monochrome and is less noticeable. However, I'm not sure how successful it would be on this image as there is blue and cyan in the sky. Not a perfect method but one I found by trial and error - if anyone has a better method, do let us know...

Cheers,
Dave

 

[portman]

Here's a couple I shot yesterday on a day trip over to Belgium.

The first was taken while the ferry was still in Dover harbour - it's a close up of the jetty opposite. Mainly an exercise in abstraction with some emphasis on texture...

http://daveamis.freeservers.com/Channel27806_01.html

Minimal tweaking in PS - slightly upped the saturation and bumped up the contrast a tad.

The second was shot on the return journey when the weather had started to get a bit frisky!

http://daveamis.freeservers.com/Channel27806_06.html

Again, minimal tweaking in PS - straightening the horizon being the obvious change!

Any comments or constructive criticism are welcome...

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Thanks

TBH it's partly being blessed with a great location. If you don't have some kind of decent location it's hard to work from there.

The moody, surreal feeling is I think a lot due to the perspective. If you are a child then you see things from further down, so I spend a lot of time crawling around on floor trying to get a decent 'mini cameraman' shot. They do that in ghost and horror films too, either have the camera low down or have something hanging overhead. It gives a slight feeling of unease and vulnerability that you don't get from say big skies. I think it also reminds you unconsciously of being little and also possibly even invokes an ancestral memory of what it might feel like to be at risk of being attacked by a predator from above.

This might all be bollix of course. LOL

I believe it though, and I've learned what it's like to leave home feeling clean and fresh and return covered in dirt. Taking photos is like making luuurve to a beautiful woman, you have to be prepared to get down and get dirteee! LOL
I've only recently got a decent camera and photoshop and I feel I've learned a lot recently in a short space of time. I still don't know how to use most of the functions on my camera and photoshop, so hopefully I'll get much better soon too.

I think the surreal feeling comes from how you see things, not from tricks of the camera. It's your eye that can spot those kinds of shots.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g33/refreshment_66/92273dd5.jpg

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Just one more before I go to bed

I Believe I can Fly!

Gorgeous.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

just for info in case snyone else wants to visit (not happy with this due to the blue halo)
another shot of the Hill Garden, this is the view from the pergola

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/loulou777/HillGardenviewfrompergola.jpg
edited to ask

can anyone advise me how that blue halo happened and if there's anything I can do to lose it?

ta

Maxfield Parrish

 

[Firky]

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I like #1 best. I like the chocolate feel of #2. I like #4 least; it feels gimmicky to me.

 

[Firky]

'choclate' hehe i like, i also like number 1 - wasn't really taking photos because it was 4am pissed... the last one is gimmicky, trying to make ghosts with cesare

 

[portman]

The fourth one down from the ground level point of view works the best for me. Has just the right amount of edginess. However, would like to see how it works in monochrome...

 

[Bernie Gunther]

Well, I'm a bit nervous venturing in here, 'cos you're all rather good. Here we go though.

Three recent landscapes, two from today's set. Lots of PP, curves to bring up earth tones mostly. I was trying to get the look of some oil paintings I like.

Then one from a couple of weeks ago. No fiddling about that I can recall.

Anglers

Organic

River Dee saltmarsh and Welsh Coast from Parkgate

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Well, I'm a bit nervous venturing in here, 'cos you're all rather good. Here we go though.

Three recent landscapes, two from today's set. Lots of PP, curves to bring up earth tones mostly. I was trying to get the look of some oil paintings I like.

Then one from a couple of weeks ago. No fiddling about that I can recall.

Anglers

Organic

River Dee saltmarsh and Welsh Coast from Parkgate

I like #3. 1 is a bit out of focus.

Another thing you might try is taking the same photos early or late in the day, when the sun isn't directly overhead.

 

[Firky]

Well, I'm a bit nervous venturing in here, 'cos you're all rather good. Here we go though.

Three recent landscapes, two from today's set. Lots of PP, curves to bring up earth tones mostly. I was trying to get the look of some oil paintings I like.

Then one from a couple of weeks ago. No fiddling about that I can recall.

Anglers

I like that one, very chocolate box

 

[Bernie Gunther]

RS: Heh, well you know I like to photograph roses & kittens and stuff. I'm sure I'll grow up one day.

JC: I was kind of stuck with glaring bright light on the first two, but I know what you mean. The light was a lot softer for the third one. When I'm taking pictures of my roses and stuff, I do a lot of the focussing manually, but today I was trying out auto-focus-for-idiots mode, so that and hand holding is probably why they're a bit soft.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Heh, well you know I like to photograph roses & kittens and stuff. I'm sure I'll grow up one day. I was kind of stuck with glaring bright light on the first two, but I know what you mean. The light was a lot softer for the third one.

Ultimately, it all boils down to personal preference. I like the 'sweet light' of evening best. Usually, I'm not up at dawn for that light.