03: SINGLE POINT OF INTEREST
MASTERCLASS & CHALLENGE
Add your challenge images below in the comments field
This challenge ends on the 25th. I’ll review your images from time to time and give you personal feedback. Best images and feedback have a chance of being featured in following month’s Photo BootCamp Magazine. Good luck!
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Remember to be nice, be positive, be encouraging & have fun! 🙂
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Well, another month and another new challenge! Looking forward to seeing everyones images 🙂
The first ‘SPI’ image i am sharing i took at the zoo a couple of weeks ago. Now, just thinking about the zoo, and all the people, distractions and distance from the animals are all challenges to get a half decent image. I was using the 70-200mm TAMRON lens, at 200mm F2.8 1/1600sec https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6ffdc34c1f22a14595a0fdef3fa2daa4f83571a59994839f4ab3cd77417ca6b1.jpg the longest telephoto lens i have for my full frame camera. I am so happy with the images i took on the day, and although i have many favourites, this one really tells a story. The orangutans had just woken up (although it was 10am already) but i was able to capture the morning antics and rituals they have. The enclosure they were in was full of steel pylons, and man made structures. The background was also not perfect, so i had to move around quite a bit from the viewing area, to try and limit all the distraction. I got the shot, but i knew i was going to need to clean it up post processing. So, i gave myself lots of room for cropping after the fact. I am absolutely stoked with the result. Meet ‘Ranga’
Love it! The way the lighting glows on the hand and the stick plus the sharpness of Ranga’s face and hair is fabulous.
Thanks so much!
How beautiful is the light on ‘Ranga’ and the muted background really makes him pop! The stick provides a lovely leading line to your subject. Well done!
Thanks so much Dianne 🙂
That’s a wonderful picture, Rerro. Something you would see in National Geographic.
Wow – thanks for that vote of confidence Lon!
Gorgeous shot.
Thanks Keri 🙂
Rerro. Lovely shot Rerro. I like the lighting throughout. Hard and soft and a nice balance.
Thanks Denis 🙂
Love how the background colour emphasizes the colour of Ranga. Great pose he/she gave you. Lovely thanks for the intro
Thanks Lynne, looking forward to this new challenge!
Love this shot. Great composition and defiantly a single point of interest here. Nice lighting as well.
Thanks Barbara, it was early morning light….very bright, but being the zoo….there were loads of trees and covering around.
Your welcome
What a beautiful photo to start off this challenge! Great capture, composition. Lighting and colors, well done Rerro!
Thanks so much Belinda….:)
Hi, Rerro: You are a wizard at that zoo. This guy looks like an old man smoking a pipe. I like the placement with lots of negative space to the other side and every hair stands out.
Thats what i thought too….one of my friends even said….we need a little smoke at the end…hahaha!
Thanks for the comments 🙂
Yeah really good shot, congrats. Very expressive, and nice light
Thanks so much Alex 🙂
What an intensity in the picture – really nice
So expressive…..tells a great story this picture! 🙂 Thanks Lone 🙂
great composition and great lighting
I like they way you’ve captured Ranga’s concentration on whatever is in that pipe
Thanks Nick, i think there are ants in the pipe 🙂
Breakfast!
I agree with you about all the distractions at the zoo, but this shot is well taken. I like the light on the orangutan. He looks peaceful just doing his own thing.
Thanks Jeff, the light was magic at that time of the day! 🙂
Great shot, Rerro. It makes me think about what he is contemplating, as he is deep in thought.
Thanks Peter. Definitely a thought provoking image!
Christine:
Love the subject! What a cute little guy or gal! Love the lighting, background blur, focus and detail in your subject. This proves without a doubt you can get great shots in a Zoo. Nice crop too!
Thanks Jim…..yes, a little bit of creative thinking and moving around to remove distractions does wonders! 🙂
Christine:
I don’t know if you have discovered this trick but if you are using the right focal length and you are positioned the correct distance from say a chain link fence of an enclosure in a zoo that is between you and your subject, you can literally make the fence disappear in the foreground of your image. Learned this in a Tamron lens class about shooting wild animals in a zoo environment. If you haven’t done this, try it, it is pretty cool what you can do using this technique.
Thanks so much for the tip Jim, i will definitely be trying this trick the next time i am at the zoo!
if you Google “How to make a chain link fence disappear in a zoo photography shot” you will get a whole bunch of hits on the technique
Thanks so much for all this useful info…it is much appreciated
What a brilliant capture Christine – with all the distractions you did really well. Love the lighting on this orangutan and the stick it’s holding in it is mouth is a leading line up to its face. Tack sharp image, and a good choice two years a wide open aperture to photograph this subject. Brent
Your hard work on that composition paid off. Give yourself a pat on the back. What a beautiful portrait of Ranga.
Thank you Judy, yes indeed…i am very happy with the way ‘Ranga’ turned out!
Was attempting to mow my field back to being a lawn and I had to stop to take this shot. Extremely tight focus with my body in some weird contortion trying to get this shot before the light from the Sun’s angle would have completely changed the emotion I was attempting to gather. Used the Fujinon 80mm macro with 1.4x teleconverter at f/4, 1/200 second, ISO 100.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a78655a45d6feb30a72b42a70c3f9f1894e8670f4cf855f75cefb4027fdce15b.jpg
Absolutely love it! The melting background makes the image very pleasing to the eye and kind of brings you into to the point of interest! A gorgeous shot @point_reyes:disqus – right up my alley!
Thank you very much. 🙂
I’m so glad that you found the time to capture this flower before the light changed, so delicate and perfect for the topic.
This is just beautiful.
Hi point. Mystic kind of shot. Mu eyes focus on the near petals and have me thinking of those that are defused.
That’s gorgeous – like a painting or a dreamscape.
This is beautiful–almost abstract and a clear point of focus. The blur really makes the photo.
beautiful effect, I will have to save up and get a macro.
Very peaceful and calming.
I love this shot. The softness of the focus really brings your eye directly to the pink petals. Great use of depth of field.
Wow @point_reyes:disqus this picture is incredible! Normally with macro photography we try to get more depth of field, but in this instance I think the shallow depth of field really works because it directs us to your single point of interest – those few purple petals. Excellent. Brent
What a beautiful, artistic image. Love it.
Divine! Love the focus just on those few petals at the front and everything else melting away.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/af60ccffe5ca17fd01baf9a094066e89addfb943656947e700a51b247953bb87.jpg This is photo of a dragonfly on a lotus blossom. I was at Longwood Gardens outside of Philadelphia. I was using my Canon 7D, ISO 100 , f/4, 1/500 sec, 120mm.
Great shot Peter – i have long tried to get a dragon fly shot! They move so quick. you have managed beautifully here. The lotus flower is so beautiful too. I am presuming the dragon fly is the point of interest in this image? what were your camera settings, and did you perform any post processing on this or is the raw image?
Hi Rerro. I used Lightroom to edit. My ISO was 100, f/4, 1/500 sec, and 120mm. See the re-do under Belinda’ comments to emphasize the dragonfly.
This is my dream picture which I have not been able to capture. I have never seen a dragonfly stay still long enough to capture. But I love everything about his photo, the pink and yellow details are gorgeous!
Thank you, Chris. See the re-do under Belinda’s comment to highlight the dragonfly.
Peter. This is a great shot. Both flower and dragonfly are asking for my attention. In that sense is the point of interest – The Dragonfly – a little lost. I still love the shot, the clarity throughout, and the lighting is nicely balanced.
Thanks, Denis. See the re-do under Belinda’s comment where I tried to highlight the dragonfly.
great colours.
Thanks, John. See the re-do under Belinda’s comment.
Peter, Great capture, the lotus blossom is stunning and the dragonfly adds that something special to the image. I do feel that the composition could be improved to bring the viewers eye to the dragonfly as right now the flower and dragonfly compete with each other for attention. I would rotate the lotus blossom to the lower left corner bringing the dragonfly down – say a 8×10 crop where you will loose some of the flower but it will still be there and yet the dragonfly will be the Hero … place the lower wing on the lower right 1/3rd intersection … then fill in the rest of the photo with the black background. This now gives the Dragonfly the Hero position and yet has room to fly in the image.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/59e816796ae2f4f53a13688aeef792ed68029d8795aebde550abf28bd46c2c86.jpg Hi Belinda,
I tried cropping, but I didn’t like the way it came out. I went back to Lightroom, added a vignette, used a radial filter to highlight the dragonfly, the used a graduated filter to darken the flower more to de-emphasize the lotus flower. Hopefully now one’s eye goes to the dragonfly first. Thank you for your suggestion. Peter
Hi Peter. I think you have succeeded here. Very good job.
Thanks Denis.
Very nice Peter on the edit, you do notice the dragonfly better! Beautiful photo
Thank you again for your advice.
The crop makes it much better, but still maybe just a little tighter might make the dragonfly op a little more. Still love the photo!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/01900e2477b8622ecb0c6efa4c0cf593482d8841b48b4cacd9299f06914bd81a.jpg Here is my latest crop with the dragonfly poised to take flight into the darkness. I used Belinda’s 8×10 suggestion.
Now this is a great shot! You defiantly know what the point of interest is and still know what it is doing. Great job.
Thanks for your advice.
Your welcome
I think this crop is a lot better because it takes away a few of the other distractions – and focuses my eye on the dragonfly. Well done. Brent
Thanks, Brent.
Peter. This is the keeper.
Thanks, Denis.
I agree with Denis. Well done
Thank you, Kerrie
Peter, I like this cropped version … nice work !
Thanks, Richard.
I agree with the other on this thread. This is great.
Peter I really like this version. Much better!
Thanks Jim.
Thanks, Jim
Nice photo Peter. I like how my eyes are drawn to the flower first, then to the dragonfly a little later.
Than you, Jeff. See my modification under Belinda’s comment.
Lovely colours here Peter! I agree with Belinda’s comments to help the dragonfly (POI) shine. I’m sure you’ll be happy with the results. The other option would be to crop out the top and left hand side of the flower so the centre of the lotus becomes the POI. I often find options that can enhance an image once I start to look at it in the computer. Well done!
Thanks Dianne. See my re-do under Belinda’s comments to highlight the dragonfly.
Nice image. If the dragonfly is your single point of interest might I suggest cropping the flower in a little tighter so that the dragonfly is more prominent. Otherwise a very lovely shot.
Thank you Barbara. See my re-do under Belinda’s comment.
Welcome
Love the lighting on the dragonfly. I agree with Barbara’s comments on better defining the single POI.
Single point of interest challenge. Recent trip to Victor Harbour. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/88fca536d25f2da6c0f61d6e4e29a913855b5fca44dbe66ba84419d5f86a23f3.jpg
Gosh what great contrast and composition Keri. the natural elements have allowed your POI to pop! Great shot 🙂
Cheers Rerro. My fave shot of the holiday.
What a beautiful shot! love the black and white colors as well as the pretty blue water. My water always looks washed out.
Thanks Chris. It was just before sundown so the light was right.
Hi Keri. This is another great shot. Good clarity and sharpness. Just wondering as I write, could the background be defused a bit more and if so would it make the bird stand out even more. As I say thinking out loud.
I’m starting to see a trend here – in every Boot Camp challenge there has to be a pelican!
I like this photo – great pose
Hi Keri, this is a Great Capture! I agree with Denis that the background could be a bit more diffused to make the bird stand out … May I ask what settings you took this photo at? Depending on your depth of field you can blur the background out and keep the bird in focus. I like your composition with the bird on the left side – well done. I think I would crop just a tad bit more on the left side and a little off the bottom to place the bird’s eye on the 1/3rd intersection. I know you like to see the suggested edits so I did a quick edit to show you what I am talking about to see if you like it. I also blurred the background in post processing and sharpened the bird a tad to bring out the details. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b1c5e559a7af03de281c777bd13c3685b20ecd3eddb5f9608558f3259504b092.jpg
Thanks Belinda. Still subtle but effective.
I like this version, Belinda.
Keri, love the contrasting colors with the blue, black, and white. It really makes your photo stand out. Well done.
Hi Kerri, I like the way Belinda muted the water to allow you to focus on the pelican. By blurring the background, the pelican stands out better.
Beautiful shot. Great use of space to give the pelican room to move in the picture. He really pops off the page.
Great POI shot.
Stunning image Kerri and I can see exactly what the single one of interest is in this image. Like a lot of others are saying that background and may just be too striking for your point of interest, taking my eye away from the pelican. Brent
Thanks Brent. Belinda kindly did just that as an edit.
great shot Keri!
I noticed this dragonfly on our deck this afternoon on a palm frond. By the time I had grabbed my camera it had moved to the wall behind. My lens is a 55-210 kit lens, taken at 167mm Aperture f/5.6, Shutter 1/20 and ISO 400. I realise that a higher shutter speed would have been useful, but I was quite happy with the result.The image has been cropped and had basic tuning in Lightroom . https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cd803e4ff0fe94163ead3ec2dd81aa65ddfa4318b5ce431945c3936533d8d3c1.jpg
Fabulous shot Dianne. The Dragonfly (POI) is beautifully in focus, and the background is melting away. I love how there is still texture in the wall, as this adds an extra dimension as well as a diagonal which leads my eye up towards the Dragonfly. The detail in the wings is incredible!
Thanks Rerro, I think I was just lucky with this one. I know how quickly they move away!!
Hi Dianne. This is very good. The back ground is fading away and I am drawn to the dragonfly.
Thanks Denis, can you suggest what would be best to improve the image? I appreciate you comments.
Wow. Agree with the idea of using LR to bring out the dragonfly just a bit. Wonderful shot
Thanks Lynne, I was quite surprised by the colours when I brought it onto the computer. 🙂
Good picture with the dragonfly
Thank you alone, a cute visitor.
this is really a very good shot, good angle and texture, well done
Thanks John, I appreciate your comments.
great photo – really like the detail in the wings
The macro purists might say the head needs to be in focus but then you’d lose the wings
I doubt you need a higher shutter speed, he/she stood still for you. A smaller aperture maybe
Nick, I was fortunate he stayed around. Shutter speed should have been at least 1/100 to make up for my camera shake, but I was in a hurry! Lol! The lens is a kit lens and f5.6 was the lowest it would go. I do love the sharp wings too, thanks for you interest.
Dianne, Nice capture. I imagine he didn’t stick around long so your shot is well taken. Good job.
Many thanks Jeff.
Dianne, great picture on the “fly”. These guys are in perpetual motion. Great detail in the wings.
Great shot of the dragonfly. Very clear and sharp image. The only suggest I might have is to give just a little more room by its tail. Otherwise awesome job!
Dragonflies are my favorite. I love this closeup and it is the single point of interest because it’s the only point of interest
Great close-up with great detail.
Love your shallow depth of field here Dianne. Your point of interest really does pop from the background. I would have used a faster shutter speed to make sure my dragonfly is tack-sharp. Brent
Love this image Dianne. I have chased dragonflies so many times. I’d be very happy to shoot something as good as this!
Beautiful detail in those wings, Dianne.
Very nice
Hi Keri. See the attached. I coped a little from the right and top. With the brush tool in Lightroom I took the clarity of the water down a tad our at least attempted to. I am no expert on these matters. Sometimes I win and sometimes I loose. I am not altogether sure here. Maybe doing the crop would be suffice. Any way I suppose that is the way to learn. Try things and see hoe it turns out. It is the great thing about digital photos, you can always revert to the original. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/efa55be333d968d04ee6b9e7ad3ca8b9529d24193e5b5708807ea196c9e7a97c.jpg
Not sure it needed the crop – gave the pelican something to gaze into
though I do like what you’ve done with the water
Hi Nick. I think I agree on second look.
Hi, all: This little dandelion popped out along with plants in my spring garden, kind of hiding against a rock. I cropped the photo a bit and enhanced the yellow and orange tones. NikonD5300; 1/125; f/8; ISO100; 250mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3a0eafd28293bb82979d049484356fde5b754085031fb679610219ea2107a625.jpg
Leila. Nice little shot this. I like the enhancement of the yellow. Still looks very natural. I also like the soft shadows. Overall nicely balanced shot in my view.
Great POI image Leila. The dandelion is definitely popping out the frame!
Nice Single point of interest. The bright yellow dandelion pops out against the rock. Great job.
Yes your dandelion definitely does pop from the background, and that hard light really helps too. To make this image pop even more I would do some post processing on it – darken the lighter area of the rock on the right-hand side. That way my eye would settle on the dandelion and not on the lighter rock behind it. Brent
How is this? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5c8f1a6bd525d0d39db25240d3a805bbf8d6014bf1d451b5df408f080419c8a1.jpg I’m still struggling a bit with spot removal and radial filter of LR. I took out some of the yellow and it made those tiny black lines on the flower stand out more.
Making those little black lines come out was excellent. It’s like you now have exclamation points that demand ‘look at me’. Love this image.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2e2817ba712ea622c5ebd2ae561ef1bdf3ae667ea741f289e6acbe08a7cdaf3e.jpg
Hi, took this one on a very stormy day. cropped a little from Left side to remove second person.
XF50-140mm, ISO400, f13, 1/420sec
Great shot John….very powerful image! I am presuming the lady is the POI in the shot? Although i am being drawn to the water, the contrast between the lady and the white water makes her a very strong element in the image. Well done, composition is great too! PS…i am assuming this is water….could be cloud….?
Thanks Rerro, we are looking at a small lighthouse with the waves crashing over the rocks.
behind, is the storm clouds. You are right the lady is the POI. she was drenched a few seconds later.
Thanks for the explanation….very brave lady! A very good photo!
Hi John. Dramatic image. I Like it. For me the point of Interest is the crashing wave and its effect.
Thanks Denis
spectacular photo
My eye focused on the water/crashing wave and then was drawn to the (interesting) silhouette of the woman.
I gather you have played with the contrast and pushed the highlights?
Thanks Nick, yes a little.
Nice shot of the crashing waves. Like how you used black and white to bring out the action.
thanks Barbara
Love this shot. My eye was drawn to the dark figure of the women first then to the water/wave and wondering if she did get wet. Good POI and story telling photo.
Thankyou Phyllis, yes a few seconds later she got drenched
I like the shadowy figure, but am fascinated by the huge wave. It adds to the mystery of “what happened next”.
Excellent capture John – What a dramatic image with the wave in the background and the silhouetted girl in the foreground. I also like the way you’ve converted this to take away all distractions. The only advice I can give you on this image is that my eye seems to be jumping between the girl and the wave and then back to the girl and then back to the wave. How can you make ONE thing stand out in this image? Brent
Thanks Brent, my thoughts that the POI for the girl is the wave, so I argue that My POI passes via the girl
to the wave. All so the girl gives the image some scale.
I am not sure how I can make one or the other the POI I will see what works
Yes it is a challenge to get just a single point of interest – I like it! Bent
Hi Brent, I have moved the girl more to the centre, does this
help with the https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/67727d745d32a76a0115d75ae4089d04bc98df8389937b9f2e62b576a06c366d.jpg POI ?
I really like this! It has a story to it and it has drama. Very well done.
Yup – I think she is the single point of interest now! Well done. Brent
You can also try and bring the highlights of the waves down, they are clipping
I had to make a quick dash into the city, so on the way home I paid a quick visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens
Leucadendron x laureolum (Safari Sunset)
50 mm lens, f/1.4, 1/320s & 50 iso and slightly cropped
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d55af5f4b1bb82f601c3cb0edbd507c083543739bd0e44c2c00eebe9ec845a97.jpg
That is gorgeous Nick, love the depth of field and the very soft, melting background with the sharp subject. a beautiful way to separate your POI from the background. What make lens was this…the Canon 50mm?
Thanks Rerro
yes the Canon f1.4. My go to lens for this type of photo
interestingly I very rarely use it at it’s most wide open but I did here. Hmm.
I need to get me one of those!! i have the 1.8…love it too 🙂
I just, for some reason, looked at a comparison of the 1.2, 1.4 and the 1.8
interesting reading
Hi Nick. Lovely shot. Nice capture and background that makes the Point of Interest Pop.
Love the shot. What kind of camera? I am looking to upgrade from my Olympus mirrorless to a full frame Any suggestions?
I’m using a Canon 5D Mk IV having just upgraded from a Canon 7D. [ BTW the 7D is not a full frame]
I can’t talk about other brands because, simply, I know little about them.
Seriously if you are looking at a full camera change along with quality lenses you are looking at a lot of money. It might be worth borrowing or renting. In Sydney during some of the festivals eg Vivid, Canon will loan our cameras and lenses, I presume other camera manufacturers do similar
I’m happy to talk offline if you want
Nice shot. Great use of depth of field to soften the background allowing the plant to pop out of the picture.
Love the depth of field on this photo. It really makes the flower pop.
Nice photo Nick. I like the way the green in the background compliments the flower.
Very nice. Love the blurred background. This would have worked well with the soft light activity as well. Good job.
Well done next you’re single point of interest is very obvious here. My eyes settles on the top of this flower. Hi can you make this better? Maybe cropping this image slightly differently so that the stem curves into the image, and it is not straight up and down from the bottom. Brent
Beren
like this?
Cheers
Next
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4791ee06f94db918af6b33af0f4a3e8cd75f0431415f8e1195cfe1e4881b98aa.jpg
I definitely like the crop with angled stem. Nicely done.
Yes – I like this better, too. That blurred background with a few soft splotches of colour is lovely.
Lovely image Nick, the soft colors of the background are really beautiful.
This image was taken during my Eagle monitoring duties. Here the mom peaks her head up over the nest. I used a Nikon P900 at a very high zoom to capture this majestic bird in her nest. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/54cc24507b21045e0191d8487315065a00e7750b1483540764b1bd6a5d6d3836.jpg
Hi Barbara. Very nice shot. I like this one.
Love this image, but maybe a tighter crop would bring the eagle
more into the frame, great shot well done.
Great piccy of a Bald Eagle in her nest.- looks majestic sitting there. (I assume it is a Bald Eagle)
Not sure that it can be characterised as a prime example of a single POV image though. There is too much else in the photo and she (as a subject) is overwhelmed. A tightish crop and maybe a blurring of that thick branch behind her neck would , in my opinion, help considerably.
A bit like this
Though it probably still needs a bit of work, taking out those wispy pine needle for example.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/40014c20b069830e120b60ceb52f00d091ebcb51f7d56bb12d2b56fdcb234d0d.jpg
Thanks for the example. I will see what I can do to bring her out more.
I like the cropped shot as it is less busy. It allows you to focus in on the eagle’s eye.
So I did some additional cropping, editing and a little vignette. What do you guys think now? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8ce3cc210113c3915491da23f476f78fe5cc7b7f6bfa3e274e0fde59f8d538cf.jpg
wow, a great crop, so much better, the eagle right in the frame, well done.
Barbara. Now this is just great Your point of interest is where it should be.
Great shot Barbara, and i like the second image with the crop. We can definitely see what the POI is now.
Thanks
Thank you
Yup
Definitely betterer!
I like the stare – don’t mess with me punk!
Thanks. LOL
I like this edit. Definitely gives a nice point of interest. Nice photo!
Thanks
Even better yet. Well done.
thanks
I like this crop Barbara – It focuses my eye more on the eagles head, taking away distractions. I don’t mind the vignette – it just seems to be a little too much. Brent
Thanks. Yea I should have brought the vignette down a little bit more
This is such a great image, Barbara. Well done!
Thank you
Much better! I like a good eagle shot!
Thanks
Barbara:
I would ditto Nick’s comment about cropping a little tighter and using the rule of thirds. Love the shot!
Great Photo Barbara. Nice focus of the Eagle and the branches in the foreground. Love the blue skies as well. I am a big fan of Eagles so this really caught my attention.
Thank you
Nice capture – and no doubt about what is the point of interest. Even without cropping it’s obvious, my eye was instantly drawn to the eagle. Cheers
Thanks
Hi all. We had a visitor to our backyard early the other morning just after quite a bit of rain. Stayed for about half an hour looking for, and finding, it’s own single points of interest for breakfast. Didn’t know there were so many worms so easy to find in our yard. Cropped a bit in LR but pretty much straight out of the camera. Settings: 1/500s @ f/8, ISO6400, lens M.75-300 @ 200mm.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/480662bc7362ee78af2e3c5397a14390cb990b98d9440cb578284b3954b8b464.jpg
Hi Rodney. Lovely shot. Nice detail and stands out well.
Rodney, great sharply focused shot. Love the detail of his feathering. You might want to crop in a little tighter and use the rule of thirds and provide a little more space for him to walk into on the left side by moving him right a little bit. Love the worm in his mouth.
Great capture Rodney, in the shot what is the POI? is it the bird, or the worm in its beak? If it is the worm, then perhaps we need to zoom into that part of the image and try and separate that from the background.
Rodney, Nice photo with good clear focus of the bird and the grass. Well done. I like how the colors are so different but blend well together.
Nice clean well focused photo of a worm eating bird
I think Rerro is suggesting that you need to bring the worm out a bit more, it does seem to blend into the grass a bit.
Maybe getting lower to the ground when taking the photo with a smaller aperture, but then you don’t want to scare the bird away
I like the colors on the bird’s feathers. I would crop and focus on the bird’s eye as that is what I see first.
This image got me thinking that I need to go to the fridge to find my own single points of interest 🙂 Great capture Rodney, The eye of your bird is tack-sharp and that is where my eye settles. Superb! Brent
Thanks for all your great comments @denisobyrne:disqus @disqus_sy7k92j4W1:disqus @rerrorocher:disqus @disqus_8VnlKkgEbJ:disqus @disqus_4pYt18DaZN:disqus @peterbrody:disqus @brentmail:disqus .
My single point of interest was simply the bird (which just happens to have a worm in it’s mouth). I looked at a few different crops but settled on this one with the head and eye near the top left third, although perhaps could crop a bit more of the right bring the eye more central.
I would have liked to have got lower down to separate the worm from the grass however I was shooting through the kitchen window, hence the higher angle. I probably could have got outside and closer and lower however if I made a move towards the back door, our 3 dogs would have raced outside to sit and wait for their breakfast, which would likely have startled the bird. They wouldn’t have bothered too much about the bird though 😉 .
Very nice capture and timing with the worm.
Rodney, I like the way the texture of the grassy background make s the bird stand out. I think a bit of vignette would make the bird stand out even more.
This shot is of the Excelsior Geyser in the Midway Geyser Basin of Yellowstone. It literally boils over into the Firehole River. I was going for capturing the surreal nature of Yellowstone’s thermal features. I shot this at ISO 200, 55mm, F/14, and 1/400sec. The colors are the result of minerals and heat loving bacteria that live in the hot waters. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/824c9af9bb9f9fd8ea94d7715b38c4e10dd06c307543e26f905aa48eebb4e905.jpg
Hi Jim. Amazing. I have seen a lot of documentaries on this part of the world and I am always fascinated with them. Mother Nature always fills me with amazement. I like the capture of the rising steam and different colours created.
Wow, incredible force of nature! I am not sure what the POI is though and how we can focus on that without losing the impact of the shot? Perhaps you should be trying to enhance the detail and clarity on the rocks and bring out the yellow colour on the rocks, then the eye will be drawn there.
Thanks Christine. I appreciate the input. This shot was straight out of the camera with only a slight crop. I have not had any time to work on post production which I will try to incorporate your comments when I get time.
That is incredible. A simply amazing force of nature. Nice photo.
Though I do wonder what the single POI is. My eye is initially drawn to the larger of the falls and then wanders to the left falls and then to the steam on top. It doesn’t really rest on one dominant feature
Thanks Nick! This shot was straight out of the camera with only a slight crop. I will work on improving with some post production when I get time.
Hi Jim, I love the picture for the uniqueness, but am not sure of the point of interest.
Very interesting image Jim – but I’m battling to find a single point of interest in this image. Is it the waterfall on the right, the one on the left, the steam, or the forest in the background? Once you’ve decided what you’re single point of interest is, how can you make it obvious to the viewer? Brent
Thanks Brent. I guess I missed the hole point on this challenge. No pun intended. To me in my mind it was perfectly clear that the waterfall as a whole was the single point of interest and the subject of this image. But what the heck, I am in this thing to learn! Perhaps I should have submitted a different image altogether. I was hoping for some positive feedback on how to make the subject pop more if it was not apparent what the single point of interest was, sort of like the example in your master class lesson on this subject. Anybody can take a great image of an isolated single subject but what is the challenge in that? I’ll try to do better on my next three submissions on this challenge.
All good Jim – yes the waterfall is spectacular. For me there is too much happening in your image for a single point of interest, your challenge now is “how do you isolate your waterfall” to that the viewers eye settles on it? I’m thinking a wider angle shot would do it, or crop your image vertical to isolate the waterfall on the right. Brent
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fd98deb0a4239c103a5132f56d341324b3f16abb3611866ebabe211203188bac.jpg Here is my attempt to salvage this assignment.
Jim
interesting
I also had a play and cropped similarly on the left but kept a little more on the right than you did.
I’m still intrigued with the sheer awesomeness of the area
I took this photo while on a business trip, shooting through glass with my IPhone6S. Those jet trails made a starburst of sorts and then disappeared very quickly. NikonD5300; 1/1000; f/2.2; ISO25; 4.15mm. That seems to be a standard setting for this IPhone camera. I often have to rely on the phone as I can’t always take my big camera when traveling for business. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/052f832524a5713d988750faf715e8a27f65d6d51fea3077f35313695bdb40cb.jpg
Hi Leila. The blue spot in the middle of the vapour trails, was that on the window or is it on the camera lens.
Not sure. I’m going to see if I can edit it out. Would also love to get those phone poles out of there.
Love interesting sky shots like these….this is so unique. Great effort through the window Leila. The only thing you can do in my opinion is crop the bottom off the image to emphasize the POI
Interesting photo and well grabbed. Sometimes we have to use what is at hand. And photographers using smart phones are producing some great images
Unfortunately this photo has what a lot of photos have when taken through windows – pesky reflections
And I agree with your desire to get rid of the telephone poles
Nice spur of the moment grab! You can improve the shot with some creative cropping. You certainly can remove the glare spots in post and maybe even some of the other geometrically shaped glare as well. Love the contrast.
Those jet trails and sun look really cool – good capture. As I look at your image my eye goes around and around and it doesn’t settle on one obvious thing. Is your single point of interest in this image the sun, the jet trails, the tree on the left, the poles on the right? Brent
I think it was the sun but the jet trails were the real reason I took the shot. I’m playing with it mostly to see what I can correct. Not my best effort.
Keep trying – that’s what this challenge is all about, challenging you so that you become a much better photographer. bretn
Hi Leila. I like the way the jet trails cross by the sun. Maybe try cropping to include just that part of the sky, then use the spot tool to eliminate the blue dot.
This is a shot of one of the 51 steel sculptures installed across 10 km of Lake Ballard, WA. Artist Antony Gormley scanned the bodies of 51 of the local indigenous community, and created this brilliant art installation. It is a very special place.
1/500 f9 ISO 100
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c484d5c7818159613d4188355ac1a3f560ff4a6b4420219713e29454d5e256e2.jpg
Great single POV. What a stunning sculpture.
Looking at the photo I wondered two things
is he/she a tad underexposed?
and what would it have looked like if the camera angle was lower? ie if the photo was taken from a lower angle.
I’m also wondering whether the background vegetation is distracting?
Thanks for the comments Nick. I agree with the camera angle being too high, and yes…it is a salt lake. The glare was just incredible, and I didn’t have a polarising filter.
I’m even more impressed with the image given that you had to contend with the salt.
And I’ve often rued the fact that the polariser is at home and not in my pocket or bag
and I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that someone stole a couple
Hi Kerrie. Nice shot and lovely sculpture.
Thanks Denis. This sculpture is one of the children, and is genderless. The adults, however, have extremely exaggerated “bits” !
Very cool looking alien creature Kerrie. Yes you have succeeded in isolating your subject from the background – well done. How can you make this better? I think by bending your knees and getting lower your subject will have more impact, and by leaving more space on the left or right – moving your subject off centre will make it stand out more. Brent
Thanks for the feedback Brent. I appreciate your comments, they are really helpful.
Hi Kerrie. Very interesting figure. Are the figures cemented in the sand to prevent them from blowing away (or stolen) ?
Hi Peter. The sculptures are deeply anchored into the salt lake with metal so the won’t fall or blow over. However 2 of them have been stolen, it must have taken some effort using a generator and grinder and a winch!!
Stolen! How low can you get!
I am sorry to hear that. Is the artist still alive? Are they planning to replace them?
Very interesting Kerrie, I do agree with Brent. Coming from a lower angle you will move the distraction of the horizon and will get it on the rule of thirds line, plus adding a little room….in the direction of where the statue is gazing will have a greater impact on the overall image…..it will tell a story. Great effort….well done 🙂
Thanks Rerro 🙂
Has a mysterious vibe to it. This would be a fun sculpture to capture with a strong shadow cast and using black and white.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7e011a90b2594177542d0c8215a77379d0c60e40f0841683b46f1c0a40138fd3.jpg
My single focus- a Dandilion 🙂
Hi Craig, nice background blur, Dandelion seed heads really are quite beautiful,.. Great shot.
Well there goes the idea for my next photo!
Great single point of view
Well executed
The only thing I would have tried to do would be move a little to the right, so that lightish highlight didn’t take away from the dandelion
What camera settings did you use?
To be frank I dont remember. Was using a 70mm macro lens. Hand held. Prob appeture priority. It was a while ago:(
if you have Lightroom or some other photo editing software you can more than likely obtain the info from the metadata attached to the image file. For example, I use XnView to initially look at my images and it shows the metadata, even for the little point and shoot my son uses
Craig. Very nice indeed. Nice background and capture of the seed heads.
Craig,
Lovely shot ! You have captured the softness of the Dandelion well.
Excellent capture here Craig, well done. This is a great example of simplifying your image so that there’s only one thing your eye can settle on. Love that green background too. Brent
Nature’s amazing geometrical sphere. Mystical. I can’t stop staring at it. Mesmerizing.
Simplicity…..the best way to lead the eye! The only thing i would think about is perhaps tilting your image and have the stem coming diagonally out the corner of the frame…otherwise a perfect POI example…well done!
Really tack sharp detailed close-up of a single point of interest. Well done!
Nice and sharp.
Great use of dof to remove background distractions
So delicate and beautiful. I like that you have detail in the both the base of the seeds and the edge of the seed head.
Time to join the fray. All these shots over the coming days were taken in my garden as I combine two hobbies – Gardening and Photography. This first one is of a clump of Blue Bells. ISO 200, FL 30mm, F4, SS 1/250 sec, lens Tameron 18-200. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5882331e7bfaa07f5b8fb0469de44b4a58cc75907c63abfa2f8f7e2cd3274ba1.jpg
A great example of a single point of interest Dennis – And your shallow get the field really separates your flowers from the background. Did you intend to crop the top off the flowers? Brent
Hi Brent. Many thanks for that feed back, No it was not my intention to crop so tight. Did not notice it until I had it posted. One should never “Proof Read” their own written word – well the same goes for photos. Should always get somebody else to do the Job. Promise, I won’t post more than one photo at a time. Have a few to go so maybe on a daily basis!!!. many thanks again.
I hear you buddy – how many emails have I sent with simple spelling and grammar mistakes? Lots! B
Great shot, Denis. I like the way the leaves are angled, drawing your eye up the flowers. Also the triangular shape of the flowers to their peak. They even blend into the triangles of the roofs in the background. Did the original have the peak of the flower included?
Hi Peter. Many thanks for that feedback. Yes the original did have the peak of the flower on it. I was trying to take out the background where I could and over cropped.
Great shot Denis…I like the low perspective. Not sure if that is the widest you can open your aperture? but next time play around and try and fade your background with DoF
Hi Rerro. Many thanks for your feedback. That was the widest Ap I could get. Yes I agree the back ground is not as soft as I wanted it. Post processing was giving me the results I wanted either. Any advice on this subject would be great.
Hi Denis,
In your picture there are 3 things (that you can change) that will affect depth of field, 1. aperture, 2.distance from subject, and 3.focal length.
Get as close as you can to the subject, use as long a focal length as you can, open up to the widest aperture you can (smallest f/number) to get the most background blur.
Try a test shot with a flower at 200mm. Get as close as you can at that length, and make sure the background isn’t too close to the flower. You should find the background blur just happens.
Hope this helps! Let us know how you go 🙂
Rerro. Many thanks for that advice and the relevant steps required. Will come back to you on my progress.
Dennis
Nice composition (and weed free garden) and the angle from which you’ve taken the photo is perfect
I agree with Christine (Rerro) on background. I’d like to make it more blurry which is when a wider aperture comes into play
Hi Nick. Many thanks for the feedback. I agree with the back ground issue. F4 was the widest Ap I could get. That said I am always finding it difficult to get soft back grounds as I call them.
Love the shot, but I agree with the others on the “Busy” background. If you could blur it out it would make the image pop!
Hi Jim. Many thanks for the feed back. I agree with with you re “Busy Background” . The widest Ap I could get was F4. To be honest I find it difficult to get soft backgrounds as I call them. Sometimes it happens and I am not looking for it and then again the opposite. Any advice?
Dennis, I am no expert at this. This would be a really good question to ask Brent in the “Ask the Expert” section. Maybe he will even cover in the boot camp. What I have learned via my own struggles with this is that it all has to do with aperture as we all know. The wider our lens is open the more shallow the depth of field. However, it also has to do with the focal length that the shot is taken at. I noticed you took it at 30 mm with a 18-200 Tamron lens. If you were to move back away from the subject and zoom in to approximately the same field of view as your shot, the background should blur out a lot more. For those of us on a budget we are stuck with slower lower cost lenses in the F3.5 to the F5.6 range for our zoom lenses. You can get wider apertures by paying a lot more for a lens. An economic alternative is to get a prime lens which does not zoom. Say a 50mm fixed focal length at F1.8 for under $200 US or, a prime lens such as I have for night photography which is a Rokinon 14mm F2.8 at about $325 US. When you go from an f1.8 to say an f1.4 or an f1.2, the cost goes up exponentially.Also, if you have a smart phone there are some good DOF apps out there some for free and some fro minimal cost. You plug in focal length, aperture and distance to your subject and it will tell you the distance things are in focus in front of and behind your subject. Hope this helps.
Hi Jim. Many thanks for (1) taking the time to reply, and (2) the detail in that reply. Most helpful.
Ok lim no expert. Mine was 5.4. Kit lense. I just moved closer till i blurred the background. I took 5 shots of the same flower. Hope that helps.
My next POI image was taken in Jurien Bay up the West coast of Western Australia. I was trying to separate the bird (Red Wattle) from the grevillea, but not too much, that i lost the perspective. I did do a little cropping and post processing to make the bird pop, .https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7494f89a2611e9bcb68c6e633f4745bc7a14ba0cfd3e69fa456466d89373d659.jpg
Hi Rerro, this is a stunning image, the color match between the bird’s “wattles” and the grevillea flowers is really cool.
Thanks Kerrie, A special shot indeed. Reminds me of Christmas….hahaha!
Christine – Brilliant image
Tack sharp and what great plumage the Red Wattlebird has. And the colours of the image a not bad either!
I initially thought the foliage and flowers were distracting, but give context, and my eye is continually drawn to the bird, I think partly because you have blurred the flowers to the front.
I tend to think if a photo is good enough to hang on a wall at home then it is ‘not too bad’. All I have to do is get rid of your pesky watermark and substitute mine and I’m good!
PS and thanks for the lessons in geography and bird identification!
Thanks so much Nick, this does hang on my wall….i love it, and is one of my favourites. Another lesson….get your photos printed!! They achieve their real majesty in print 🙂
love the color and the background blur as well as the subject detail.
Thanks Jim 🙂
Hi Rerro. Lovely shot. Good clarity on the bird and soft background. I am having trouble getting soft backgrounds. What lens did you use here and F Number?
Hi Denis, thanks. In tis case i was using my Canon EOS 700D with a TAMRON 16-300mm lens. The settings 1/640 sec. f/6.3 300 mm. Because i was zoomed into 300mm the widest i could open my aperture was f6.3
I your picture below there are 3 things (that you can change) that will affect depth of field, 1. aperture, 2.distance from subject, and 3.focal length.
Get as close as you can to the subject, use as long a focal length as you can, open up to the widest aperture you can (smallest f/number) to get the most background blur.
Try a test shot with a flower at 200mm. Get as close as you can at that length, and make sure the background isn’t too close to the flower. You should find the background blur just happens.
Hope this helps! Let us know how you go 🙂
Rerro. Many thanks for that data.
Another stunning image! The colours are amazing and the focus on your single point of interest is tack sharp. Well done – I know how difficult these birds are to shoot. Brent
Thanks Brent 🙂
I use back button focus….This has been one of the things that has transformed focusing in my photography! That….and lots of practice 🙂
What is back button focus?! You have so many cool tricks.
Hi Amber, it is a custom setting you can make on your camera, to move the focusing from the shutter button, to another button at the back of your camera. In my case, i am using my thumb at the back of my camera to focus. I have attached a good article for you to read, that explains this (much better than i can)
https://www.colesclassroom.com/back-button-focus-explained/
Rerro, amazing colors and such sharp focus on the bird. When you took this shot, were you specifically looking to photograph birds or just nature and this bird happened to come by at the right moment and place?
Thanks Peter, no, i was not specifically bird watching as such. I was sight seeing and this was a bonus!
Love the bird. Just right.
Thanks so much Roseann 🙂
Wow I love this! Great color and very proud bird well defined from the background. Very nice photo!
Thanks so much Valerie! 🙂
This is a piece of art. The blue blurred background, the red flowers pop and the bird with its texture and touches of orange are just lovely
Thanks so much Valerie 🙂
Love the sharpness and detail of the bird and the red of the flowers really enhances the image
I think you have been successful in the separation. I like it. The background has a subtle Petzal bokeh feel.
Thank you Point 🙂
What a spectacular image, Christine! I agree you were successful with the separation, with a bonus that the grevillea behind acts like a frame, enhancing the subject even more.
Thanks so much Judy…one of my favourite shots!
What a beautiful image and bird. Love the red as a contrast to the blue sky.
Thanks so much Chris 🙂
What an interesting looking bird! Of course, another beautiful image!
Thanks Amber 🙂
Great composition. Love the bird and the red does help the bird to pop out from the background.
What a great capture of a beautiful bird.
Thanks so much Lon 🙂
Another day of sunshine in Ireland. Decided to post my second image now as `I have to go out the garden and continue preparations for summer bedding 400 Red Geraniums. I am the ever optimist. This one is where I tried to isolate a stem of a Blue Bell with a little help of post processing. ISO 200, FL 54mm, F5, SS 1/200 sec, Lens Tameron 18-200. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c527b9916134672ffd894d3c6678b01936c1cfffbc072185043c08950b5a6e93.jpg
Denis, a nice clear single point of interest with your Blue Bell against a well blurred background. I like the composition.
Hi Rodney. Many thanks for your feedback. Whatever I did this time around I managed to get the blurred background.
Hi Denis, I’m sure you’re glad to finally see the sun. I again like the way the green leaves lead your eyes toward the flowers. Is there a way in your post -processing to lower the exposure on the petals on the right side to bring out the colors, such as the radial filter in Lightroom? Good example of hard light, too.
Hi Peter. Many thanks for your feed back. Will have a look at your suggestion.
Hi Peter. See below. Used the brush tool in Lightroom and brought the colour up a tad. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7b2f590e2e7a860e93ef9dd1e4054055d2224552b5e076a1c0b42bbde4dda2b9.jpg
Hi Denis. This one looks much better to me. Good job.
Peter. I would have to agree. Many thanks for the advice.
You’re welcome.
Well done Denis, this is great.
Hi Kerrie. Many thanks. The advice I got from Peter Brody was very helpful and a point of great learning.
Very nice – the adjustment really brings the intensity of the purple color out.
Hi David. Many thanks. The advice I got from Peter Brody was very helpful and a point of great learning.
Your subject is nice and sharp, Peter and the blue and green really pop against the soil in the background. You could probably darken those shadows a little more, I think.
I do prefer this one Denis – because there’s a little more space around the flower. I also like that you have placed the main point of interest off centre. Brent
Hi, Denis: My garden is full of bluebells and daffodils just now. You captured that hopeful sense of spring very well. The background doesn’t distract and the flowers in diagonal makes for a nice composition.
Hi Leila. Many thanks for your feedback. Taking a rest from FORK work.
Nice shot with good background blur and sharp focus.
Hi Jim. Many thanks for the feedback.
Nice composition and the toning down of the highlights has worked a treat
Hi Nick. Many thanks for the feedback.
Great shot Denis, much improved from the first shot…well done! 🙂
Thanks Rerro. I got something right.
I love Blue Bells but I always find them difficult to get an image that works. I find what you did – works. Nice work.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3ff5c97af9a002ba004b193b96f99b043788aa68d9d706cc72b3e553b6b0f579.jpg This is a picture I took in Mexico when we were in Puerto Vallarta a few weeks ago. We attended a performance called “Rhythm of the Night”. This is a photo of four women somehow contorting their bodies into this amazing sculpture that I wanted to share with the group. I tried to get rid of as much noise as I could, which took a toll on the sharpness. I left the stage in and added a vignette to try to decrease it’s brightness and draw your eyes to the girls . I used my iPhone7, ISO400, 3.99mm, f/1.8, 1/15 sec.
Peter.Great photo under the circumstances. My eye was drawn to the girls right off. It is amazing what the human body can do.
Thanks, Denis.
OUCH! Lighting here is good, right on the pile of humans. I’m having some trouble dealing with that lowest head, which is upside down but that’s not a problem of the photo.
Thank you. I still can’t figure out how they could bend their bodies upside down and backwards. They were amazing and so graceful.
Wow. That has to hurt. I like it.
Thanks, Roseann.
Interesting and unique shot Peter. Not sure if you ave done any post processing or cropping? I am distracted by the bottom lit stage area, and the image feels a bit flat. so i would be playing around with the POI, and trying to separate them from the background, by enhancing their vibrancy and sharpness.
Thanks, Rerro. I left the stage to show what the girls were on. I tried to vignette the periphery to focus on the girls. I put the picture out there because I was fascinated with the contortions and wanted to share a unique moment not too many people have seen. Due to the noise, if I sharpened the focus, the noise returns. Better to have a little blur and a memory, than nothing at all.
Totally agree Peter! Fascinating image! i feel my body aching just looking at it! 🙂
Thanks. Rerro. Me, too.
My body hurts just looking at that!
Very intriguing, thanks for sharing and … which girl is the Single POV? lol!
I’m off to ring my physio!
Thanks, Nick.
I need to remember to use my iPhone more. 🙂 With noise and sharpness you kept, it gives it a 70s look to it.
Holy moly, how can people get into those positions? Very interesting image, like the warmth of the contortionists compared to the cool blue and green background. I’m just wondering what the single point of interest is in this image? My eye seems to settle on the two heads at the top. There seems to be quite a lot going on in this image I wonder if you can simplify it? Brent
We have a multicultural festival in our town every summer and I love wandering around taking photos. The organization has used quite a few of these photos for its publicity even though they aren’t perfect and the stage background is distracting. Note that flying earring. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/97fdecd193857c9b1394afc0141ac9e422e772e71a177ab84b23a75172b693f8.jpg Here is an attempt at a zoom portrait. NikonD5300; 1/640; f/6.3; ISO200; 185mm.
I really like this subject, in particular the mood you caught in her in this image. I didn’t find the issues with the background particularly distracting because the subject drew my eye so strongly. However, if you wish, you should be able to pretty easily remove the yellow smudge in front of the woman and the discontinuous background above her head in post processing. Regarding her earring, I was intrigued by the fact that her hair seems to be hanging straight down while the earring is “flying” forward…hmmm?
I wish i could do zoom. Nice.
Great shot Leila, the only distracting part of the image for me would be the wall just above her head. Not sure if you can minimize that in post processing? Next time, move around to try and take the image form a different perspective, noting the background.
Hi Leila. Nice shot. The earring does not bother me, gives a sense of movement. The top of the back wall is slightly off putting. In a lot of cases you have to take what you get.
I like the flying earring – it follows the contours of the person’s neck and the jaw line. I also like the angle used with the camera being lower than the person’s face. Another plus is that the arm was not cut at a joint.
I read some of the other comments below, and truly, I barely noticed the top of the wall when I first looked at this image. The subtle movement you capture in this portrait has me just looking at this woman & the background is good enough to not be distracting to me. Good job, Leila.
I can definitely see what you’re single point of interest is in this image – it’s her head. Great capture at this festival. A few things to keep in mind when photographing people is to try to get their face facing towards you, it’s all about the eyes – and to not crop limbs off at the joints, like knees, ankles and wrists. Brent
Just a weed.
F5.6
1/160. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b361af56b2fbcf488b6ed7a6d4df44d14e8cc8c34eb40d32a6235522a6329257.jpg
Nice shot Roseann, great background blur, and the colors are lovely.
The yellow stands out so perfectly against the dark green blurred background. Very nicely controlled depth of field!
Thanks. It really is just a weed that needs to be mowed.
Beautiful use of DoF to show off your POI, very nice clean shot! Well done
Thank you
Hi Roseann. Lovely shot. Clear concise and nice soft background. Well done.
Ah, but even weeds make good photo subjects!. I agree with Christine’s comments below
V
Weeds are fun to photograph – it brings the challenge out finding a way to not make them look like weeds. :p I like the separation of the flower from the background.
Hi Roseanne – I also think this image works very well because of the darker soft background contrasting with the flower. Very Nice!
Hi Roseann can you tell us a little bit more about this image – the settings you used and what you are trying to achieve when you photographed it? Yes I can definitely see what the single point of interest is in this image – Have you thought about cropping this image differently so that your flower is off centre? Brent
It was f 5.6 and shutter 1/160. I think ill try cropping it. Thank you. This was sraight from the camera.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c5d406b0263bb73653a697ee21ab85308adb1ff942a8f3776275c3b39f48d2b4.jpg Here is my crop.
I like this crop better. Brent
Here is my first single point of interest photo. We were driving down the road and just happened upon some jet boat races. I was able to catch a couple of the boats. 1/500 sec, F8, ISO 1000 (not quite sure why I had it so high), 70mm. Photo has been cropped to take out some of the background however I was unable to give it any more space to move into as I wanted to leave some of the boats trail in the water. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f6d2717ce8e27a3890fe72894c3e7ca288ca4704329ec5ddab6bdcbfe055574a.jpg
The bright orange certainly makes the single point of interest – the boat – stand out. Nice capture. It looks like you may have needed the high ISO to allow an adequately high shutter speed to give you some control over focus of the moving boat. I would probably crop even more from the top to the level where only a narrow thread of the shoreline shows because it would focus the eye even more on the boat. For me the things on the shore are a bit distracting.
Thank you David for the feedback and comments. I appreciate a second eye as I tend to be hesitant when working in lightroom. I have uploaded a cropped version to eliminate the shoreline. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/25a64bf6d866bdff7314840d9488e7536b98368d29283cad62ab6845183c0f02.jpg
Valerie, I like this much better than the original … interesting how less can be more !
How true. Thanks.
Nice shot, Valerie. I liked the cropped version.
I, too, like this much better than the original!
I like it. Love it.
Thanks Roseann.
Great shot, and i love the strong orange colour of the boat. That alone makes it pop from the water. In this image i don’t think the top part of the image adds any benefit and is a distration, so i would be cropping that away, and putting the subject on the upper ‘rule of thirds’ line
Thanks Christine. I appreciate your comments. I have uploaded a new crop of the photo under David’s comments. See what you think.
Much better…well done!
Hi Valerie. You got a great capture here. The boat is sharp and stands out. I would agree with Rerro re the cropping. I would come down to the waters edge. I think the shot will still stand out.
Thanks Denis. I have uploaded a new cropped photo.
super photo
Definitely a single POV. helped no doubt by the colour of the subject.
The only thing that might make this a better photo is if you were panning with the boat to get the blurred/streaked background.
Notice I said “might”, as I’m not fully convinced that it would in fact make for a better image
I think I agree with Christine on the top cropping, I’d probably keep the river bank but not the grass etc on top.
Whereabouts are we?
Thank you Nick for the comments. I tried panning when photographing but everything to me just looks like a blurred boat. I should probably take time and practice the panning concept. This was taken on the Salmon River near Riggins, Idaho.
Nice POI. Love the color contrast. I pretty much agree with the others cropping comments. A bright color always draws your eye into the frame.
Thanks Jim for your feedback. I have uploaded a new crop of the photo.
Great capture Valerie you nailed this one! I think the shutter speed you use is perfect for this image because the boat is sharp and the background shows movement. Yes it would have been nice to have a little bit more space in front of the boat. This is a great example of a single point of interest – my eye goes right to the boat. My only suggestion is to crop off a little more off the top. Brent
Great shot Valerie. The only thing that I can think of to add is a bit of open space in front of the boat rather than behind, although very difficult with a fast moving subject.
My single point of interest is this sunburst in Yosemite National Park … I know, most people take shots of the waterfalls but I already have too many hundreds of those ! 28 mm prime lens, 1/100 sec @ f/16, ISO 100. The original photo was seriously cropped with some additional adjustments in Lightroom, and converted to black and white.https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9b0a6b30c31eeb58abc43e41b6843ee594400459f20a16805650fadc2c0a03f1.jpg
I love b&w. Nice.
Great nature vignette…..and POI! Very striking 🙂
Hi Richard. This I like. Love the sun flare and it is very striking.
a very interesting photo
This is one of those photos that you look at and say to yourself “that’s interesting”
and then “what’s that? How did they do that?”
and then you look at it more closely and work out what it is and the “that’s cool!”
Well done, I think you’ve nailed it. Sit back and have a glass of your favourite tipple.
Great B&W shot. Love the contrast and the sun flare.
Thanks to all for the nice comments. I have become quite fascinated with the sunburst idea.
Richard, very nice. What time of day was this taken?
Very nicely done, Richard. It is both simple and beautiful.
Peter, This photo was taken on May 3, 2018 at 8:47 am in Yosemite Valley. The sun was still at a relatively low angle just peaking through the trees after clearing Half Dome in the distance behind the shot. The valley floor where this photo was taken is approximately 4,500 feet below the top of Half Dome so it takes awhile after the actual sunrise for the sun to make its way into the valley.
Very nice idea to have the sun burst as the POI. Love the B&W conversion too!
Love this sunburst Richard, well done! I like the way you have cropped this leaving some space on the sides so that I can see you that it’s a tree, however I would remove a little more off the bottom. Brent
Brent, I made the adjustment that you suggested … it seems to anchor the photo making the poi more dominant. Thanks for the good advice. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2b2a884b6251d87e32e1a345d836c12d354b48afad74ed043012d021b4c6aafe.jpg
Agree – looks better to me. Brent
This single point of interest thing is interesting. I sort of knew it but hadn’t really thought about how an image with multiple things in it could have a single thing, and not necessarily a big thing, that is the main point of interest, but of course it’s obvious. I think this shot is a case in point. There are multiple fuel tanks and office buildings visible but clearly the shot is all about the Skytower. Take that away and you haven’t got much, but as it is the tanks are a great contrast and give scale and a sense of place to the main subject. Shot at ISO 100, 73mm, f11, 1/200th second. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/08440ffe7652d3f8867d45a986e80f6f247c5bc2b0598936b542a1154a3ef853.jpg
Good talking points Alex, and good shot! I think in a case like this we have to use the tools in LR/PS to create a vignette of sorts. I personally would convert is to B&W first, then try and remove the distractions using the graduated filters, and then increasing the clarity and detail around the pointy tower. Something like this
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/be1fbd74cd00a86f7311a2dcb4df28c5f4160a7da8bdc262cb6baaa7b158e43d.jpg
Ahh yeah, that’s a good effect Rerro – certainly highlights it. Cheers
Now this I like. Whole different perspective. Very good indeed.
Nice edit, Rerro.
I agree with you that the single point of interest concept is interesting … and can be a bit challenging at times. For me that can be particularly so in landscape photos. In this one the Skytower is certainly the point of interest. Just a thought – you might try cropping in from both sides to more intentionally emphasize the height of the tower, for example, cropping just to the left edge of the white tank with the stairs on the left and, on the right of the photo, enough to show only the shorter of the three tanks. This would also put the tower at about the right third, although that wasn’t my intention.
After looking at it and thinking about it and trying different things I agree it needs a crop, and this is what I’ve come up with – shame it had to be cropped this heavily to get this result, but that was about as far as I was prepared to go. I https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a44e5e1958c30def35782b49a3f9ac7f403773f356d31a034f3f8280855d517c.jpg t pretty much cuts out anything you might call a real distraction – it’s much more of a contrast now.
And here is my black and white version. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2abf8976132a7cb3f35caf4e25b21c9430a85413a912fe549b954258b8fd2433.jpg
Alex
Howdy
Rerro = Christine, the featured artist in the last Photo Bootcamp Mag
Sorry I missed your crop as I had failed to refresh my browser. My apologies.
I think we are arguing semantics – You’re saying that the “main” point of interest is the tower. I’m suggesting that it is not the “single” point of interest.
I can agree on main POI and my edit was merely an attempt to make it the single POI (I think I failed). To me main does not equate to single.
Don’t get me wrong – I like the image, especially in B&W (although I’d like it a bit more contrasty)
and I’m not sure which I prefer – the original or your edit. I like them both (especially in B&W)
Right, I wondered who Christine was! And yes it’s semantics.. I like the final b&w best
Like this one @disqus_gaqxeQxtLL:disqus – my eye is attracted by the large structure and B/W tends to minimise all the other distractions. Something else to consider is to make your tower more contrasty and the other structures less contrasty. Brent
I like the B&W, but even though my eye goes to the tower, it is not what I would consider the only point of interest. I am also looking at the multiple spiral staircases that catch my eye.
Alex, I like this version, too. I think taking away the colours gives the shapes of the tanks and tower more strength. The tanks and tower are your story & those buildings on the left didn’t help tell that story, so I think the cropped version is better. Nice job with the B&W conversion, too.
Thanks Judy. I’ve just posted the hopefully final version. Cheers
I like the B&W rendition of this image better than the colored one. In my original comment regarding cropping, I only suggested cropping even further from the right because the white tanks, especially the one in the foreground – because of its height and size and brightness – competes with the tower, probably even more so in the B&W version. Of course, the amount of cropping you are willing to do depends on what you intended for the subject of this image to be.
And here is the final cut – I hope. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4762520fdf71dcd582f2519af5019a84109da76f73d83873ff5ecce1e38dcb50.jpg
I would like to add my humble opinion, not being an expert, but I wonder if blurring the tanks a little
would allow a strong point of POI, but still retain the story.
Hi John, yes a little blurring probably would help the tower stand out more – it depends on what sort of photo you want in the end though. I guess for this one I wanted to contrast the grubby industrial waterfront with chic and entertainment – that tower represents a casino, theatres, restaurents etc – and I really want to show the scene as it is, and for me the tower sufficiently dominates the scene. This is not the kind of image you’ll see in any tourism promotion! They’d rather not highlight the “tank farm”, as it’s known. One day this will be an historic photo as that tank farm will be redeveloped sometime in the next 10-20 years.
I agree.
Nice photo
and I like what Christine has done to it in B&W.
I feel I have to disagree a little with your argument. Yes the tower might be the main point of interest but in my view it is not the single point of interest. My eye isn’t drawn inextricably to the tower. It wanders all around the place and really doesn’t rest anywhere. It stops on the tower and also stops on the silo on the right and climbs the staircase. It is also drawn to the building on the left which is darker in hue and markedly different. The photo in my opinion is too busy to have a single point of interest. Taking both David’s idea of cropping and Christine’s of B&W, in my opinion helps to make it the single point of interest. Though I’m not sure even then.
I’ve taken the liberty of combining both Christine’s and David’s idea
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fd801fc289955f83c5819c83fbf080315492c69a71e51df424c44fe3afab833b.jpg
I think you mean Rerro and David don’t you? That’s not a bad crop but there’s so little of the original photo left, pixels wise, that I might as well start again. Have you seen my crop below? This was one of a number of shots I fired off from a moving boat – next time I might ask the captain- my brother – to linger while I nail this sucker!
Clearly a final work of art depends on what the artist is trying to accomplish. While this very nicely emphasizes the tower, that may not be all that you were trying to accomplish in this image.
Well Nick, you agree that the tower is the main point of interest… which is the point of the exercise! Yes, the eye wanders around and may settle on a number of different points but you can’t tell me that tower doesn’t dominate the scene – it towers over everything and contrasts starkly with other structures. Remove that and you remove the most significant point of interest in the photo. It can however be improved – by ;making it less busy. See below. Cheers
Hi Alex. Very interesting point of view. However I find my eye wandering off the tower and not settling on it. I like the shot though. I have just strolled down through the other comments and you have started a good conversation. I like what Rerro has done. It brings the Tower into focus and you settle on it.
Have you seen my cropped version?
Hi Alex. Yes just now. Its a big improvement. I think your suggestion of getting your brother back out for another shot would be good. maybe get closer in would help.
Thanks Denis, and yep, I’ll be getting closer, or more zoomed, next time. Cheers
Good morning from a sunny cloudless sky in Dublin – Ireland. 3rd day without rain, wind and cold. Magic. Anyway to the point in hand – next photo. This is of a plant what we call “The Fame of the Forest”. Was trying to practice getting a blurred background. Succeeded in part and it is an improvement on my first attempt – but yes – a way to go yet. ISO 200, FL19mm, F5, SS 1/400 sec, Lens Cameron 18-200. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/01d9b548508a25e5cbb356219d3c6995ed0634b186ab16708a2a7f6ed98a6b45.jpg
I at first thought this was a photinia, but the leaves are wrong.
and you’ll be pleased to know that when I visited Dublin, I can’t recall the sun shining at all – though I do recall that the Guinness was brilliant.
Looking at this photo and your earlier one I’m wondering whether the lens can sufficiently blur the background. Can you get further away from the subject and use the lens at a longer focal length?
Hi Nick.Well I am glad you enjoyed the Guinness. See the repost of a shot just taken. Went back further and the shot details as follows: ISO 200, 100mm, F5.6, SS 1/200. There might be a bit of camera shake but I am not to worried about that. Also not taken on the same line. I think the blur is better. Many thanks and the sun is still shining. We will be all like cherry tomatoes after this!!!!. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3adc2e1441cd14a914899114c7369ed75375959ab08d742ed944fdb769d9154d.jpg
Nice. I am going to have to get there one day.
Hi Roseann. Many thanks for your feed back.
Did you notice what happened to the background when you increased your focal distance Denis?
Hi Rerro. I noticed a few things: 1 The lowest F Number I could get was 5.6 as against 5 on the original, but yet the background was more blurred and softer. Therefore my positioning when taking the shot becomes critical depending on the outcome I want. 2 My shutter speed came down from 1/400 of a sec on the original to 1/200 of a sec, which was just about ok for shooting at this focal length of 100. Min SS would be 1/200. Any slower and a tripod would be required and even at this focal length and shutter speed it would be preferable to use a tripod. 3. Before going out to shoot have a clear plan in my mind as to the type of shot I am after. In that way my results should improve and with it my photography.
Your original flowers were shot at a FL of 50mm i think….here you zoomed in to 100mm. This assisted with the blur.
Yes, i do a bit of planning before i go out to shoot specific things….and have a plan in mind. So, that is a good approach to take 🙂
Rerro, thank you for explaining how to better blur the background. I always focused on a wide aperture, but if you increase your focal length, it will also contribute to a blurrier background.
No prob’s Peter, there are 3 things (that you can change) that will affect depth of field (Blur), 1. aperture, 2.distance from subject, and 3.focal length.
Get as close as you can to the subject, use as long a focal length as you can, open up to the widest aperture you can (smallest f/number) to get the most background blur.
Rerro, thank you, again for your advice.
I’m glad that worked
You can probably hold that lens at 200mm and 1/200th of a sec. It comes down to practice and technique, but tripods are good.
And planning is good and nothing can beat taking lots of photos and analysing what you did right and wrong
Hi Denis. I like the second shot. By blurring the background, it no longer is a distraction.
H Peter. Many Thanks for your feed back. I have had a lot of help from everybody in Boost Camp on this project which I have found very inspiring.
Hi Denis – this second shot definitely helps make that background less obvious so the eye rests on the plant. There is a lovely play of light and shadow on the plant with this image. I thoroughly enjoyed a holiday in Ireland a few years ago, and experienced many of those soft days. The sun shone in Dublin the morning of my last day there, and I ran like a crazy lade to favourite parks and streets to capture the beautiful light.
Hi Judy. Many thanks for your feedback. Glad you enjoyed your visit to my fair Isle.
No 2
National Carillon in Canberra
I’ve been trawling through my back catalogue (ie the files on my PC) and found this from August 2006
Canon 20D and EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6 lens
shutter 1/8s, f/5.6, 35mm and iso 1600 and handheld [I believe I braced the camera against a park bench]
The duck is a bonus
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1b92f9148c74c495235b47cdcb8ec4fee2caf889f7239714b63c956c6fc77027.jpg
Hi Nick. Lovely shot. I like the reflections.
Love the reflection.
Nick, I like the way the colour contrast highlights your subject, both in the sky and the reflection. Very strong, yet peaceful, too. Tough conditions to get a tack sharp shot; you did well under the circumstances, I think :). There’s a bit of blur in the image, probably because you were doing the best you could by bracing the camera in very low light. The best focus seems to be on the water just in front of the tower.
Love the way in this structure jumps out of this image Nick because of the warm lights against the blue sky. I notice that it is is a handheld image because of the camera shake which happens at 1/8 of the second. If you had had a tripod handy this image would have been epic. Just like you, I’ve been in many situations where I have left my tripod at home and I wished I had brought it along. There are a few tricks you can try if you have no tripod – like using your camera timer and placing your camera on a solid structure, that way your camera fires when you not holding it – and there will not be any camera shake. Brent
I really like the contrast in this photo. It really accentuates the point of interest!
thanks
Spring has finally arrived here! So thought this bud of a birch leaf https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3d93a3adb1070871562c8c7df9bddb818110bf8b65204d26a2d42ace95c05548.jpg sitting among its more mature cousins might work as a point of interest. Taken at f2.8, 1/400,28mm. Did some post processing to accentuate – hopefully not overdone.
Looks painterly. I love it.
Thanks Roseann
Hi Lynne. Yes it is great to see new life take hold again. Like this shot. Background is nice and soft and the new bud stands out nice and clear.
beautiful capture, very good bokeh.
Thanks John
Beautiful Lynne….and great post processing!. Well done…..the only advice i have would be to try and have the POI slightly off center. I would be trying to get the branch coming out the bottom LH corner
For a diagonal, of course. Will try that. Thanks Rerro
Hi Lynne – I’ve also been celebrating the arrival of spring in Alberta. Oh happy days! I took dozens of photos this weekend of new shoots and leaves. You’ve done a really nice job using your depth of field to isolate the subject. I also think you can play with the cropping as suggested by @rerrorocher:disqus , and maybe check out adding a subtle vignette to see if you like the way that helps accentuate your brighter subject.
Thanks Judy. Will try that. Cheers from PEI
Fantastic image Lynne – just love the colours and the leading line in your capture. I love the way the spring leaves are shooting out, giving new life to this plant. Your single point of interest is very obvious here, however the green leaves are slightly out of focus. Something to try next time is to shoot a number of exposures while leaning into the plant – meaning that you move slightly closer while shooting, that way you have multiple focus points and one of them should be tack-sharp! Check on your camera screen and zoom right in to make sure you’ve captured a tack sharp point of interest. Brent
Thanks Brent. Great tip. Will try that
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b7fba772d5b84ec9550447022721b85cf808be6cc82346bf632edb67fb710fd2.jpg
Thanks Brent, managed to show more under feet and still keep my 3rd.
(Sorry about using the the wrong thread, was not sure how to change)
Looks good @disqus_M3Vu7ObayX:disqus – next time simply reply to my comment and it should be in the right thread
I have a question. What is this upvote thing?
This a POI of a very obliging Seagull turned his back on me,then gave me a backward glance.
iso400, F4.5, 1/140sec, fl140 https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5fcac47f71075b85e775899e6500e9b2c3cf63f66abd57bb690521a14ff8f93f.jpg
Hi John. Lovely shot. Nice and sharp and good background.
Thanks Dennis
Hi John, the colors and lighting are really lovely here, and POI is sharp. Nice image.
Thanks Kerrie
Nice shot, John. What time of day did you take it. It has a “blue hour” sunset cast. The background curve and curve of his body lead you to his eye.
Thanks Peter, I took this about 6.30am, clear sky.
Thanks. Great use of the golden hour.
Lovely image, John. Nice job of isolating the seagull by using lighting and minimizing the background.
Thanks Judy, glad you like it
I really like the lighting in this image. Great focus on the seagull.
Thanks Valerie.
Nice photo! I like the color the most with both blue and yellow casting on the seagull. Very special.
I am glad you like it.
Great Light on the gull and the colours are beautiful
Thankyou Kerry
I do like the way you used a very shallow depth of field here John – to separate your bird from the background. Also the lighting on this gull is really hard and makes it pop even more. I can see it giving you a backwards glance too. One thing I think you can do to improve this image is to give the bird a little more space below its feet. Hope this helps. Brent
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/70ca5e627facf61442efd2a185e06e1f31557f4cbd749ccd07d6687d5ff9ceaf.jpg
Thanks Brent, Managed to get a little more space below its feet and still retain my 3rd.
I met this lovely little guy in my visit to an outlying island last month. Just could’t help playing with him for a while. He was like knowing what I was talking. He was sitting very still when I was taking the pictures of him. What I like most in this photo is the light shining in his eye.
Sony A6000 35mm F1.8
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/93ee447382d0130ae9271db42ffde4fb75ee58080ececec4591577851a8dd585.jpg
I like the light in the eye and the tongue sticking out – shows he probably had a good day to get worn out and be a satisfied pup. 🙂
Thanks @point_reyes:disqus. Yes he’s really a happy and lively puppy.
His whole face is great 🙂 Great depth of field.
Thank you for your nice comment @disqus_W81kCdSr3n:disqus.
Great shot Julie. What I like about this image is the pink tongue, and of course the eye which is reflecting the sky. Good choice to use a very shallow depth of field at F1.8 keeping the dogs eye, nose and tongue in focus while the rest of its body is slightly out of focus – This helps my eye settle on the single point of interest its eye (or tongue). How can you make this better? A little more space on the right is my suggestion. Brent
Thanks for your comment @brentmail:disqus. I used to not being bold enough to use the widest aperture because I am a little afraid of the focus being too soft. Like for a F1.8 prime lens, I would dial back to F2.2 – F2.8. But after trying it out, the F1.8 aperture turns out quite nice. 🙂
Hi Julie. I like this shot. You capture that friendly look in the eye. A happy and lovable dog. Print and frame it.
Thank you Denis!
You captured a very happy looking dog. Love his eye.
Thank you Chris!
Great shot of the dog. Nice catch light and soft background brings the subject to the attention of the viewer. The only thing I would change would be to give the dog a little more space in front of its face so it has some place to go.
Thank you Barbara! Yes I agree a little more space is better.
Photo last week was macro so I decided to go large this time. :p
Taken from my back yard last August with Fuji X-Pro2 camera, Nikkor 80-400 AF-D lens and 1.4x Kenko teleconverter. Lens set at 560mm f/8, camera was set to auto-bracket. Due to the intensity of the light there is some lens aberration. The POI is the Diamond Ring. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/36177683904f13e8e03fb240db077c5ea012043cac714a1dcc5decf82ace43de.jpg
Super cool photo
and well done getting the flying saucer!
LOL. Thank you @disqus_4pYt18DaZN:disqus. 🙂
That’s a bit cool.
Thank you @keridown:disqus
Wow this image is amazing! Yes this is a very large subject you’re photographing, and you’ve done a great job capturing this solar eclipse – my eye goes to the top, bright diamond in this diamond ring. Have you thought about cloning out that top right hand reflection? Brent
Hi Point. You can join the professional ranks with this image. I can say no more than that. Well done .
Thank you very much @denisobyrne:disqus 🙂
Great shot of the eclipse. These pictures can be hard to get. You got the perfect lighting with a great flare around the edges.
Thank you @disqus_ZMqciOxroU:disqus. I was glad I did exposure bracketing for this event. I heavily researched the process which really helped me out.
Great shot. I am sure you enjoyed the whole experience. Did you get any partial eclipse photos?
Thank you @Valerie Worthen. I photographed the whole event from beginning to end. I had a solar filter on the lens for the partial eclipse photos. Here are some of the shots I took. I haven’t bothered to brighten the shots – these are SOOC shots. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c182b7ce456c26fc0d39bb442e2d4427fe3d650e2aa1c1c6f923a2aff27c482e.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/272623c65c7c838e6c4ced43f925f18e8063a13d47e7bf3b16908226cc4eda7d.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7b7d865544e4e4f1f3d0957e7aa3200752d3bb1ea0e832b13854a67dee95634e.jpg
And the beginning of the full eclipse.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1d02a2530a47801a7a02a4344228df7f472fe765de3587a22bf6a75a54815da5.jpg
These photos are awesome. I didn’t have a filter for my lense so I only got totality photos. I so regret not making the investment. Love them. Thanks for sharing.
Point Reyes, Stunning !!!
Thank you @disqus_VMEwMaCfC1:disqus
Point, simply a brilliant shot.
Thank you @peterbrody:disqus – it was definitely “brilliant” – very bright! :p
Sweet. That is a good shot.
Thank you @disqus_fEOVZraeCR:disqus
It’s a spring ritual for me to go walking in the natural prairie grasslands to look for crocuses. This flower was nestled amongst a lot of dry grass and I found it difficult to blur the background and still have enough depth of field to keep the flower sharp. I used a brush tool to reduce the clarity of the background to help minimize the detail in the grasses surrounding the flower. I accidentally added the light leak at the top left while working in Lightroom and decided to leave it in the photo. Settings 1/250 sec f/5.6 at 100mm and ISO100. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/94fce605200b3a420e77ac169f239b96be5a0848cf6accb109df386fec268a05.jpg
This is nice and mesmerising Judy
Thank you, Keri!
great photo
and I think the light flare adds to the atmosphere of the photo
Thanks Nick. I’ve had the light leak filters loaded in Lightroom for a few years now, but I have never used them in my final processing. This one was a good fit with the rest of the image and I was surprised how much I liked it when I accidentally moused over the filter and I saw the preview.
Agree with Nick that the light flare adds to the atmosphere. It’s also a very good example of using of back light. Very beautiful image.
Thank you Julie 🙂 The backlight is my favourite part.
Another fantastic image Judy – I like the way you have left that light leak at the top left, it really adds something special to this image. Tell me something, do you use a tripod when you are photographing these flowers? Your flower is super sharp, and it pops from the background because of the lighting and the shallow depth of field. Perfect! Brent
Hi Brent – Thanks for your comments. This was taken handheld only because the flower was about 8cm tall, base to tip of petals, and I had problems getting the tripod into the right position that close to the ground. I tried to use live view to focus, but I couldn’t see the detail in the LCD screen because it was bright and sunny, I relied on the viewfinder and manual focus. My preference is to use a tripod, or other stable base (e.g. flat rock or my camera manual) for this type of photography whenever possible to get a nice, sharp capture.
You nailed the focus on this one. Brent
Love this image Judy, the rim lighting on the flower with the hazy blurred background is wonderful and soft. Love the hues, and i can almost feel the sun warming my cheeks! Well done….its a keeper!
Thanks Christine! Definitely a keeper.
I love the detail of the hairs on both the flower and stem.
Thank you Janet and @amberpallasbrunt:disqus . I actually wondered if the hairs would compete with the flower as a whole and cause this image to fail as a ‘single point of interest’ shot.
Hi Judy, I like this shot. You captured the delicacy of the flower and it details very well. I also like the transparency with the light.
Thanks Denis!
Beautiful. I love the soft light.
Thanks Chris. It was a really beautiful morning and I enjoyed finding the right angle t get this lighting effect.
Lovely shot. Like what you did in LR and the ‘accident’ is perfect for the mood in the photo
Thank you Lynne 🙂
Awesome shot. Love the lighting. Great back light on the flower. Nice soft background lets the flower pop of the photo.
Thank you Barbara. Softening that background was definitely key. It’s still somewhat messy, and I could soften it some more in Photoshop (with lots of practice) but I personally like the reflections off the grasses.
Your welcome
This is beautiful! I love how the sun is coming in from the left. I also love all of the hairy details of the flower. Well done!
🙂 Thanks Amber!
I love that spring is finally here. It in a very nice shot.
I admit that I am giddy with the arrival of spring. My grandmother used to take me for walks in the pasture to look for these flowers when I was a little girl. They are a special symbol of spring for me.
Hi Judy, this image is just so beautifully delicate, it speaks to me of how fragile we are.
Thanks so much Kerrie.
so nice and beautifull i reeky like this picture – so calm.
Thank you Lone!
Lovely shot. I love the rim-light, the light coming through the petals, and the accidental light leak. A very calming shot.
Thanks Point 🙂
Cant beat a kookaburra for a POI 🙂 https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d4c42b31e5d31a80c23e8d2a65b8c6bb4e60a15cc540617783d3e7e46b4650d5.jpg
Yes I love these birds too, they are fascinating to shoot (photograph, not the other shoot). Can you tell us a little more about the camera settings you used and what this bird was up to on the lawn? Brent
We have a family of kooks that come down for anything from rice to steak. I thought instead of “shooting” from higher up looking down on them, I got down to ground level. My settings are 1/1600, F 5.6 with ISO 2500, 250mm.
Hi Keri. Great shot. Real look of curiosity in the eye – What the hell is going on here.
LOL Denis. His family and him (assuming they are boys 🙂 ) always come down. They really are such fun. this is the baby. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d07317a92f7ec75f86a53d4df97dd01fde6019fa90cd0bcfc69102f46b564888.jpg
I like the piccy of the young one. He/she seems to be keeping a close eye on you!
Our family of Kookas seem to be hiding from me, and a couple of them always disappear when I wander inside to grab the camera
I had four lined across the clothes line but no one will believe me as I didn’t get the photo!
Hi Keri. Another great shot. Well done.
Once again, a great shot. All I do is look at him and smile.
Great shot. Love the bird. You got a catch light in the eye which is always a great thing. You gave him plenty of space to move out of the picture. The only thing I would change would be to give him a little more space at his head.
I couldn’t agree with your statement more…lol! They are a very interesting bird. Should’ve saved my Kookaburra shot for this one! I love how close you got.
Great shot. You wonder what he is thinking of you.
Wow how did you get so close? I have tried but they fly off! Great shot you can really see his features.
Great photo Keri! Love the bird’s attitude. I agree with comments from @disqus_ZMqciOxroU:disqus .
My backyard is very boring so I decided to post this photo of a rose bud I took when we were last in Bathurst. I like the brightness of the flower against the blurred, much darker and nondescript background. Camera settings were ISO100, f5.6, 1/80 sec, focal length 105mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5ea0aa4d8a0aaf841e00c605f3696aa5b20403a6bcfa22a847ed1e6178de3780.jpg
H Janet. Lovely shot. Nice soft background. Nice soft flower as the Rose is. You have captured the texture of the rose and have shown it off very well. I would be jumping for joy with this one. Print and Frame it.
Thanks Denis.
Nothing boring whatsoever with this image.
I need a piccy of a rose to send mum on mother’s day – might ‘borrow’ this one!
Seriously, great photo.
Beautiful rose bud. I like the soft background. It helps to make the rose pop out of the photo.
Lovely contrast, lovely colours and great bokeh. And i can definitely see what the POI is. I do feel like it needs room to breathe though, maybe cropped a little too much. But a beautiful image…well done!
Thanks Rerro! I didn’t actually crop very much but have opened it out a little (1st pic) and also changed the vignette colour (2nd pic) https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4a2a9a855436695ae9c3a52a506b2fd0dc977ff9174ad04d5ebfaaa7169864ea.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1cf5bcf88c76ae61caf9305b60aa38dda5602581ac66885f1c766bf6ef25118a.jpg . I actually quite like the white vignette.
Just beautiful, Janet Simplicity at it’s best.
I love how the rose just pops out from the background! Nice work on this assignment!
Very nice. The pink contrasts nicely against the beige background.
Really clean and simple, Janet. Very nice. That background is great against that bright pink rose.
Beautiful shot – could have been a painting, so artistic. Nailed the bokeh effect of the background and the contrast of colors makes the flower stand out. Love this one.
This image rocks Janet! The sharpness of your rose and the desaturated background makes this shot really special – your single point of interest really pops, no doubt about that! How can you make this better? For me the really dark vignette seems to be a little too dark for my liking – but that’s just a minor thing. Well done! Brent
Thanks Brent.
I tried to lighten the vignette and dodges a couple of distracting elements (top left and top right), but I’m not sure that this is an improvement. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/05020a66cc2e1d98587112b69da4ce637c48f7d6eaea5bd4396f434ba61324b8.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c630556b052bbd819bd8d0f8ef188ce8d4ef9950878db500587f5333b6b3ecb4.jpg
Weather is changing. Not the clear blue skies of yesterday. That said its not bad for Irish weather – Still warm and no rain. Have work to do – Front and Back grass to cut and edge etc. In this shot I was trying to capture the details of the Leaf of the Flame of the Forest posted yesterday. Not sure that it really falls into this challenge. Shot Details ISO 200, FL 145mm, F 5.6, SS 1/125 sec, Lens Cameron 18-200. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c9af94ba67338b79ea8fe28c4c4aabc32fda6e6dd4dc700ee112e4110f582a0b.jpg
I like this photo. It is a nice shot of red leaves and you know what you are looking at.
I really like this. The colors make me happy, it’s a great shot @denisobyrne:disqus
Hi Chris. Many thanks for your feed back. I am glad you like it snd got some pleasure from it.
very nice colors and play of light on the leaves.
Hi John. Many thanks for your feedback.
nice splash of colour
You’re getting the hang of this blurry background aspect of photography – we’d better be careful – Brent will want everything tack sharp next month!
Hi Nick, Many thanks for the feed back. Stop putting ideas in his head. I am only getting used to blurry backgrounds and still a long way to go.
Nice leaf color for this time of year. The plant must stand out in your garden. Good job.
Hi Peter. Many thanks for the feedback.
Looking good, Denis. The detail in the leaves is really nice. Is it possible to get a shot with a single stem with that star burst of red leaves against a dark green background to simplify the content even more? I know from your previous photo that this is quite a dense plant so that may not be an option.
Hi Judy. May thanks for your feedback. I tried to shoot a single stem but the structure of the shrub did not lend itself to it.
Hard to pick the point of interest – the leaves are beautiful, but the fill the frame so I don’t find my eye settling anywhere in particular. I had the same roble with a number of flower photos I took over the weekend – beautiful foliage but didn’t lend themselves to this particular challenge.
Stepping out of my comfort zone here. I normally like close ups and macro shots. So my single point of interest here is the bird. Not sure if I should crop this some more. Was trying to leave some of the red plant it’s on. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ce06009fea58625cb2cc4e78ad2847f117d487a707c605fe4a4a7625a8be76db.jpg
This is probably better……
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/22cf66acb45d0a57beb6a0d9ebe0494a2e37c7684d888f42e6ca688d38668464.jpg
Yep – he/she isn’t lost as much as in your 1st post
I like the two branches/fronds(?) leading to the subject, drags the eye into the bird
I wonder whether the crop could be tighter. If the main subject is the bird then the foliage below is probably distracting
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/305e18d340a1e0e55e69d858f92f51eb6225adcb9650d0d826f579eac1bf6332.jpg Here’s another edit on this guy. He was noisy and carrying on. Should have heard the racket he was making.
Hi Chris. Like this better again.
Thanks @denisobyrne:disqus
I like this crop a lot more – if you included a little bit more on the right you’d get him positioned a the the top left third intersection, ie a little more off centre – but not sure it would add anything to the photo.
He probably telling you to get out of his space – what is he?
Thanks @disqus_4pYt18DaZN:disqus , I don’t know what kind of bird, only that he was noisy! Then a friend of his came and together they both screamed and fluffed their feathers. Like they were quite put out by something.
Chris. I like this one with clear lines to your bird and standing out well from the background.
Thank you @disqus_QehLPdlEcl:disqus
Very nice Chris. The bird stands out against that dark background. The fern branch is very interesting, too, but in my opinion it does not compete with the bird. The extra crop is good.
Thank you @disqus_W81kCdSr3n:disqus
this is very good, well done.
Thank you @disqus_M3Vu7ObayX:disqus
I really like the way the lines of the plant lead the eye up to the bird in this version. Great photo!
Thank you @janetrhead:disqus
Hi Chris. Love this. What would it look like if you cropped tighter at the bottom,- say closer to where the branches start to form the V the bird is sitting on?
Well done. I was going to comment how you should crop the photo down, but scrolled down and saw this. The cropped version definitely shows what the point of interest is know. Also the branches of the plant make great leading lines that intersect right where the bird is.
Chris. Now I like it. The branch leads me to the bird and I settle on it. To much in the first shot. I wonder could something be done with the bird to make it stand out a little more?.
I like this crop better too. Nice photo.
Thanks for the comments @denisobyrne:disqus @valerieworthen:disqus @lynnefmurphy:disqus @disqus_4pYt18DaZN:disqus @disqus_ZMqciOxroU:disqus
Appreciate everyones input! My normal picture is a close up of one single point of interest so I was trying to expand
my repertoire as the case may be.
This is better, maybe a bit tighter crop ?
Hi, Chris, I like the way the triangle and the angle of the leaves draw your eye toward the bird when you start at the lower right hand corner. They lead you to the point of interest, the bird. You may want to crop the top a bit more.
Yes I think this portrait orientation is a more impactful image – and those two leading lines lead me right up to your main point of interest. I also like the slightly warmer tones at the bottom of your image, And the way your bird is framed by the slightly lighter greens in the background. Well done. Brent
I agree with several of the comments. A tighter crop would bring more focus to the bird. The foliage is a bit distracting. I do love the image though.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c512cf30557a988d903a5c6a4dd683126dc4497d184db3e9bd1d7305ae8ce223.jpg
Single point of interest is the kids. I like the peace/stillness of this capture and the siblings closeness, physically and as Brother and Sister
Pic taken at Kosi Bay lakes on the South African East Coast
Hi Craig. I like the scene in this. It tells a story and the children are the poi. Nice. The only thing I would have adjusted in the composition is the horizon line which touches the boy’s head. I have done this often also. It looks better if it’s below or above to give perspective
Nice shot. Definitely know what the point of interest is. I like the smooth water and the vignette brings the viewers eye to the people.
Hi Craig. Lovely stillness to this shot. The soft shadow of the subject adds to a sense of calmness and reflection. Very good indeed.
Lovely simple shot. I love the stillness of the water. I think the only distraction i have is the location of the horizon in the image in relation to your son’s head. By changing your level or moving around when shooting, you should be able place the horizon more effectively.
The eye is definitely drawn to the kids. Nice colour against the monochromatic background.
Craig, Great shot … I agree with the comments below, but also want to complement you on the very subtle shadows in the water.
I really like this – you are definitely drawn to the kids in the photo. The water looks so still and doesn’t make the photo look busy.
Hi Craig, I keep coming back to this image…. I think it is really a powerful image. As you said- that sibling closeness. It makes me feel that they are just there, completely in the moment.
This is such a peaceful image Craig, Love how the kids are looking off into the distance and their closeness (no gap between them). I also like the way you have cropped this image with more space on the right. With that extra space on the right I think it would have been more impactful if they were looking slightly to the right – just my opinion. Wonder how this would look as a black and white shot? Brent
Went out with the daughter to take pictures of flowers and came across this bumble bee working hard on the pollination https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/47d4e72c353261564a0107c93e08111734ea013ab3415ff60196da8044b44d1d.jpg of the flower. As you can see the bee has stuff all over him. It was cloudy yesterday so the lighting was nice and soft. I used my Nikon D750 with a 24-128mm lens to get the photo. My ISO was set to 400, with an fstop of 7.1 @ 1/400 of a sec at 120mm zoom. Enjoy
Hi Barbara. This is a lovely shot. Great detail on the bee doing its thing. Very good.
Thank you
My favorite sort of pic! Nothing better than a pollen dusted bee on a beautiful flower!! Nice capture!
Good detail, nice bokha
Thanks
Fabulous shot Barbara…..love the bumbles! The image is a bit soft, and i am not sure what part of the bee was the POI, i am presuming the face. Next time, try opening up the aperture to about f2.8-f4 (you will still get enough DoF to get the bee and flower in focus, to let more light in and perhaps bring the ISO and the SS down a tad. Then focus on the eye closest to you.
Ok I will try that the next time I shoot a pic of a bumblebee. Thanks
Great photo
I went bee chasing the other day and failed miserably, so well done!
The purists usually aim for the eyes to be tack sharp. [I’ve just read a “how to” on macro photography.][so now I’m an expert, lol]
Most of the bee is really clear except the closest eye, but a few hundred percent better than any of my macro work
PS how would it have gone side on?
Thanks. If I had had my macro lens I might have been able to get the eyes sharper.
great composition though
and isn’t it always the case that the lens you want is the one at home or in the car, anywhere but at the photoshoot!
Exactly. Then you take everything but the kitchen sink and don’t use any of it. Go figure!
Great picture. The bee is awesome, plus I like the way the background compliments the flower.
Thanks
Well done Barbara. I like the bee coming up from behind the flower, with the head up and not buried in the petals (like many of my attempts). My eye is drawn to the lighter coloured “nose” which nicely matches the pollen sprinkled all over its body.
Thank you
Great shot Barbara – the bee is very clear – he looks very close. Love the way he is covered in pollen.
Thanks
Thank you
Great job with that soft background and angle of view, Barbara. I’ve read some of the other comments and I also think that the eyes should be the first priority for having sharp focus. I haven’t managed to get the focus just right yet on my bee photos.
Thank you. Yes the eyes are hard to focus on but I tried the best I could. If I had had my Macro lens attached I might have gotten it in focus. I guess we will see next time
Thanks
Get away bee. Really nice shot.
Thanks
Great shot – nailed the focus. I like that there is more than one element, it gives the picture context. Only thing I would do is possibly warm the temp of the bee with a brush or radial filter to get it a bit more pop, but that’s me. (My wife hates it when I tweak colors in my photos, even though my hand is not nearly as heavy with that as it used to be)
Thank you. I did tweak the colors a bit, but may be able to boost them a little more.
Really good photo. I especially like that you can clearly see the details in the face as well as the pollen particles.
Thank you
really nice and detailed picture – it almost scare med seeing the face of the bee.
Thanks. Don’t me to scare you.
Excellent capture Barbara. This bumblebee looks like a monster – and it jumps out as your single point of interest. It’s large eyes look amazing. I do you agree with @disqus_0mZTVOIKLI:disqus with warming up your bumblebee slightly. Brent
Thank you so much. He was a lucky siting.
Thank you. I did a little editing and hope that he is much warmer now. What do you think? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9d1ffc79ab2b30b0eab4c82163dbbb1be3861dc4886482db0bb90872a257cb93.jpg
The tulips are blooming down the center island of a street in our neighborhood. They were just calling to be photographed. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/72e3289435c9061ad9658111e49a383a313e6824c55effb14d02e9c110bb2870.jpg
It was taken with my Nikon Coolpix P900 with a focal length of 4.3, aperture of 3.2 @ 1/100 of a sec.
Awesome image…i love it! Well done, a beautiful example of POI. WOW!! You have given me inspiration 🙂
@rerrorocher:disqus you’re too kind! Means a lot coming from you!
Great image. the center reminds me of a kaleidoscope. Good job.
Great bright colours and quite mesmerising. You heard their call well.
Gorgeous colours and the centre is so well done – great shot.
@disqus_W2Hg2HhOwu:disqus Thank you so much!
Beautiful! I can never quite get that look with tulips but you sure did!
@disqus_jT6tbkcRRn:disqus Thank You! You just have to just put that lens down into the flower and become real intimate with it…lol.
Stunningly simple with very even light. Lovely photo, Amber. Perhaps those pollen spots could be cleaned up in post processing, but it really is beautiful just as it is.
@disqus_W81kCdSr3n:disqus Thank You!
Love the color.
@disqus_fEOVZraeCR:disqus Thank You!
Hi Amber. Lovely shot. Nice detail.
@denisobyrne:disqus Thank You!
Brilliant – no more needs to be sad!
@disqus_4pYt18DaZN:disqus lol…Nope…This is a happy flower! Thank You!
Beautiful. Great color and texture. Very sharp all around. Its almost like I can smell and touch this tulip. Awesome job!
@disqus_ZMqciOxroU:disqus Thank you so much! It was fun to create!
Great picture. Detailed and almost abstract.
@christianpiron:disqus Thank You! I do like the composition!
You have chosen an excellent subject for a single point of interest image – and you have captured it beautifully. Well done Amber! I also like the way you have cropped this imageWith all the leading lines leading me into the centre of this flower. You should be very proud of this image and if I were you, I would print it large and hang it on my wall. Brent
@brentmail:disqus Wow! What a fantastic review! I am very proud of it…now I just have to find a wall! Thank you so much for your kind words.
This is beautiful. I like the whole minimalist approach with the composure and colors. The lines on the petals lead right to the point of interest. very well done.
Sorry for the late reply @jarrodbeare:disqus. Thank You so much! I do love this image.
I hope you think this is a single point of interest – we were down at our local beach and this cloud just formed and drew my eye straight to it. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1b97e375f0598c3d61433a6455db1ad15b49d9f9e04557d4ba9e1407e99fa14c.jpg
Yes Jill, the cloud is the POI here. What were your photo settings and have you done any post processing on the image? I think you could bring out a lot of drama in this cloud. Have you experimented with converting it to B&W?
Hi Judy – no post processing done and no I haven’t experimented with B&W. I am pretty new to Lightroom so haven’t played around much with it. ISO100, F11, 1/250 sec.
Not sure if I overdid the LIghtroom on this. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/24f613809da688d6772176853d01c1bc767f425c4ea0249340ec5402e414f760.jpg
Wonderful looking clouds Jill – the POI in this shot for sure! As such i would be concentrating purely on them. Personally i would crop away most of the beach and the little rock on the LHS. You also have a bit of ‘Sun flare’ in the top LH corner (when out and about, use a lens hood for this) unless you purposely wanted the flare, that is! 🙂
As Judy has mentioned, use LR to get the contrast and clarity from the cloud – you can selectively just work on the cloud, without changing the blue sky (i think it is maybe just a bit overdone, so bring the saturation down a bit on the sky)….the wonder of nature…love it!
Hi Jill. Like this one better than the first. Might be a little overdone that could be a matter if taste. I would like to see the shot without the beech, might bring out the cloud even more.
Great cloud shot. It might make the cloud more pronounced if you cropped the beach a bit and brought out the texture in the cloud. Even so – great as is.
great cloud – absolutely stunning
I’m curious – where was this taken?
I think I’m in agreement with everyone else re a little overdone on the sky
Before I cropped I’d straighten the horizon, looks to be higher on the right to me
and I’d leave a bit of the beach it gives the cloud/sky something to anchor on
Hi Nick, I live near Narooma on the NSW South Coast of Australia – this is taken at Kianga about 4 klms out of Narooma. I agree I need to keep some of the beach otherwise it will lose some of the appeal. I’ll have a look at that horizon!
Narooma, nice area. I used to fish down that way in my younger days.
I asked because we had similar clouds over Sydney at about the same time, only I didn’t have the opportunity to get a photo.
Hi Jill. The cloud looks like an alien space craft. Do you guys have UFOs in Australia ? The blue sky on the left is a bit too blue. I agree with leveling the horizon. Very interesting.
I don’t think you over did it. I like this version better. The cloud pops out of the sky and contrasts against the sand. I do agree with Nick that you might see if you need to adjust the horizon. Great photo!
This image pops even more, maybe the only bit you over-did was the top of the sky. Yes my eye settles on the bottom – dark part of the cloud. How can you make that bit POP even more? Brent
Not sure Brent as I am just learning lightroom but I will have a go – would you use a brush or just use the colour sliders?
Brush or radial filter
Had a go with lightroom but not sure I made much difference https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e7a25df89a72bec446da5012d7eb31c2cefd89e0d4800570a650546129b9dc1b.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/215f64fd034d688986fd8c0d1617d71eb8c180056ebc81f9b1946b45f255919a.jpg
ISO 100 55mm f7.1 1/320 sec. Tried framing it.
Hi Roseann. This is a nice interesting shot. I take the foreground is the single point of interest. However my eye tends to wander to that house and tree in the background.
I see what you mean.
Nice chunky windmill and an interesting B&W
but I think your point of interest is lessened a lot by the rest of the photo
I like this photo in black and white. Great composition and sharp focus. I like that the windmill shows motion. Great job!
Hi Roseann, well done for posting your single point of interest image – I know exactly what it is. I also like the way you changed this to a black and white image to remove distractions. Something to try next time is to use a wide open aperture two separate your windmill from the fence and the tree in the background – shoot in aperture priority mode and open up your aperture as wide as it goes, for a shallow depth of field. Brent
Thanks. Have a new lens on the way.
Good morning all from a wet Dublin. Yes the rain is back. Ah well upwards and onwards. This shot is of an opening flower on my Clematis. Not sure if I got the shot right. ISO 200, FL 200mm, F6.3, 1/400 sec, lens 18-200 Tameron. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d866d46147680d843f5821a4665f8e5ad2b2a7a44ff3e5e748b0191b1bef26ea.jpg
Good morning to you Denis..from sunny Australia, the Clematis looks lovely, and is definitely the POI. I can’t wait for my Clematis to flower.
Hi Kerrie. Many thanks for your feedback.
Nice flower,
Not sure you got the focus on the right spot, though (or maybe I need my glasses)
Apparently it will be raining here in Sydney on the weekend, so we can be melancholy as well
Hi Nick. I agree with your comments and was of that mind when posting this morning. Ah yes, but it usually stops in your part of the world. Still today has improved a tad. Bright spells and showers.
Which may be why my forebears emigrated from your part of the world (Wicklow to be precise) more that 150 years ago, lol
Nick, a lovely part of Ireland from where my family hail from on my Father’s side. – Balinacore. Called the garden of Ireland.
Just reading up on creating soft focus backgrounds. It said if you use a telephoto, move away from the subject and shoot with wide aperture, it results in softer backgrounds. Is that what you did here. Like the shot, the colours and the texture on the flower.
Hi Lynne. Many thanks for your feedback. Yes – that is what I did here. I should have moved around though to get a more Head On Shot and that would have shown the inside of the flower.
Hi Denis. Can you fix the focus by using your sharpening tool ? The rain will make your flowers grow, right ?
Hi Peter, Will have a go at fixing the focus. As for the rain, well if happens at night I do not mind. I am like a farmer – need the rain but at the right time. Many thanks
Nice flower. I was going to ask about the focus point as well. Sometimes if there is a breeze it can cause our subject to be out of focus. Also some people like to go with a softer look. I am not sure which it is here, but my suggestion would be to use a tripod or a faster shutter speed next time if your intent was to have it in focus.
Hi Barbara. Many thanks for the feedback. Yes it is soft and I am out of position taking the shot. The aim was to get the soft background. Up to now I could not manage it, but it is coming right with improvements to make.
Welcome
Greetings from sunny Prince Edward Island. This shot is an attempt to use the clouds as a pointer to the setting sun – the point of interest. Shot at F9.0; 1/160;iso 250; 12 mm. Are the clouds too distracting or does this work.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/219f55f0539d0e2f0ad2116cffec5c3c9b12c1299b34ea2e80b159906cbf029f.jpg
Hi Lynne. I like the concept of what you were looking for and overall I like the shot. I am inclined to focus on the cloud formations more than the setting sun. Maybe if you cropped from the top down to near half way it would bring the setting sun more into play. That’s me just thinking out loud as it were.
thanks. I had taken it in portrait – so I have cropped quite a bit of sky. I had done a second one in Landscape and I cropped this also to see if better. The second one appears first and the sun is lower in the sky. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/737e1be99d59dc49703a92b1d14192acaf048e3c699adc0e0db77c4bc1e068eb.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6b8f5f5af60464b4f954ed8828a251acf2906ebe0be51bc1b2b39da3e4b1c9ee.jpg
Hi Lynn. They are still good shots and I like them. Still to busy I think to achieve your outcome. As I say I still like the shots.
Hi Lynne. I love the drama in the sky, however there isn’t one specific single point of interest. Great picture anyway, though. What would it look like in back and white ?
Those two look spectacular as well
I prefer the one with a bit of water etc
re Peter’s idea I had a play with B&W, don’t think it helps the single POI but was fun
a question – was the photo taken through a window?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2e6dda5c44de088ccba87908cbb9472da6bdf73abd714cd3fe21210e779af7a2.jpg
Took this last year. Not taken through a window as far as I remember. Why?
I just wondered as when I was playing with the colour sliders one of them brought out some spots in the open (cloudless) sky area – and I also wondered whether that line, starting at the top left third point and going up might have been a reflection
I’ll see if I can recreate the spots …
Ah
now I’ve had another play and maxed out the sliders, in the blue and
cyan channels, it seems clear that it is just the variation in the sky
pigment. The image below is the cyan slider almost as far as it can go into negative territory
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9ae7db129c3a50114dbdcb6293845f3a5c1e28fefd6364bfb41b141b8bf88140.jpg lso
Great idea
I like the photo – it is really dramatic
I think I can see what you planned, the curve from top left of blue sky and cloud edge to lead the eye down to the sun
Though, I’m not sure it works as you wanted, my eye gets lost in the jumble of clouds to the nor nor east(?) of the sun and I’m not convinced in my mind that deleting them would work. and I have no other ideas, sorry
This is a very dramatic shot of the sunset. Love the clouds and the brilliant color. Great capture!
Yes I do you see the leading line from the clouds starting at the top left, leaving my down into the middle and then to the sun. I also like the way you’ve framed this image by removing the reflection off the water which is a distraction from the setting sun. Great single point of interest image. Brent
Thank you Brent. I was a tad worried about this one. Wasn’t sure I had the shot
Stunning image, I love it!
Hi, folks: Here is a photo that combines our 3 sections so far: passion project, soft light, single point of focus. The flower is actually a fancy tulip and it had more than one bloom emerging on each stem. I tried out a new lens for this one and also used Brent’s tips for post-processing from his 14-day lessons https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a6509929e90ad1a47234809aff8f6d5546d8d683c310e03caf3e7ec3ddec6927.jpg . Nikon D5300; 1/4000; f/1.8; ISO 400; 50mm.
Hi Leila. To see the shot you have to click on the link above. That said it is beautiful shot, soft yet clear and precise. Very nice indeed.
Thanks, Denis: It’s raining here at the Jersey shore as well. Also, just as I returned from church, there was a cardinal pair sitting next to this tulip bed but they got away before I could try a photo. One of these days, I’ll be ready to catch them!
Very nice flower with matching background.
Yes, this is snow. This is Sami, our Siberian boy. His Russian name, Tasho. You might think he is a cat, I think he is a dog. See that intense look, the other night he was playing and ran into a cement figurine we owned and broke it into pieces. Was Sami hurt? He shook his head and then went to the front door for his 12:00am midnight walk around the neighborhood. He has three layers of hair to stay warm in very cold weather. He wants me to tell you that he is very handsome. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9a5f57afbf245b1192d9e551c2b14b92f0ace257cfc999ff8ac90aa492f8cfea.jpg
Yes, this is snow. This is Sami, our Siberian boy. His Russian name, Tasho. You might think he is a cat, I think he is a dog. See that intense look, the other night he was playing and ran into a cement figurine we owned and broke it into pieces. Was Sami hurt? He shook his head and then went to the front door for his 12:00am midnight walk around the neighborhood. He has three layers of hair to stay warm in very cold weather. He wants me to tell you that he is very handsome. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9a5f57afbf245b1192d9e551c2b14b92f0ace257cfc999ff8ac90aa492f8cfea.jpg
Here’s one I tried some post processing similar to Brent’s, cropping and adjusting backgrounds. First I’ll post the raw image, then I’ll add the post-production image. I like the darker tones of the raw because it evokes the early morning deeper shades, but I think the squirrel stands out more in the developed.
Raw:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7653172e1ca4371cc9e7a0c38c1f270513ed8715383780ba97f1829478d9e6a3.jpg
Edited: went to a square crop to use the trees as framing elements. De-saturated the background, increased the exposure, then sharpened and clarified the squirrel, and overall noise reduction. I also brushed out the de-saturation on the framing trees in lieu of adding a vignette.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d307b9a353210d32425855be566673cb0302212ec75d76e2d0c03e19c7a338d3.jpg
Hi Steve. Overall I like the shot. I think maybe the squirrel from the edited shot in the original and cropped might be good.
Great Capture Steve! I love that you captured the squirrel eating and out on the tiny branch. I do like the direction you are going with the edit – well done in isolating the POI. May I suggest an even tighter crop – do a 5×7 crop where you bring the left side to the back tree (you still have the trees framing the squirrel) with this crop the viewer is drawn directly to the squirrel … you place the squirrel on the upper left 1/3rd intersection which then places the branch the squirrel is sitting on on the lower 1/3rd intersection. You now have your main figures in your image on the 3rd intersections – the squirrel and the leading line to the squirrel, the branch… creates a stronger composition.
Yeah I think this version is much better @disqus_0mZTVOIKLI:disqus because your squirrel is now much more apparent to the viewer, and I like the way you framed the squirrel with the two trees. Well done for removing all distractions in this image. Brent
This makes me think he(?) is saying his morning prayers before coming down to breakfast, with hands folded and eyes closed 🙂
I was going to ask if he was praying before he ate his breakfast. I do like the cropped version a lot better. Helps to bring more attention to him.
I like how you captured him or her eating. Nice shot.
I really like the cropped picture of this little fellow eating, he is so cute, a really nice shot.
Yes, this is snow. This is Sami, our Siberian boy. His Russian name, Tasho. You might think he is a cat, I think he is a dog. See that intense look, the other night he was playing and ran into a cement figurine we owned and broke it into pieces. Was Sami hurt? He shook his head and then went to the front door for his 12:00am midnight walk around the neighborhood. He has three layers of hair to stay warm in very cold weather. He wants me to tell you that he is very handsome. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9a5f57afbf245b1192d9e551c2b14b92f0ace257cfc999ff8ac90aa492f8cfea.jpg
Brilliant capture….absolutely stunning image.Well Done Lon 🙂
Thank you so much, Rerro.
I have to agree with him, he is very handsome. I love those eyes. They are so crystal clear. Great photo and composition and you know what the single POI is. Love this photo
Thank you, Barbara.
And a very handsome boy he is! This is an awesome image, Lon. The expression on his face is just priceless…and the way you have captured the snowflakes adds a touch of magic. Love it!
Thank you, Kerrie.
Hi Lon. Great capture. Those eyes are very good – Don’t mess with me look. There is an intensity in this shot that comes off the screen as I look at it. Print and Frame it.
Thanks so much, Denis.
Great photo. I like that subject is off center.
Going with the ‘rule of thirds’.
Well done. How is one eye human and the other cat? Very well done.
I know what you mean about Sami’s eye but I think it’s just the way the picture turned out. But he has really intense and kind of human like eyes.
Looks like someone I used to work with!
Thank you, Nick.
Intense Eyes. And he is handsome.
Thank you, Roseann.
Nice “cat-ture” of Sami…those eyes!
I like the term ‘cat-ture’, that’s great. Thanks so much, fiat76.
Fascinating image Lon, just love those intense eyes. I would love to know how you created this image, is it a composite of two images? This image is perfect in my opinion, however to make it even better my suggestion would be to have the cat on the right looking into the image, instead of out – but this is really nit picking and looking for tiny flaws. Well done. Brent
Thank you, Brent. It is one picture and as far as looking into the picture, I know this is a general rule but it just didn’t work for me. When I did the crop the left side brought out more intensity to the picture than on the right side.
Yes sometimes we get what we get – especially working with kids and animals. Well done – stunning. Brent
There is a real human quality to this image. I love the intensity. Well done.
Thank you, Amber.
Great detail and focus on the cat. Snow adds mystery to the scene. Love this!
Thank you, Valerie.
Very handsome and powerful. Fabulous portrait! Well done, Lon.
Thank you, Judy.
He is indeed very, very handsome and I have to be careful my own cats don’t read this! Beautiful image!! Love how he is off to the side and the snow is blurred and he doesn’t care. Just like a cat!!
Thanks so much, Chris.
This is my first attempt at “intentional” Bokeh, an unfurled fern frond in my backyard. 1/10 sec, f5.6 ISO 100 at 75mm https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e1f1ca3f933699f59eaffafcfe4e777c1b51fef4254cb83be1d298a76b46e9fe.jpg
Hi Kerrie. I like it. Well done. It has taken me an age to get this Bokeh thing.
Ohh..you and me both, Denis! I wonder if it might be easier with a half decent lens!
Well now that is a good question. They say the lens is everything. I have a cropped sensor Cannon bought in 2009. I am considering upgrading to a Full Frame. The cost will be in the region of 4 grand in Euro. The most expensive part are the two lenses.
I thought about upgrading, but probably to another cropped sensor. Cost of full frame is too much for me. I’ve decided to stick with what I have, and save up for a better lens.
Kerrie. Nicely done with the Bokeh and good detail in the frond. However it looks like there may be a bit of movement of the frond or the camera from the slow 1/10 shutter speed. Did you use a tripod or handheld?
Hi Rodney, I also wondered if there was movement in this image. I used a tripod and remote shutter release. The fern is in a shaded corner of the yard, so there wasn’t a lot of light. However there was a bit of breeze around, so I was waiting for the gaps in between to fire the shutter.I took a few shots at different focal lengths and settings, and this one was what I thought might have been the best one. I’ll try again when there is no wind at all, and also make sure that the tripod is tightly locked down. Thanks so much for the feedback.
Hi Kerrie, with the 1/10 shutter speed, I think it is probably the best you could get and I think it is a very nice shot. In this kind of close up shot, even a slight movement will affect the sharpness. 1/10 shutter speed is not easy to handle. Maybe try using a higher ISO so that you can use a faster shutter speed.
Thanks so much for the feedback, Julie. I’ll try the higher ISO.
Kerrie, it is probably the fern moving slightly rather than the camera, if you were using a tripod. I often find the breeze increases as soon as i get my camera out to take some flower photos, and then stops once I put the camera away. 😉
great photo
The way the well focused frond sits out from the bokehy (bokehed?) background is superb
Hi and thanks, Nick. I was pretty pleased with my first effort. I’m not too sure about that lighter streak that runs from top left down to the curve of the frond (?) Anyway, I love this technique and I’m looking forward to practicing and using it more often.
Nicley done.
Thanks Roseann
While Kerrie, just love the flowing lines in your image. That leading line from the bottom takes my eye up right to the centre of the fern. Love the soft background – Something to check, is the single point of interest in perfect focus? Brent
Thanks Brent, I don’t think it is…
Very nice simple image. Good separation with the background, and lovely melting bokeh. I also like the way you have composed the image. I don’t tink you focus was spot on, but overall a very good image…well done!
Thanks so much, Rerro. I seem to have trouble with focus. Selecting the spot, and then getting it right.
What lens were you using Kerrie?
it was canon ef s 17-85mm
Using this lens to be able to achieve tack sharp images you should stick to the rule of thumb that says to use a shutter speed of at least “1/focal length”. So for a 100mm lens you’d want to use a speed of 1/100 of a second or faster. In this case, your SS should be at least 1/80. Obviously when you adjust the SS you will have to match your ISO and f-stop accordingly to ensure you have the correct exposure. Hope this helps 🙂
PS…need to add that this if it is handheld. You can have much slower SS when on a tripod!
Thanks, Rerro, I’ll go up the back right now and try again!
I love this shot. The leading line brings you right to the end of the branch and the bud that will unfurl. Love the shot background. It really makes it pop.
Thanks so much Barbara 🙂
Good morning all. Coming to the end of my posts for this challenge. Two to go. Closed Buds. ISO 200, FL 190mm, F6.3, SS 1/400, Lens Cameron 18 – 200. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/370ce6d1125e05f966837ea5a652992cb5430efca355538f504a869fbe90002d.jpg
Great bokeh affect, Denis.
Hi Lonnie. Many thanks. I think I am getting the hang of it now.
Very nice Denis, is that an Anenome, (Windflower)? It’s so nice watching your garden come to life… I can see each of your images in this challenge getting better and better. well done.
Kerrie. many thanks for your feedback. These last two shots are of Clematis Buds.
This is very pretty. My favorite topic for photos…flowers!!
Very pretty! Beautiful flowers.
great
I can see that you are getting the hang of this.
I’m being picky now but I wonder whether the bud might look better against a all mauve background or an all green. ie move to the left or right when taking the photo. I’m finding the little bit of mauve appearing behind the bud on the east nor east edge is suggesting that the bud is a tad out of focus.
Hi Nick. Many thanks for the feed back. I can see what you mean re the East/NorEast. Perhaps I should have removed this part of the background from the shot. Will have a go at this later.
Nice bud. Like the composition. I agree with nick that using some sort of different background would work better. This one is a busy, but still it is a great photo. Sometimes we can’t do a lot about the backgrounds.
Hi Barbara. Many thanks for the feedback. I suppose in Photoshop you could improve the background with layering etc. However I am not up to speed on that process yet.
Yes there are ways to do that. Even I am not that good at it.
I like this picture even though the background is busy, I like that you can see the blurred flower in the background.
Hi Lone. Many thanks for your feedback.
Nice sharp image Denis…..and the background has got the blur! Even though the background is a bit busy….the separation is good
Hi Rerro. Many thanks for the feedback which is great to get as always.
Here is my first attempt with the Single POI. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/30a3d0079b9ed880add97e56a40432ceb2fc4dd8115adcc6fe2d78a8c565bcf0.jpg
This is the light house on Inis Oirr. We just got back from Ireland on Monday. ISO 400 150mm f7.1 1/3200. We had a spectacular day trip to the island and then to the Cliffs of Moher via ferry, that day.
Hi Sara. I hope you had a good visit to Ireland. You were in a good spot ( Western Seaboard ) to get some good shots. I think you could crop from both left and right a bit. From what I can judge it was a hazy old day and a sea mist in the distance. Maybe if you brought down the highlights in the sky it would help to increase the atmosphere.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8152554b9add5a5c67d080bcc01ff5be51efaecad64de025c3e1aaad6bdc679c.jpg
Here my attempt on your advice. I think it looks better.
Nice composition (and nice part of the world)
This looks like a classic photo where you needed a grad neutral density filter – to darken the sky and keep the foreground light.
Can you in photoshop or whatever darken the sky (and maybe the sea) and keep the lighthouse and foreground as in the 1st photo?
oh and I like you single POI, great
Cropping the photo lets us know what the point of interest is. For some reason this version is darker then the first one. To fix this you can up the shadows a bit.
Hi Sara. I can see an improvement in part, As Barbara says below, yo need to lift the shadows in the foreground and around the Lighthouse. The sky is a lot better in my view.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7f48afd64c38455fee6aee2db690af3738d1bb6c968886f21bffc9555ade4b57.jpg
Here is the next attempt. I am trying to learn the software the same time as this boot camp, so it may take me a while to get there. Thank you for the kind words and the feed back, it is very helpful.
Hi Sara, Another big step forward here. Well done.
This is much better. Nice country side
This is a great example of single point of interest Sara – that lighthouse really stands out. I think this image would be more impactful if it were a monochrome black and white. Why not try it? Brent
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/561a7d43126e4c312c591fdf6ba332987045b53a7f7a5960740f850303326435.jpg
Here is the B&W version.
Love it
Thank you so much. I had actually converted it to B&W right after I had submitted the original image. Not sure why I didn’t just replace the color one with this. But it was fun and frustrating trying to adjust the color version, after all that is how one learns. Not sure why I didn’t have as much difficulty with the B&W.
Lovely image Sara, and the lighthouse is clearly your POI. The image is very hazy/misty which gives it a certain feel, but i would be working on this in post processing to kind of bring a little clarity to the horizon, and maybe crop some of the foreground.B&W would be the suggested conversion here!
Single POI: Sony a7ii 1/200, f/4.0, ISO 160, 105 mm, lens Sony 24-105 GM. I like the way the leaves seem to point to the tulip, and how the upper petal on the left seems a little transparent. The day was somewhat overcast and the breeze was non-existent to slight.
Single POI: Sony a7ii 1/200, f/4.0, ISO 160, 105 mm, lens Sony 24-105 GM. I like the way the leaves seem to point to the tulip, and how the upper petal on the left seems a little transparent. The day was somewhat overcast and the breeze was non-existent to slight. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c22fb403b22cd78b9bb3b3411d726102ff47b37504776e111a7355c819d97e65.png
Such wonderful colors and detail.
Thank-you, Sara! This was in front of the house; would much rather had been in Ireland!
Nice colour and nice shape
great photo
Your compliment is greatly appreciated! Thank-you, Nick!
Beautiful flower. Love the colors and the soft and dark to lighter background. Really makes the flower pop off the page.
It pops, for sure. Thanks for the thumbs up!
Welcome
Very nice photo.
Peter, thank-you! I have a new camera and am struggling learning all the bells and whistles…am shooting strictly on manual.
This is lovely. Great setting. Very dramatic
I appreciate your compliment!
Great capture fiat76, love the tones and colors in this image … beautiful – well done
Many thanks! You have posted some stellar images!
Thank you for your kind words
Hi fiat 76. Very nice shoot. Nicely balanced.
Thank-you, Denis! I appreciate your comment.
Fiat76, I like this composition, simple but very beautiful in the delivery
Thank-you for taking a look and your positive comments!
Lovely shot here I like the way the yellow pops from the dark background. Is there anyway you can upload a larger image 2000 pixels high? Would love to take a closer look. Brent
Will give it a go tomorrow, Brent!
Beautiful contrasts with the yellow and green, and the background. Very appealing image and the composition is good. Well done!
Rerro, thank-you so much!
Beautiful! It almost looks as if the leaves are sculpted out of clay! I love how the yellow flower pops!
Thank-you, Amber! This “girl” is fading fast! I am glad I captured her in her glory.
Finding that perfect Balance in Life
Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro Lens, f/6.3 1/5s ISO 100. Off camera lighting https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1310e06def22d0b143a99787c33ead0178bf2bd0c5a136d4bcd554cd20a1f7f2.jpg
Wonderful shot!!!!!
Thank you so much Lon
Belinda. Great shot. Very creative indeed.
Thank you so much Denis
Love the lighting!
Thank you so much fiat76
Well done! I find for myself that it can be difficult to find an idea. And when I see your picture it looks so nice.
Thank you so much Christian
Very creative! Love it.
Thank you so much Sara
Belinda, very nice picture. I like that you were symmetrical with this picture. The rule of thirds can be broken and still have a nice picture. Well done
Thank you so much Juan
Belinda, I like the sharp detail on the egg and the way you have it tilted slightly to the right. How did you create the black background ?
Thank you so much Richard, I used a black backdrop
Nice and interesting picture – like the balance in the picture.
Thank you so much Lone
Love the balance quote from this image Belinda. My eye goes directly to the egg. The studio lighting in this image is great – my only suggestion is to make your background not totally black, I would prefer to see a grey background which will even out the image and little more – make it more balanced. Just my opinion 🙂 Brent
Thank you Brent, will try your suggestion.
Something that would even out the scene more – make it more balanced
Very interesting picture – I love the composition.
Thank you so much Jill
Cool photo
I like it that you are thinking outside the square
The only thing I can think of that would make it better is if it was an easter egg!
Great imagination. Creative and interesting composition.
Thank you so much REVillanueva
Wow…very creative shot! A well balanced image. I would have like to have seen the forks in full. Have you purposely cropped the forks to make this into a square image? I think from a composition perspective, it would be a stronger image if we saw the complete forks on either side of the image. Very good idea, and well technically well executed.
Thank you so much Rerro, I did purposely shoot this image this way, went for more of an artsy look… will try next time with full forks in frame.
I like the creativity Belinda…look forward to seeing more!
Great shot. Love the creative flare. Nice reflections and background. Good job
Thank you so much Barbara
Beautiful shot Belinda, so much to like!
Thank you so much Dianne
awesome, very original great light, well done.
Thank you so much John
Very clever image, Belinda 🙂 I particularly like the symmetry and reflections, although there is no doubt the egg is the star.
Thank you so much Judy
Good morning all. Were ever you are I hope you have had or are having a good day. My last shot in this series. Will have to go out and take more to continue. Yes another Clematis Bud. ISO 200, FL 200mm, F6.3, SS 1/400 sec. Same lens as with the other shots. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d77b65899b4188f56520dfd1f4c2d15171044167f9078d12826b4031fa99c9a3.jpg
Hi all. I think this one is slightly better, Not sure. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/78d5348f4d592742f0dd01654873ccce0396bd299b09c08ec58b72075e7d499a.jpg
Denis, I like the color in this one better, it is slightly more vibrant. Well done.
H Sara. Many thanks for your feedback. I am leaning that way myself.
Wow Denis this image really rocks! Love that single point of interest, it really parts from the dark background – And the fact that you have the bad in focus and the background out of focus adds more to the image. Brent
Hi Brent. Many thanks for that feedback.
Love this image Denis – I keep expecting it to open up – there is anticipation there. Great shot.
Hi Jill. Many thanks for your feedback. I am happy with this one.
Practice, practice practice……you are improving Denis. This is a great image! Well done!
Hi Rerro. Many thanks for your feedback. I like this one myself and pleased with it.
This bud is jumping out of the page at me. Great angle and shot. Almost looks 3D. Nice Job and Great Photo!
Hi Barbara. Many thanks for your feedback.
Wow, love this… I feel like it’s going to open and snap up an unsuspecting insect!
Hi Brenda. Many thanks for the feedback.
Beautiful Image Denis!
Hi Chris. Many thanks for your feed back.
Beautifully composed, and the depth of field separates the bud beautifully.
H Jarrod, Many thanks for your feedback.
Single POI: Canon 70D
settings: 1/80 F5.0 ISO400 EF-S 18-135 / 50mm
I liked the colour of those flowers and wanted to fill the picture together with the underlying repetitive structure.
The repetitive presence of the flowers and the circles of the structure
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d88f8b4805b9e2a36072ef8a083481d552a2ab91a1e4698afd528d09ae4e96e6.jpg
Hi Christian. Nice shot. I find myself looking at the flowers, then the rings then the blurred fern. I wonder if the shot was taken from a different angle would it help?
Denis, the background was a bit disturbing. But indeed I could move that bouquet to another place. I will keep it in mind.
Christian, Love the colors. What made you take this in portrait mode? Maybe crop a bit of the black off the top of the image to balance out the framing similar to the bottom of the shot? Do you have a similar shot in landscape?
Sara, I cropped the picture (see modified picture). I had also a landscape one as you can see. Normally I rarely crop my pritures. That’s why I chose the portrait one. But you are right: the cropped one is better. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2511e76752289ba728ad9ea209c4cc437ea36a1498f959c54902b80490524acc.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/51fc73bd15a2a33ac3bace2817c60e5de3778b00410cf7dfa8fc1aadd2ca8f20.jpg
I do like the cropped portrait one better, I think the cropping balanced it out a bit. 🙂
Hi Christian. I think the cropped version is the one.
Yes, nice tight crop and vibrancy.
Just love the colours in your image @christianpiron:disqus – The flowers really pop from the background. What would you say the single point of interest is in this image? Brent
Brent, are you referring to the fact that for a single point of interest there are too much flowers? Would a picture with only one flower be a better picture for this challenge?
Yes – just one thing for your eye to settle on. Keep it simple. Brent
The crop on this image, as shown below ,works better for me as it enhances the colour and the focus without taking out the curves in the background.
Beautiful image!
Beautiful colours in your bouquet Christian. It does feel like there needs to be more room for movement. Did you crop the image this way?
Rerro, what do you mean with “more room for movement”? In the original picture there was a black part on top. I agreed with the remark of Sarah and got it away.
It feels like the flowers are are squashed into the frame. It looks like you took the photo using the portrait orientation, maybe next time use the landscape option so you have space on either side of the bouquet. If you have more space you could use LR/PS to vignette the background to make the flowers the POI.
Beautiful flowers. I like the bright vibrant colors. You have sharpness throughout the photo. Great job.
very nice colors Christian. I like the cropped picture better. You shoud try to see if you can get the blurred background. The Bokeh would make the flowers stand out more
Here’s another submission for single point of interest … the spire atop a classic theatre in the California Gold Country on a very hot late afternoon in July 2016. 28 mm prime lens, 1/1000 sec @ f/7.1, https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/974ddb1758de9a6e2e7ee19323273d51d9503707f6c3bfd567b644107bfadf34.jpg ISO 100. The original photo has been seriously cropped otherwise not much post processing.
Great shot Richard – I do like your single point interest, looks like it was built in the 50s. Something to think about with this image is where exactly does a person eye settle? Mine tends to go up and down. Brent
Brent, Thanks for your comment ! My eye does the same thing. I guess this was not a good example of single point of interest. I will submit something else that doesn’t let the eye wander.
Hi Richard. Very good shot and I like it even if my eye wanders up and down.
Beautifully sharp image! and the colours certainly make the image pop! I know that you have told us the story about tis image. But if you didnt i would be wondering what story this is telling me. You have mastered the image technically, but now you need to make it tell a story….easier said than done…i know! Well done 🙂
Nice shot. Definitely know what the POI is. I like the background it makes the spire pop out of the picture.
Thanks to all for the comments … and to Rerro for raising the bar to include “story telling” !!!
Single point of interest – there was so many dandelion, and this busy bee just went from flower to flower and he is covered all over with flower dust.
Settings: 1/1250 sec, f8.0, ISO 1000, 210 mm(70-210).
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e37dd4730e54645f7d8366a67406451a691b3d4130fa4863eadfd98a866f87ff.jpg
What vibrant colors! Love the detail. Great shot!
Thank you.
Great image, Lone! I love all that pollen on the bee.
Karriere Thank you i love it too.
Fantastic image – I love that the bee is covered in yellow pollen – he really stands out.
Jill thank you – and he sure stand out.
Wonderful image with the detail of the pollen on this bee really adding interest to your image. A good example of filling the frame and also lovely separation of your subject from the background.
Dianne thank you very much for your detailleddet comments.
Great capture Lone, he has definitely been a busy bee … love the pollen all over the bee! Well done
Belinda thank you
Hi Lone. Good capture here. Well done.
Dennis thank you
Great capture Lone…..not easy to get the bee still enough for a tack sharp image!. I do feel tat the bee is getting lost in the yellow background, and the yellow pollen. I would be trying to get more clarity and detail on te bee, to make it stand out from the yellow of the petals.
Rerro thank you for your feedback i Will look into it and try to give it more clarity
Rerro I have given the Bee a little more clarity https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0cf99e5b971dab373be99ddba997a1d7676a95709c6195aa6bed60e639078ef2.jpg
Perfect, just gives the bee that little lift. Love it…..love the little curly bits of the flower too…..such a good shot Lone…well done. These shots give you inspiration 🙂
Rerro thanks for your feedback i Learn a lot from these comments
My pleasure Lone….glad to help….:)
Terrific, Lone! The bee stands out more in this image.
Great capture. Very bright and vibrant. Nice sharpness in the bee.
Thank you
Great Image
One of mother natures great creatures doing his job
Nick yes it is amazing what mother Nature has created – thanks
This image needs to be viewed large! Love all the pollen on your bee. Like the way you have cropped this image to take away all other distractions and have my eyes focused on your single point of interest. Well done. Brent
Brent:Thank you
Love it! Nothing better, in my opinion, than a bee covered in pollen!
Here is my second go at a single point of interest. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ea5b57634989e869858083e69a7a0a169406352146b6aa6a84cd0665ac890f87.jpg
Great capture Jill!
Thanks Belinda, I have captured a few seagulls – they stand still longer than the garden birds!
Nice shot.
Thanks Roseann.
Nice picture
Thanks Lone.
Hi Jill. Very good shot. The eye is sharp and crisp and draws me in. Nice soft background. Maybe the legs and beak could be toned down a bit. Good work in my view.
Thanks Denis for the comments – I didn’t do any processing of this shot – those are his true colours! I like that the eye draws you in.
Lovely sharp shot, and clearly the POI in your photo. The background is slightly distracting the way you have cropped it, and would like to see more space for the bird to look into. I would be cloning out the rope in the background, that seems to go through the bird. But these are my personal preferences, and ideas for you to think about..
Agreed. Fantastic sharpness and color pops! The blue spot in the upper left caught my eye… maybe you could trim just a bit or clone the darker colors to hide it.
Thanks Brenda. I will definitely have to look at cloning.
Hi Rerro, I haven’t actually done any post processing or cropping – this is just as. I am new to Lightroom and have not had a lot of practice so not sure how to clone out the rope (or even if you can in Lightroom) but I will have a look. Thanks for your comments.
Great shot! Love the sharpness of the eye and the rest of the bird. He has plenty of room to move in the picture. The only thing I might suggest is to straighten out the board he is standing on.
I really like this image is Jill because your seagull is side on and I can see it’s eye clearly. For me that is the single point of interest in this image – the seagulls eye. The only suggestion I have his to darken the highlights on the right behind the seagull a little bit, which will make the seagull pop even more. Brent
i This is my second Single Point of Interest Image. The weather has given us some beautiful mornings on the Sunshine Coast which encouraged me to take my camera on our morning walk. My settings were F8, 1/350 ISO 200. I was using a 35mm lens.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3419a72c59658fe0c0ca85c6013225c077876ac61d34baabafa24d32d3c515fd.jpg
Ohhh. The reflections are great.
Thanks Roseann, I loved the reflections too.
Hi Dianne. I love the capture of the reflections in this shot. Very nice.
Thanks you Denis. I’m glad you like it. It was such a beautiful morning!
Dennis, I like very much the symmetrie of the bridge with his reflection.
Thank you Christian for your comments.
Lovely still water for a perfect reflection….how would you make this a better image? I think a B&W conversion would be the way to go!
Hi. I love the reflections in the water. Gives it such a surreal look. Great composition and leading lines. Great photo.
Many thanks Barbara!
A long single POI – great image and fantastic reflection – cool
I was wondering how it would look as a B&W
Hi Nick , nd Rerro thanks for your comment and suggestion about a black&white. I haven’t had much experience with black&white but I’ve applied a Classic conversion pre-set which I have. I quite like the results. What do you think?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/33cddd1d655a3bf2bfaaa91e98f29eb020f1b12554e1e504ce4f4d1ca849a475.jpg
cool
looks like a scene out of a “wild west” movie
seriously – makes the water look more
mirror like, if that’s possible
Really cool! The reflection is quite something!
More powerful image in B&W…..well done Dianne!
I really like this monochrome black and white Version of your image Dianne. The reflections are stunning. For your single point of interest is it the person walking on the bridge or is it the bridge on its own? Brent
For me it was the beautiful light on the bridge which created the reflections on the water. The person on the bridge was a chance encounter which added interest but was not the prime POI.
In view of Brent’s question, it would be interesting to see what how cropping to emphasize the person might affect the image.
I still prefer the color version for this one, I think maybe a bit more contrast.
Hi Dianne. For me it is the reflections that make this shot stand out. I think the B/W gives the reflections a better edge and for this reason the B/W gets my vote.
Love the reflections in both shots. Nice Job.
great photo, good reflections
400mm 1/640s f/5.6 iso 800
Canon 7D, EF 100-400 IS USM
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/62b34dee81b90c26b05bf9b49948f225fdc4197f58157fc580173946ea7ca310.jpg
Wow Mr Ellis…..this is a brilliant example of POI. Really clever photo. I personally would be cropping the top of the image to just above the hurdles. And then try and enhance the athlete even more, so that he stands out.
Christine, Thanks muchly
I’ve tried to get this shot for a couple of years, and never quite nailed it. I would have gone a little lower but I was resting the lens on the fence as it was!
I tried a tighter crop at the top and wasn’t really happy with it. I thought it needed to show a bit of clearance over the top of the hurdles
I have to admit I don’t like the bit to the top left, might try and blur it up a bit
I thought you may have tried a different crop already….:) Just checking hahahaha! And yes, going lower would have done the trick, but like you say – this is not always possible!
No matter what, i really like this shot! Well done!
I cropped a little just for you!
And I didn’t like the blur on the top left so got the earthmoving equipment in and made the hill bigger
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0f513f48089b099288f715deef9e83dbd84c1ad03076a5197cb444bc885e72e2.jpg
I like it….and the gardening has done wonders! Much more appealing 🙂
Awesome shot! Great creativity!
Hi Nick. Like it even better.
I do like this one better Nick – My eye is sucked right in to the sprinter, very good example of single point of interest. Well done for removing the distraction at the top left. Brent
Thanks
After I read Christine’s comments I thought ‘how can I make this better?’ Hiding the (whatever it is) was obvious, so more grass was needed
I love these type of shots. The crop is definitely better.
I agree – this is a stronger image.
Hi Nick. This is magic. Great shot. Very creative.
Nick, that a great shot with those leading lines towards that men waiting…
What a creative and cool shot! I can feel the anticipation of the starting gun ready to go off!
Love this shot – very creative. I agree that it needs a bit of cropping but great composition of the hurdler.
Eye is definitely drawn to center of photo with the runner in starting position. I feel that cropping this photo to a 16:9 ratio would help in addition to off setting from center your visible runner. But a very nice perspective.
how were allowed to take this one, great shot
I love your leading lines and how it focuses on the runner in the middle. Sort of an optical illusion. The upper part of the photo kind of detracts for me and in my opinion I would have cropped it out but its a matter of choice of course. I feel part of the scene like the runner is coming straight for me .. All in all I like what you did.. Very creative.
Love the way the hurdles form a tunnel that leads my eye to the subject, and give context to what was going on. Great job, Nick.
Brent, here is the larger image you requested .
It should be 1500 x 2000. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c1ef513bf26bafc9c219e7a65b7b81d70a5e103824b95ae7fe10b82339a159cd.png .
Nice composition, leading lines, and colors!
Hi Fiat76. Big improvement here.
Excellent – now I can view it large – stunning image. Like your shallow depth of field to highlight your single point of interest the yellow flower, and that black background really makes your flower pop! Brent
Thanks, Brent, for your feedback!
This is wonderful! The bright yellow stands out so sharply against the dark background and muted dark green leaves surrounding it. I’d like to see this as a print.
David, thank-you! This one will probably end up on the wall and/or on a note card!
Lovely image… Love flowers in general and yellow against the dark background works for me.. The bokah seems smooth and depth of field just right .. Great job!
Thanks so much, Terri, for your input! Much appreciated….
Your very welcome 😉
Very nice photo. I like the composition and depth of field.
Valerie, your comment is greatly appreciated!
Very nice fiat76! I like the contrast of the yellow with the dark background and that the shape of the leaves point toward the flower.
Your feedback is greatly appreciated, Judy! Thank-you!
My next image for POI is a 5 shot panorama of my city Perth, from the vantage point of Kings Park! This was taken at about 10am on a blustery windy day!
I was using my wide angle 24-70 TAMRON with my NiSi CP. Looking forward to feedback on this one!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/af547ab8325cd6310c38709d14bcfdad8176eeb7fb51aed67a9900a4e64bc847.jpg
Love the cool tone colors! I am finding the trees a little distracting, but I do like the image.
Thanks Sara….yes, i hear you about the trees! But i wanted to incorporate them in my image to tell a story.
I am a big fan of panorama images too. Love the way your image transitions from greens to blues in the background. I am struggling to find a single point of interest in this image however – eventually my eye settles on the pedestrians walking on the footpath. Brent
Thanks Brent….my POI was the city in this case, but i wanted to incorporate the majesty of the trees overlooking the skyline. Also, i wanted to have the effect of taking the image from the shadows, looking into the lit up city! Kind of drawing you in through the trees. Thanks for the feedback, i may need to go back to the drawing board 🙂
It’s a lovely image – worthy of printing but might be too busy for single point of interest. Just my opinion. Brent
Totally understand
Very nice pano Rerro. You do great work.
Thanks so much Lon
Having never been to Australia, much less specifically to Perth, this looks like a great location from which to show the city as a panorama. Interestingly, I don’t see any hint in the photo that the day was blustery – not even any motion in the trees.
Like Sara, I found the trees to be a bit distracting in that they break up the view of the city, which thus becomes somewhat less a POI. As I studied this panorama, I was curious to what extent you were able, when setting up the shots, to optimize the view of the city through the trees.
Thanks foe the comments and feedback David. In this case the panorama was taken handheld on AV (aperture priority) f8 ISO100. i was focusing in about a 1/3 of the way in. This ensured that i had my foreground and the distance in focus.Te 1st image had a SS of 1/60 and as i swung around, the faster it became, ending up at 1/125sec. Hope this answers your question?
Thanks, Rerro. The other part of my question was how moving, particularly to the right, may have given you a clearer view of the city through the trees. Perhaps not because the trees appear to be pretty much spread out, even to the right.
My focal distance did not change. I stayed 70mm as i swung around from left to right, so once i had focus to the left, i did not need to focus again. The exposure was slightly different in each of the shots, and towards the right the SS got faster (this is perhaps the reason…not sure). Could also be how LR merged the images when stitching them together.
Hi Rerro. I like this image. It has an interesting composition to it. I like the trees and find myself looking through them to the city sky line. I might have removed the people from the shot – only an opinion.
Thanks Denis, glad you like it. I have not completely stayed on brief in this image, as i collectively took the city as my POI, and in hindsight should have focused on one point only.
Hi Rerro. Poetic licence my friend.
When I saw this I thought that your single POI was the city, I think mainly because nothing else was obviously the SPOI
It’s a great image with brilliant colours and is very eye catching.
Not sure it meets the strict definition of the SPOI as there is a lot going on and the trees are running interference. It is an image that your eye wants to explore.
But what the heck – it is a very appealing image
And to cater to my quirky sense of the bizarre, it would have been interesting to have that couple in a couple more of the shots…
hahahahahaha….thanks Nick, yes i pushed outside the limits of the brief somewhat!
Sense of bizarre……in actual fact there was a car in the image, that magically disappeared after the stitching…..i was thankful for that!
What a Great Capture Rerro! I love the point of view looking at the city through the trees… you have the peaceful serenity of the park overlooking the busy city – well done! I agree it doesn’t fit the Single Point of Interest theme but I am glad you shared it as I have enjoyed seeing Perth through your lens. The only thing I would do is clone out the sign in the middle
Thanks for the kind words Belinda….i will try and get rid of the pesky sign! 🙂
Christine, I love this photo, composition, color, contrast, sharpness & perspective. Being a commercial building contractor for over 40 years , I obviously love the subject matter. Most glass has a green or blue green tint to it and you have really captured it here. I don’t have a problem with this being a single point of interest as the City of Perth skyline made up of multiple components. You need to sell this image to the City of Perth Chamber of commerce and make it a postcard fro sale to tourists. Everyone who comes to Perth will want to buy one. I really admire your work.
Thank you for your kind words Jim. I am thrilled that you have been able to see ‘wood through the trees’ so to speak! and you have seen what i was trying to project. I feel quite humbled by your words. Thank you again 🙂
Rerro, I love this photo and I’m very impressed that you could get this great panorama results without a tripod. I like seeing the city through the shadowy trees, and I like that there are two people in the shot. It gives the photo a sense of scale. The only change I would consider would be to crop the right end to eliminate the thin tree and the lower buildings in the background.
Thanks for the feedback Richard, it is most encouraging 🙂 i will go and re-crop and report back
I see the city first, and then the trees. I expect to see it on a postcard if I ever make my way to Perth! Thanks for sharing all the information about how you made this image, Christine.
Thanks Judy – i hope one day to be in print all over the city! 🙂
I like how it links the city and the bush together and I like the colour of the buildings which make it a nicely balanced shot.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6f255b2717492d188a8903dbf470cc66130d40bd25bd8a8ec818a0c91bc21add.jpg
ISO 400, 300mm, f/6.3 1/1000 Not sure what type of Gull this is, but I was lucky to capture it flying. I have just cropped out a bit of extra space, not done any color adjustments or anything else. This was taken on April 29th from out Ireland trip, somewhere around Galley Head, if memory is correct.
Love that the bird has lots of room to fly into. Try cropping the water at the top of the image to try and get the bird on the rule of thirds line at the top. The waves on the water are also forming like a leading line. The POI is quite soft, and not completely sharp….but this would be difficult considering the bird is in flight. Great thought out shot Sara!
Hi Sarah, this is a good single point of interest shot. I was wondering how you could make the seagull standout even more, There are quite a few things you can do in post processing: Use a radial filter in Lightroom to enhance the contrast, clarity and exposure of the seagull. Try it. Brent
Hi Sara. Very nice shot. I like the way the Gull is flying into the shot. I would try to enhance the Gull as Brent and Rerro have suggested and see how you get on.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ed212de9f6cfcbd9f6a3fbf62cb35da55dc2d76e26479ef5bf210557c9cf0ba0.jpg
This is my attempt at clarity and making the gull stand out more. I have more to learn about the software.
Nice
he/she is definitely the single POI, congrats on the capture
Unfortunately he isn’t super sharp. Can you sharpen him up a little? I have the same issue with an image I’d like to share – the rotten camera didn’t focus on the Single POI (which also happens to be a bird) so if you work out how to do it let me know! lol
I’d probably crop a little tighter so there is less dead space (if you can call that interesting water dead space.) I like the wing reflection on the water.
Cactus Flower, found this near my home on a walk. This was in taken soft light. POI is not the center of the flower but the item on the pedal. Nikon d750,35mm lens, 1/4000, f1.4,ISO 200.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3aaa96a6e1715c5cc4e10b409aa5d440a8ee00de108ab0fc6cdc48d5294305e7.jpg
Great capture Phyllis. You decided what your single point of interest is while photographing this flower and using a very shallow depth of field you have made it very obvious to the viewer – excellent work! This is what these challenges are all about… going out and photographing something with the challenge in mind. I’m impressed! How can you improve this image? I would darken in the background on the bottom right a little more, especially the highlights. Brent
Hi Brent, I did as you suggested with Lightroom classic cc. Worked with the adjustment brush and toned down the highlights. Is this the tool you were thing to use to darken the background?://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c25221f2d8ed39282ea5fdcf2320e2528d820c1941679ad6466b005ed786334d.jpg
Yes, looks a lot better in my opinion. Brent
Hi Phyllis. Lovely shot. I like it.
Beautiful!
Very nice Phyllis.
Here’s a third attempt at single point of interest that tells a story … I hope ! Sunset on Half Dome shot through the trees in the valley with 28 mm lens, ¼ sec, f/16, ISO 100 set on tripod. Just a word about me and my camera … I got tired of hauling a big Nikon and multiple lenses around and purchased the Leica Q with a prime 28 mm lens hoping that I could replicate telephoto shots by cropping in Lightroom. I’m not always satisfied with the results but it’s a lot easier. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a052c34ce079e95c5c84132b6128f52306ddd915e53bce6dcf32ee81aa962a95.jpg
In the footsteps of Ansel Adams
nice light on the rockface
nice image
I really like the color of the evening sun reflecting off Half Dome – alpenglow on rock. The framing by the trees certainly emphasizes the point of interest. It’s unfortunate the the tree obscures the left side of the mountain, but it doesn’t look like you had an option to eliminate it.
Really nice image, like the framing.
Hi Richard. Very Nice. I like the light and tree shadows on the rock face. Good shot.
Lovely shot! Have not been there yet. Love the moodiness.
Nice photo – really like the light on the rock with the dark trees.
Love the composition and the great lighting and how you used the trees in the foreground to frame the subject.
Thanks to all for the kind comments.
I’m with you there Richard, taking out minimal gear really does help your body and it forces you to be more creative. This is a great capture. I would love to go back to Yosemite and spend a few days photographing these peaks. You’re single point of interest (half dome) really does pop in your image due to the warm sunlight – lighting it up and the fact that you have framed it with the pine trees. Well done! Brent
Photo taken with Sony A7 w/ 24-240 Lens at 67mm. 15 seconds @ f/16, ISO 50. Sailboat was photographed in Ft. Pierce, FL. Long exposure was used to smooth out small waves around boat and add saturation to colors of the sky after sunset.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5efcdf5e33d6412da9dce8330f7125925a951b84239e92051df6dc526956129e.jpg
Very nice image great colors
Hi Eugene. Lovely shot. I think you achieved what you were looking for.
Great photo, love the colours and what you have done with the long exposure
did you use a ND filter to increase the exposure time?
I wondered whether the sky or the boat were the single POI but doubt that it matters in this image
actually looking at the larger image my eye is drawn to the boat, cool photo!
No ND filter was used, but the low ISO of 50 combined with the low light present after sunset allowed for the longer exposure. Three images were layered/merged as an HDR image in Lightroom to bring out additional detail.
thanks for the extra info
cheers
Love the photo .. I’m a sucker for sunsets and boats. Is the boat capsized or is it sinking? Its not clear to me.. The boat definitely is the subject and for me the colors are wonderful.. Good job!
Thanks, the boat is actually sitting on the ground. It was about 30 feet off the beach, so its for all practical purposes beached and sitting on its keel and leaning.
Wow! I would never known that..It looks far from shore to me.. Must have been POV.. Thanks for clearing that up 😉
Great colors! Love that the story could go a number of ways!
Nice Photo with nice colors – reeky beautiful
Love the colours in this image….and the composition is unique. What was the POI, the boat or te sunset?
Boat was the POI.
Thanks Eugene….i am thinking how to enhance the boat….i think it i struggling to compete with that fabulous sunset….but the more i look at the photo….i think it all works together perfectly! Great shot, and i like that you used filters and a long exposure!
Overall nice photo. Also not sure of the single POI. If it is to be the boat, maybe cropping in a little tighter would help. Maybe lighten up the boat itself and add a little vignette.
Thanks for the input. Previously I had tried several of the suggestions you mentioned. I took a look again, and went to a Black and White look with some muted colors coming through. It creates a moody atmosphere to the photo. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/88edc3eab29e0bd8e3bd999e11453ca51aba18040a8675f5bad7a56857c0a413.jpg
I think this version is great, Eugene.
definitely the boat now
I like the subtle colouring
Eugene, I like those muted colours. How do you do this? Is it the same as just not full desaturating certain colours?
Hi Christian, for the muted colors on the black & white edit, I used the program “Dramatic Black & White”. It allows you to control or allow some of the colors to come through in the black & white.
I really like this one and I think it better defines the boat as the POI.
Eugene I quite like this edit. I am drawn more to the boat in this version.
this is very nice.
Eugene, I like this black and white image. It’s much more peaceful and lets the boat stand out.
Eugene, while I like both versions, I’m leaning towards the full colour version because I think that colour in the background helps draw my eye to the silhouette of the boat’s frame and mast.
Wow what brilliant colours here Eugene. What I love about this long exposure image is that the sailboat is sharp and the clouds and the water are moving – blurred. This really makes your single point of interest jump out of this image. Well done. Is this sailboat shipwrecked? Brent
Hi Brent, I don’t think I would call the sailboat shipwrecked, but it was grounded, sitting on its keel and leaning.
It’s really interesting to read all the comments and try to see what others see. I think this is a beautiful image and i love it in color but after reading comments I am looking at it differently, in ways I didn’t before.
Hi,
This image taken in low light in typical Irish pub in Galway, this gentleman sat in on a music session,
which is not unusual, he did not speak English very well, he sat for about 20mins concentrating on
the music while he ran his fingers over his strings, then he joined in as if he had been playing all his life.
an attempt to capture his concentration. ISO 400, FL 56mm, f1.2, 1/180secs https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e9e498ba8ce526310cad8f92eeef77492299470087b46b62a2a5039e9a5f5f93.jpg
Hi John. Nice shot. I think you captured the concentration. I like the soft background. Good shot. I wonder what the shot would be like from head on?
Thanks Denis, a frontal shot was not possible because of the confined space, I
think it would have made a very interesting portrait.
I like this – great photo – you’ve captured the intensity of his concentration extremely well and the B&W suits the photo
Thankyou Nick
To have a side profile showing concentration is impressive. I was focused on his face wondering what he was doing and was able to pick up just enough in the soft focus area to realize it was a musical instrument. That made me sense the POI being a musician focused on his craft. Nicely done.
Thanks Point.
What a great shot John….it shows the POI, the lighting is perfect, the Dof works….leaving enough in the background to add to the context. The image is telling a story, there is a connection between the subjects eye and the instrument…..all brought together in a great timeless photo. And portraying it in black and white was a good choice! Well done 🙂
Great capture. Ditto all of the other comments. Nicely done! Love the B&W
The same from me. LOVE it.
Love this John. Nice profile which I am instantly drawn to.
What a terrific portrait of this musician. The composition is simple, yet helps tell the story. Well done, John.
John, this is an excellent photo. I can feel the tight connection between the man and his instrument. I can almost hear the music !
Really interesting story behind this image John – I like the focus and concentration on your subject face, and as you probably already know I’m a huge fan of black and white images. I like the way you have cropped this image leaving using his dark hair to frame the image on the top left and his dark shoulder on the bottom left, very good. Also your focus is brilliant with such a shallow depth of field too. Well done. Brent
Very intense, powerful iimage.
Great image.
great shot Can feel the intensity in his face. Did you crop around his head?
My next single point of interest photo is another bird, but this time not from my backyard. Amongst many seagulls at Nelson Bay NSW last year this one caught my eye. Settings: 1/1000s @ f/5.1, ISO 400, lens Olympus M.75-300 @ 94mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/241d072bed8eefaa27045e83fced01851e7c0afe169358fb3bc6fdb9aeaf0a9d.jpg
Hi Rodney. Nice image. sharp and good eye.
Thanks Denis.
Rodney, again nice picture. Sharp eye of the bird.
Thanks Chirstian. I did lighten the head and eye a little, given that the seagull wouldn’t turn around to be mostly in the sun.
Nice shot. Looks like the bird is giving you the eye. :p Sad it lost part of its leg.
Thanks Point. I seem to remember that even with one leg, when there was food around it was able to fend okay for itself.
Good focus on the rock and bird.
Thanks John
Great shot. Tack sharp focus with great background blur. I love the eye and the fact he is perched on one leg.
Thanks Jim. The one leg got my attention among the gulls that were there.
Hi Rodney, this is a great image, sharp and good background blur….tho it make me sad.
That makes it a powerful image for me.
Thanks Kerrie. Did seem to be doing okay nonetheless.
For me, the story is that this gull’s leg has been caught up and strangled in fishing line or similar, so tight, until it lost it’s leg.
Nice sharp shot Rodney.
Nice tight, well focused image. I thought the leg was tucked up until I looked more closely. I think he’s eyeing off your camera to determine whether it’s edible!
Spectacular focus, Rodney! I keep looking right at the bird’s eye.
Pirate seagull with one leg – Think I’ve seen this one before in Nelson bay. This is an excellent capture Rodney, your image is tack-sharp and the seagulls I really pops for me. Good choice to use a shallow depth of field here. My one suggestion is to minimise the highlights of the other seagulls in the water in the background. Brent
Pirate indeed, lol
Brent, I expect you have seen it. I have reduced the highlights in this version. Not too much different but reducing further ends up making those areas unnaturally dark areas. The end result is an improvement and less distracting. Thanks.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ea5c2f31432a99baa2d31d9601def88118231a4f8c484d8d35991ffba47e89a1.jpg
Nice
Hi Newby here… This is my first image for Single Point of View Challenge. It is a bridge along the Bricktown Canal in downtown Oklahoma City. The bridge for me is a pathway to the gardens and surrounding landscape. I love the way the ivy curls along the structure of the bridge and the curves of the steel arches.. Its lines provide a juxtapositon with the curve along the riverbank. I was taking a walk early in the morning along the river and it was cool and fresh with no other people in the area. Very peaceful and beautiful. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/277f19658cd0ddd7b01b568e9a00606545968295de6b5976f27a6d84e2f8db88.jpg
Hi Terri. Welcome to Boot Camp. I find it a very helpful forum and to date I have learned quite a lot. Your shot is very good. It is clear sharp and has a good depth of field. From your comments above the Bridge is the Single Point of Interest. With that in mind I find my eye been drawn under the bridge and following the canal. If you had the background blurred out (minimal depth of field) it would help to concentrate the eye on the bridge in my view. You could also possibly crop the left side to take out the tree. None the less it is a very good shot, well taken and balanced.
I will work on the things you mentioned.. Good suggestions and observations.. I was so focused on the scene I forgot to put the emphasis on the bridge itself.. Thanks for the advice..Will post with those changes soon to see if that will improve the shot. 🙂
Nice tack sharp photo
though there is too much going on here for there to be a single POI. I agree with Dennis, my eye is drawn under the bridge and follows the water.
Black and White might help
and welcome to the group
Thanks Nick.. I am going out shooting today and will try the suggestions you and Denis suggested. I will post black and white as well and see if that helps.. Thanks for your critique. 😉
Nick I posted a black-and-white of the bridge that I did and I was curious as to what you thought or if you thought it improved the image in any way. Anyway thanks for your comments and ideas. 🙂
Welcome @disqus_imjBJuoPfH:disqus and congrats on posting your challenge image. I do also agree with @denisobyrne:disqus that my eye is attracted to the path after looking at the bridge. Something to try when you go back and photograph this bridge is to use a shallow depth of field (wider open aperture) to separate the bridge from the background. Also, if you’re photographing the bridge and it takes up most of your image – look for an interesting feature on the bridge which will then be your new single point of interest, and then think of how you can make that new single point of interest pop even more. Well done. Brent
I went back and changed things up a bit.. I tried to get lower and more to the side of the bridge to get a different POV.. I also used a different camera lens to get a shallow DOF. I think it helped blur out the background a little more.. I still love the ivy on the side of the bridge so I hope that accentuated it even more. As I said, I am a beginning photographer so I have alot to learn.. That’s why I’m taking this bootcamp. Someone mentioned that I should try it in black and white so I added that as well for comparison https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d5dec1131d94dfe107c07562cea945d6d515189d298337cffd715d36286c6420.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/02516a2d3d05f8dc7a6cc38642e61de4c908885252455e42513e2171b0245223.jpg
Thanks
the closer photo does make the bridge the central point but then I wonder whether it’s the ivy or the bridge (sorry that’s be playing devil’s advocate)
The B&W to my eye looks a little bland which is probably because there is a pretty flat, possibly uninteresting, surface on the span.
I’ve taken the liberty and had a play converting the colour version of your 2nd photos into B$W and drastically toned down the greens and yellows.
I’m not necessarily saying this is a better image but gives an idea of what can when the various colour components are played with. And I tend to like my B&Ws a bit contrasty, which some (eg my wife) don’t necessarily like
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e624e41b0db40806936ec75e3724292ae61b7062fc4ea4b239a3ff09b2bd83f7.jpg
Well I have to say contrast is a good thing.. I think what you did helped.. I can see the lights and darks better and gives interest to the ivy.. I only did it in black and white because someone mentioned it earlier when I posted my first one.. I personally like it better in color however.. I was pleased however and think getting closer to the bridge made it a better composition. Thanks for your comments. Always appreciate an honest opinion from someone other than my family.
Yes – for me the colour version and the ivy in particular is the single point of interest. That’s what this challenge is all about, going back out there and trying again and learning by doing. Well done! Brent
Thanks so much for words of encouragement. I love getting out and experimenting with different POV and this was a challenge for me but I’m having fun seeing how many different ways I can shoot the same subject.. 😉
Unlimited ways to shoot something – that’s what I love about photography. I never stop learning and experimenting. Brent
My second POI photo. Baby Bison in Yellowstone Park yesterday. 1/500 sec, F5, ISO 200, 56mm. Photo has been cropped intentionally to show his face. Mama was right behind him but she was not facing toward me. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c713107c97dcb2b6fa1d41c571af71f02129c610101c7f5a0d6e317055f7e7ee.jpg
Nice shot Vallerie. You nailed the focus! I think you could improve the picture even more if you cropped down pretty tight on his head and got rid of all of the distractions around him such as the grass & the brush. Especially since his eye appears to be tack sharp.
Thanks Jim. I will play with the crop and see how it works out.
Nice image, Valerie. I agree with Jim about the crop.
Thanks Kerrie, I posted another cropped photo.
Hi Valerie. Very good shot. Eye is nice a sharp. I would agree with the crop suggestions.
Thanks Denis, Kerrie and Jim, Here is my cropped photo. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/74f2c3455ddb42699f937a56d19b34070cd75085bc3810b8b6aec84bbc48c330.jpg
This is really a better single POI shot with this crop. I like it!
Thanks Jim
Hi Valerie. This is much better in my opinion. Well done.
Thank you
I like this crop Valerie. Cute little thing.
Thanks Keri.
The crop really enhances your shot. Now I want to know the story of that hole in front of his ear and where his other ear went. Nicely done.
Thanks Leila. Post processing is still a huge learning process for me! Glad for the second set of eyes to help me along
The crop works better, focuses the eye on the head and eye. The bison’s other ear would stand out more if you could blur the background, the ear seems to disappear into the grasses.
Thanks Nick for the comments. I never thought about bringing the back ear details out. Every day I learn there is more to think about.
Great image… it feels like we’re right there with you. With this tight crop, it looks like he’s coming right out of the photo.
Thanks Brenda.
Love this!
Thanks!
Like this cropped version. Its like the calf is staring right at you. Great photo!
Thank you.
Welcome
welcome
Good idea to crop this image and remove any distractions Valerie. I also liked that your bison is facing the camera, and your subject is tack sharp. Brent
Thanks Brent.
This is my second POI photo. This is one of the most photographed trees in Yellowstone, especially in winter. It stands alone in a meadow in the Hayden Valley. This shot was taken on a heavily overcast and sometimes snowing low visibility day. It was shot at ISO 1600, 130mm, F/10 1/2500th sec https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8bd3d89c79896a6fe4a39a7eae4063c5b934c3744c28086c2dfe45e96c3cd568.jpg
Love the simpleness of this image Jim…..good composition….i can’t fault it! The only thing i would do is to crop some of the negative space at the top…..but that is my personal preference. Well done…perfect example of SPOI 🙂
Thanks Christine. I am sure all of us are dying to ask about the Rerro vs Christine. Gotta be a story there somewhere. I love your work and value your comments.
Hahahaa…..There is a story Jim….My surname is ‘Rocher’, and anyone who lives in Australia will know that most people have very unique ‘Nicknames’ – Ferrero Rocher (as in the chocolates) was the source. And this soon got ‘Australianised’ to Rerro – so when i started taking photo’s and started to put my work on social media etc, i decided to use my ‘nickname’ – my ‘real’ name is Christine
Rerro, Thanks for clearing this up for us … I was wondering if there were two Rochers in the class.
Beautiful image, Jim.
Thanks Kerrie
I love the contrast and simplicity of this image Jim. I too would crop some of the negative space at the top.
Thanks Janet
Hi Jim. Outstanding in your own field – Just like the image. Simple , concise and sharp. Very good.
Thanks for the kind comments Dennis
Great photo
I like the positioning of the tree along with the subtle variation in the background
There’s a sense of anticipation, makes one feel that something is about to appear from the mist
as Christine (Rerro) suggests, maybe crop a little from the top
and as I’ve said before a photo is great if you want to hang it on the wall and if this was mine I’d do just that
Thanks Nick.
Hey everyone, thanks for https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7641bbb2ee11bcf26643cd7e94cc49a9d97de2a027e045d8aeb8cc87b9ffa40b.jpg the comments. I have included a slightly different shot and crop of the same tree which I think captures the mood and the environment around the tree w/o taking focus off of the tree. Please let me know what you all think. Shot was taken at ISO 1600, 70 mm, F10 & 1/2000 sec. Not sure why I used such a high iso and high shutter speed but when I took this shot I had the good fortune of sharing my snow cat with a NATGEO photographer who has covered the IDITAROD dog sled race in the arctic and these were his suggested settings.
I like this shot over the first one. This creates a mood and has that story feel. Nice job!
Thanks Valerie.
I find the second shot interesting, with the ridge lines in the background and more context
but I prefer the original posting as it appeals to me more
Thanks Nick. I value your comments & opinions.
Thanks Nick
wow This is busier but love the composition, texture and the way it leads my eye around the photo
Thanks Lynne
I really like them both, Jim. With the second image, I would explore removing most of the tufts of grass to leave just the tree, shadows and the lines at the top of the hills.
Thanks Judy! That is exactly what MY WIFE SAID! I hate it when she is right!
Ha ha! I’m not claiming to be right 🙂 I do a lot of ‘I wonder what it would look like if….’ when working on my photos. Some of my ideas are pure rubbish; some are not. I never know until I try.
Simplicity. Nice shot.
Love this one, good composition.
Thanks John
lovely I like the line at the base of the tree. it gives perspective to the composition
Thanks Lynne
Delightful, Jim. Very simple and peaceful. The faint shadow is perfect.
Love the composition and the softness without losing the focus on the tree.
Thanks Sara
Great use of negative space!
Amazing capture Jim – this image is fantastic! This is what I’ve been looking for to illustrate single point of interest, you have zero distractions in this image. Like the way you’ve cropped it, with your tree on the left leaning into the negative space, and the dull shadow on the snow adds to this image. Brilliant! Brent
Thanks Brent
Wow, this is stunning. I always love a bare tree but this takes it to a new level. Great capture.
Awesome photo! I love the soft painterly background and the lone tree standing in the snow. The composition is awesome and this tree really stands out. Love it.
My second single POI photo taken at ISO 125, F8, 1/320, 16.17. Photo was taken at the entrance to the Manly Boat Harbour, Brisbane, QLD. I think the bright red of the boat makes it stand out from the background. Not sure if the background is too busy though?https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fa4b1f32d22313252644fb37c6ea3e6b70e2b31ea9b0ecf0a905a04f3492902e.jpg
Janet, for me is the red colour an eye cacher and therefore also the boat. Good use of rules of thirds.
Nice sharp red boat and it is the obvious central point of the photo. Though to my eye the marina clutters the photo up a little, yep I’d agree a bit too busy. I think the only way to separate the boat would be a different angle and thus a different background, and we all know that was probably not doable
Looks a bit different to when I went fishing up there in the early 1980’s
Yes very difficult to eliminate the background and the boat was moving quite quickly.
Janet, the red draws my eye straight to the main boat, so for me works well as a single POI.
Hi Janet. Nice shot and the boat catches my attention so it is a point of interest, That said I find myself trying analyse the marina in the back ground.
Nice shot, the boat is definitely the POI. You might be able to improve this shot slightly with a slight crop and putting the boat on one of the rule of thirds intersecting points and eliminating some of the negative space to the left of the image which really doesn’t add anything.
I agree it does look better after eliminating some of the negative space on the LHS and bringing the boat in closer. The only problem I see is that the marina in the background comes closer and becomes a little more distracting. I guess its all about a happy medium:) https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/711a6d17f1d687869c57624c8c6edbd7b04b1188a9c21e05c8e895167c96161d.jpg
I feel that there is sufficient colour in the boat to make it your POI. This cropped image brings the boat closer and I don’t really find the other boats cause too much of a distraction due to their mutes tones. Anything red always works for me!
Great crop… definitely strengthens the composition and the POI.
Hi Janet. This is good work in my view. The main point of interest is closer and commands attention. This is the one I would go for.
Love the contrast. I would crop it just a bit to draw the boat in a little. Well done.
Janet, good use of colour to highlight your subject. Yes, the marina in the background is a bit busy, but there is a sameness to it with all the masts and similar colours and shapes so I personally don’t find it distracting.
Yes I do think the colour of your bait makes it stand out in this image, great capture! Love the way your boat has space to move into, And the dull colours from your background really work in this image. If you have used a wide open aperture say F4 or F5.6 the background would be more blurred with less distractions. Brent
Thanks Brent I’ll keep that in mind for next time.
Osprey, heading out for the late afternoon hunt. 1/2000 f6.3 ISO400 at 250mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a198dddfe33a971e3006928e50a0bd6a24545a6c39de51f29bfa8839a88cd6e7.jpg
Kerrie, great shot and position of the Osprey, and captured with the full wingspan. I like the colour of the rocks along the bottom of the picture.
Thanks so much, Rodney
great photo
in my opinion the only thing that would make it better is if the Osprey was a bit lower in the sky (and maybe heading towards us) – I’ve noticed that a lot of birds just aren’t that accommodating to us photographers
Thanks Nick, yeah…he was heading out to sea, doing his own thing. Unfortunately I could not change my position.
Hi Kerrie. Good shot.Like it. You can get a sense of movement from the shot.
Thanks Denis.
Nice shot Kerrie. Simple and good composition.
Thanks Jim.
Love these birds. Cool capture.
Thank you Keri.
I like your composition in this image, Kerrie. Besides the Osprey, the other elements give context, and those rocks at the front are interesting, but I don’t think they detract from the bird as your subject.
Thanks Judy.
Great composition. I find it hard to get shots like this that I like once I review my shots. Very well done!
Love the warm tones in this image Kerrie, you nailed the focus on your Osprey. I also like red sliver of water in the bottom right. When photographing wildlife especially birds, try to get them facing towards the camera. Brent
Went for a walk last weekend, which I do a couple times a month. I’ll only take one lens as a challenge to familiarize myself with my equipment, and to get away from the standard shots I always fall into. Last weekend I had my Canon EF75-300mm lens, and it was partly cloudy so sometimes I was in bright, hard light and others it was a softer light, which also created challenges.
This is a photo of an Eastern Bluebird (Virginia, USA) that seemed as interested in me and my daughter as we were in it, as it followed us rom a distance for about a third of our walk. I had two photos of the bird that I liked, and this was the best of those. The bird was skittish, so I took this from about 100 meters away, full zoom (300mm). Settings were 1/180 sec, f/11 and ISO 400. I had to crop a lot to get the focus on the bird due to a lot of trees and flowering bushes. I de-saturated the green in the background and used Photoshop to remove a large network of dead branches that were extremely distracting. I took the picture in landscape format as I was expecting the bird to fly away at any moment, but ended up cropping to portrait format because it fit better and resulted in fewer distracting elements.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dd5742c7ab770afc38d4558d2c2bdb4f1cadeee0a86062faf9164d1217a146d5.jpg
Hi Steve. Given your circumstances a good shot. I wonder could you crop some more from the top. Would that enhance the bird at all.?
Steve, it is a nice picture. My attention however is hesitating between the lantern and the bird. Perhaps a general desaturation except with the bird. Or a crop from the bottom to get a piece of that lantern away. I like the contrast between that little bird, with those beautiful colours, and the great trees. So for me I wouldn’t crop in that part of your picture. But of course it depends what you want to express with your picture.
Here’s a tighter crop, keeps the bluebird in the lower intersection of thirds, removes some distracting lantern and keeps the trees in frame.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/33ba31d52b25ff43a3a17c049c322c3fee67f4cb98a82a396d20682b1d4bd952.jpg
Hi Steve. This is the one I prefer.
Much Better. I like to soft colors.
This is a lot better, well done.
I perfer this one as well. The composition and the POI are more prominent here. Of course the more we crop an image that was taken far away the more noise we get. Still a great image. If you were to reduce the noise in photoshop and then use a mask to put that noise back on the bird only it might bring it out a little more.
This one does it for me – and I notice you’ve straightened up the lamp
my eye does wander around the frame a little but the POI is definitely the bird.
Nice
Steve, nice shot. A tighter crop on the bird I think would enhance this image greatly.
I looked at that. Will try a few different crops, but with the distance the photo was taken the focus isn’t sharp enough to crop directly to the bird. I also like to keep some of the background, etc. for context and to have something for the bird to pop out from.
Here’s what I started with, I posted a tighter crop further down the thread.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3346beec7ac853bdfe383f6aa2e5498922d53e1a47a517e2869044c78a3aedfe.jpg
Good job choosing your crop and removing all the other distractions in this image! Much better. Brent
yes I agree Jim, a tighter crop will do wonders. Great shot
Good idea to restrict yourself with a single lens John – it forces you to be more creative. Really do like this shot because you’re bird is the obvious single point of interest here. I’m wondering why you are only shooting at 1/180 sec when using such a long lens? For an image like this, photographing birds that move fast and are really small I would be using 2x or 3x the focal length – Around 1/600 sec or even 1/1000 sec and have the aperture go wide open. Hope this helps. Brent
I like the shot of the bird. I would agree that a better crop would emphasize the bird more
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2ad15679f2e9bcaefb3da93c2d6dc0f494a76983735a9f1c9bf09829c01fd8ce.jpg
Two squirels at the wayside. People somebring bring nuts. I do not know if they were arguing over the nut or sharing.
ISO 100 180mm F/ll 1/250 sec.
This is so sweet. Are you able to lighten the subjects or haze the background so they stand out a bit more? I found myself zooming in to get a really good look at the cuties.
Hi Doris – I love watching squirrels – they are usually so busy. I also think the image is a bit dark.
Nice pic. The squirrel in front doesn’t seem to be as in focus as the little guy, or girl, on the right. As these guys are so animated and jerky, you might have done a little better with him, or her, with a higher shutter speed. At F11 & 180 mm, I don’t think this is a DOF issue but you might want to check it in a dof calculator just to be sure. The rock on the right looks pretty sharp so maybe your AF grabbed it instead of your intended subjects. I have always been told with wildlife to try to focus on their eye fro the best results. I hope some of my rambling helps on the next time.
Hi Dorris. Nice shot. The eyes look a little soft to me. That said they are difficult to photograph with all their little movements etc. I think it is a good job.
Lovely shot Doris….looks like they are talking to each other. Looking at the image in more detail, it appears as if the back of the squirrels and the tail peeing in the middle are in focus, but sadly the little faces and eyes appear a little soft. Next time pick the squirrel closet to you and try and focus on the eye closet to you. Also, i am not sure of your reason for choosing the small aperture of f11, Perhaps you wanted to ensure that you got the surrounding in focus too? Try opening up to a starting point of f8 (this is the sweet spot of most lenses, so a good place to start) See how you go….:)
Great shot of these squirrels. I have to agree with Rerro that the faces and eyes are soft and not in focus as much as the rest of their body. It is hard to get these parts sharp sometimes but I have learned and been told that for animals sharp eyes are a must. Other then this it is a great composition and you have captured them doing something so it tells a story.
Great capture Doris. Something you can try when photographing wildlife is to use a very shallow depth of field and a faster shutter speed– That way in the wildlife will be separate from the background because of that shallow depth of field. I normally put my camera in shutter priority mode and have a very fast shutter speed (1/500 or 1/1000th sec) that way the aperture goes wide open for a shallow depth of field. Brent
Thanks Brent. I really appreciate your comment. Will try it.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/87fa0b509b40a62fc1c32290d37e4f9c8dff71a699ef04facaac3e8ff4569a58.jpg I took this photo of a Sally Lightfoot Crab in the Galapagos Islands a few years ago as the sun was going down. The crab is the point of interest, but I liked the shadow (alien spacecraft), so I didn’t crop it. I lost the metadata. The photo was stored on an external hard drive.
Hi, Peter: An interesting shot! I have dozens of photos of these ladies from my trip to Galapagos last year–adventure of a lifetime. I like the bright crab inside the shadow and the shadow (alien) off to the side. Now let’s see what you did with the lizards. LGS
Thanks, Leila. The iguanas and blue footed boobies were amazing, too.
Lovely golden light on the crab Peter…..gives your SPOI a punch! Good composition and lots of good leading lines drawing the viewer into the subject. Love the shadow too. The only thing i would do is to slightly rotate the shot to level the crab….personal preference….It is a very good image! Well done 🙂
Great photo
Composition is brilliant with the crab starkly in light against the shadow and alien shadow adds a lot. The colours of crab jump out of the photo. While I’m a stickler for aligning the internals of photos (especially horizons) I’d personally leave this one. I’d try and bring out some of the detail in the dead space (ie the shadowed area) at the top right if possible but leaving the other shadow as is.
Thanks, Nick. The crab was on an angled rock. I purposely made the shadows darker to not draw attention to the rocks hidden in the shadows.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/96c23b1a614bdb8d2bbf02cc9a5d9744fd6884f218e3f23dc3aa3804ca12b402.jpg Hi Nick and Rerro, Here is my re-edit leveling out the crab a bit and lightening up the shadows on the right. Thanks for the recommendations.
Hah
now you’ve done that I think I prefer your original post
I had darkened the rocks so as not to draw attention to them. Thanks for the feedback.
Wow – great capture, Peter. The colour of crab against the shadow is terrific, but then you have the shadow as well. Love it.
Thanks, Judy.
Peter, really cool shot. I love the composition, colors, textures & contrast and especially the alien shadow. I agree with Nicks comment about maybe trying to lighten up the shadows a bit and see if there is also any interesting detail there.
Very good shot with the crab and the shadow, put some mystery in the picture.
Thanks, Lone.
Hi Peter. Good shot. I like the shadow of the crab.
Thanks, Denis.
Awesome shot. Great composition. Love the contrast of the rocks and the grab. Great work on getting the shadow of the crab at the opposite side of the picture. Great job!
Thanks, Barbara.
Welcome
Very cool! Love the colors and the composition.
Wow this image really rocks – pun intended! Love the way your crab pops in this image because of its bright colours against the brown rock, and I also like the shadow but I’m wondering if the shadow takes away from your main point of interest? And This would be a great image for next months BootCamp challenge which will alternate (2nd) point of interest. Brent
Thanks, Brent. I loved the shot so much with the shadow of the crab in it, that I didn’t want to crop it out. It adds so much interest to the composition. My eye just is drawn from right to left with the leading lines of the rocks and the shadows. The cropped crab alone would not have been as interesting. Please don’t deduct too many points for not following the rules completely. (i.e. Don’t be “crabby”)
Wow, what a colorful crab! The shadow looks like an alien or something from Star Wars.
Thanks, Chris. I totally agree.
I really like this photo. The crab is obviously the point of interest, but the shadow adds to the overall composition. I definitely like it just the way it is, with the depth of field, contrast and all.
It’s a damp, rainy day here on Long Beach Island, NJ, but it seemed like a different environment than my usual photo shoots so I bundled up and headed for the north end of the island where our lighthouse, Ole Barney, is located. I took several shots of the lighthouse which I’ll post later, but what caught my eye was the very green algae on the rocks. Then I noticed an egret fishing in the crevasses (sp?). A perfect single point of interest for today. Nikon D5300; 1/125; f/6.3; ISO 100; 210mm. PS, I nearly froze to death, so much for spring. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/106b4cdc82dac480319ce5a58407a4ee021cced77a75b3377db583c5cd32bf86.jpg
Very nice. The water does look cold. Like the colour juxtapositions
Love that green on the rocks! The darker colours work well to highlight the egret. Very nice image!
Nice color & contrast. Focus could maybe be a little sharper, especially on the eye. Maybe because you were shaking so bad in the freezing cold. Overall though a nice image.
Hi Leila. Good single point of interest. Nice shot given your weather conditions. When your cold like that it is hard to concentrate and keep everything together. Well done.
Very nice image….love the contrasting colours. How to make it better?? not sure…..maybe taking the shot from a different perspective, to see more of the birds face perhaps, or to have the green moss as the background of the bird, and not the water…..not even sure this would have possible!
Hi, I did take a number of shots but many of them hid this guy’s legs and tail feathers, and the one I took when he swallowed a fish was too blurry. Bummer! Usually the egrets hang out in a marsh area that is too far to get to so I was thrilled to find this one at the lighthouse.
Love this shot. Nice colors helping to bring out the egret. Looks like he is praying or something.
Love it! Great contrast. The only thing I might suggest is show a bit more of the rock on the right? Not sure if that wold be better or not.
thanks, Sara: I struggled a bit with rule of thirds and decided I really couldn’t follow it. I agree that a bit more rock on the right might help. Definitely wanted to get his legs and tail feathers in. Let me see how it looks with more rock on the right.
Beautiful colors. If you took this in portrait, I’d almost like to see the bird get a little more vertical space and might trim off the concrete block behind him.
I really do you like the green algae rocks in this image Leila. You’re single point of interest does jump out of this image because of the grey water. I’m just wondering whether you should have used a faster shutter speed – your egret looks a little soft. Brent
Point of interest shot. When I was putting this shot up I asked myself, what is the point of interest? Is it the colour yellow? Is it petals in the front or is it the sunflower filling your screen. Is it none of these? Let me know your thoughts. Does all that actually make it not a POI pick? 1/125, F10, ISO200 https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3e64726f5184e587574c073059cc3010647585757a97f1fec0922f193c62f009.jpg
Hmmm – I like the shot. Gives me a sense of movement. The green and yellow petals in front are the most focussed – so I would assume that they perhaps are what you want to draw the eye to. I really like how the sunflower fills the screen though.
Thanks for the feedback Lynne ☺
I like it, too. I think that the petals in front are the strongest element, and I like how they point the way through toward the right of image.
Thankyou Judy ☺
Very creative. I like it.
I think the petals definitely are the point of interest. I love the background blur and how the petals seem to be pointing to something out of frame. Tack sharp focus and great detail. Nice use of DOF to isolate the petals.
Lovely image, Keri. So cheerful, great focus. I really love the way you have filled the frame.
Thankyou Kerrie ☺
Hi Keri. Good shot. Nice sense of movement in the petals. Soft background is nice. I think the shot is well balanced.
Interesting shot of the so beautiful sunflower. I do like that only the front petals are in focus, and the seeds of the flower are just a hint in the background. The way the flower has been composed, with the petals on their side, becoming natural leading lines is very clever indeed….the only problem being, that the leading lines lead you to the blurred or unfocused portion of the image. I like your thought process though Keri….great effort! 🙂
Thankyou Rerro. Your feedback is terrific. I had the same thoughts but I still find it captivating at the same time overall. This is why I love the feedback because when I get the opportunity again this will be at the front of my thinking. Cheers means alot.
Love this shot of a sunflower. The leaves and petals in the foreground our tack sharp with the middle and outer petals softened. Great effect and a unique shot of this flower.
Thankyou Barbara ☺
Welcome
I can almost feel the wind blowing.
That’s really nice. Thanks Roseann.
Fantastic image Keri, just love the yellows and greens in this image. I was thinking the same thoughts that you mentioned above – what is the single point of interest in this image? I think it’s that petal in the front that has the darker background and is tack sharp. But you need to choose what the single point of interest is because you are the artist, and then you need to make it obvious to the viewer. Brent
Thanks Brent. The feedback has shown a different poi for different people. So I’ve covered everything LOL but also my questions have been answered.
Lovely image. For me, the point of interest if the petals. I feel like there is a soft breeze and they are swaying a little.
Nice image
In answer to you question it sometimes doesn’t matter what the Single POI is
Here is my second POI image. The pear tree in my backyard is blossoming and the bees are buzzing. I selected this image from today’s shots as I think it best suited the single POI challenge. The bee partially obscures the centre of the flower which would otherwise compete for attention. The aperture was selected to allow for sufficient depth of field to get the bee nice and sharp, but still have some blur in the background. This image doesn’t quite satisfy that goal as the bee’s head is a bit soft, but I was very happy with the opalescent gleam and detail from the wings. Settings: 1/800 sec, f/5.0, ISO 100 using 100mm macro lens. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f30c23b0ef6ba507c50aeb3f2b661a1e3a1b99b5c0e3cd5e35e437659e4695cb.jpg
Judy, really nice close-up of the bee. Good color, contrast & composition and I really nice background blur.
Thank you, Jim 🙂
Beautiful capture, angle of the lighting works so well with the small highlights along the body of the bee.
Thanks Steve!
Judy, I like very much this fairy-like picture. The use of rules of thirds works well. As you say it yourself: the head is a bit soft. As for portrait photography, I think the focus has to be on the eyes. It is of course much more difficult with a bee then with a model.
Christian, I totally agree that getting the eyes in focus for any living creature is very important. Practice might make perfect, however. I’ll keep working on this.
It is a Nice picture i like the composition.
Thank you Lone.
This is a lovely image, Judy. The detail in the bees wings against those white flowers is gorgeous.
The wings are magical, aren’t they? Mother Nature is amazing.
Lovely image for POI with the bee taking the staring role. Good choice of aperture and shutter speed, I always have great trouble getting the bee to pose as I imagine for the image! Wel done.
LOL! Yes – bees are very single minded and don’t care a whit about what we photographers would like to see. Thanks, Dianne.
Hi Judy. Nice composition here. Good shot.
Thanks Denis. This is actually a really tight crop of a larger image. I’ve posted the unedited version below so you can see. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a63c0ad8aa32f2541a5b4e48ed8e457f547cdd760422a69f1eb4c50c6b91add8.jpg
Wow, what a great shot….and a bumble bee no less! The detail in the wings is superb! Nicely composed, and contextually strong image. This takes patience and determination…i know….! Well done Judy 🙂
I had my tripod set up with my camera lined up on a good set of blossoms. I admit that there were so many bees that day, that several bees and other insects visited those flowers. Pre-focusing only helps so much. The blossoms move when the bee lands and – boom – there went my focus! Oh well – I had fun and the practice is never wasted.
Beautiful. I love it even before the crop.
Terrific detail of the bee and the colours underneath together draws my eye in. All surrounded by those lovely white soft flowers. Getting most of a bee in focus and visible is a job well done.
Thank you, Rodney.
WOW! I love the reflection of light off his wings. Great clarity and focus. Nice composition.
Thanks 🙂
welcome
This is beautiful!!! It is so sharp and the light captured on the bees wings bring out such details. Good job!
Hi Phyllis – I was about 20 cm away from the blossom. The image was heavily cropped. This image is only about 1/8th of total size of the original image.
Well done! it is just beautiful!
Thanks Sara! I thoroughly enjoyed taking in the pretty flowers and the beautiful insects while I was taking photos that morning.
Very nice. Love the light colors of the flowers.
Thanks Roseann. There were so many flowers that it was easy to get that light background.
Great shot with really nice composition! I love the contrast between the bee and the white petals.
Thanks Brenda 🙂
really really nice, I would be inclined to crop a bit more from the right,
so we can get a closer look at the bee, great shot.
Thanks John. I’ve gone back to Lightroom and checked out a tighter crop as you suggested. I agree it probably works better to meet the POI challenge; the bee is closer and that darker area is gone, but now I find that soft head is more obvious and unsatisfactory to me.
Yeah I see what you mean with the aperture not being closed enough to get your bees head sharper, but other than that this image is perfect. Love the way you’re the body really POPS Due to the contrast and the highlights on its abdomen, and with a lighter background – that helps too. I know how difficult it is to photograph insects because they move around so quickly. Well done. Brent
Thanks Brent!
I really like this. Bees are a challenge but when you get them they make great subjects. Well done. Very pretty shot.
Thanks, Keri.
Well it’s no secret I love bees and that one is just perfect. What i love most about this photo are the wings. They look like stained glass. Beautiful!
I was thinking about your bee pictures while taking this one, Chris. There were at least 5 different types of bees visiting the tree that day, and this was one of the smallest, and yes, it had the prettiest wings.
Happy I could somewhat inspire you!
Cool photo
I like the slightly blurred petals – perfect background
pity about the head but I’m not sure it is an issue or whether it actually detracts from the photo
Thank you, Nick. I’m happy with it. There were lot’s of images that I thought were not sharp enough to keep, but I liked this as soon as I saw it.
For me, the POI are the wings, and the markings on the bees abdomen. The depth of field works great, so I think its perfect.
Thanks, Jarrod. I had spotted this bee working at a nearby flower and noticed the wings and so I’m happy I caught them in focus when it visited another blossom.
Thanks Judy. I will try to lighten up the squirels some more.
So while out shooting flowers I came upon some goats. This guy was just hanging out on top of a picnic table. I used my D750 with a 24-120mm Lens @ f5.0 ISO 400 (cloudy day), 120mm zoom at 1/400 of a sec. Enjoy https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/65e139b1d705474fa9aee65b76c2976ec6f2fe4133c5dc73dbc436c1f2fbe033.jpg
Hi everyone. For some reason this app darkens the picture. My version on the computer is brighter. Here is a brighter https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bfb5339890e0f9b5ff74c0c8eae7759c9070963e80f4dbfdc36e7b4c722ee939.jpg version I hope.
Barbara, this a great picture. I like more the darker one as it has more detail in the lighter parts of the fur of the goat. Perhaps you can adjust the shadows a bit.
Thats the thing. I did adjust the shadows, lights, whites etc. The problem is the picture wont show on this forum the way it does on my computer. The goat has beautiful bright tans on his face etc, but it just wont come out that way on here. Really strange and frustrating
What could space did you save it as sRGB?
It is set to save as RGB 8bit channel in photoshop.
P.S. take a look at the same picture on my facebook page. facebook.com/gilbertsamateurphotography I didn’t change a thing. It is the same picture as my first post.
That’s a pitty. Indeed the colours of the picture on your facebook looks very nice!
Yea wonder what is causing this. Thanks
I agree with you about the Facebook colours, they are quite different. I can see why you’re disappointed. Are you using a laptop? I have bought a monitor for editing as I was getting variations too. He was a handsome specimen!!
Hi Barbara. Very nice shot. I like both shots. That said in the lighter one I can see the eye more clearly so maybe for that reason I would go with that.
Thank you
Thanks
I like the way your goat is just hanging out on this piece of work – Looks like he was “walking the plank” and then decided to turn back. Good idea to use a long lens and open aperture to blur the background and have your single point of interest really pop. I am just wondering if the highlights on the goats back on maybe just a little too bright to take my eye away from its face? Brent
The problem is that no matter what I do the picture on my hard drive is not what ends up showing here. The first darker image is the same as the one on my facebook page but for some reason came out real dark here. Please check on the one that should have posted here by going to facebook.com/gilbertsamateurphotography Thanks
I have that problem too with my images. they look great in Lightroom and then are too dark here. They never look the same.
Interesting comments
I thought it was just me and some quirk of using Affinity Photo and posting here. But my images seem different between the edited and posted versions.
I was wondering whether my eyesight was really shot. and yes I can see that the fb image is better
and my monitor, while not the best, is regularly calibrated
Thanks, now I know I’m not going crazy
I’ll comment on the piccy seperately
So its not just me. Wonder what we can do to get our photos to come out correct on here?
Yea I was trying to brighten it up a little due to the other one being to dark. The one on my facebook page is the correct image.
Love the goat! Nice job getting an unusual point of view here, and in my opinion that makes your single POI even stronger. I’ve seen goats on a roof before, but never chilling on a picnic table. Regarding the mysterious automatic editing of our photos when uploaded here, I admit that I’ve given up trying to figure out why my images look different in some apps vs others. I agree that FB image had more pop.
Thank you very much. Yea its weird what it is doing to the pics.
Barbara, great single POI. I like this one better for the reasons Brent cited below. I love the contrast, detail, color and nice background blur. I have not yet mastered the technique in Lightroom but there is apparently away to light and make the eyes pop. That would definitely enhance the image. I am going to try it with one of my bison shots, black furry head and really dark hard to see eyes.
Hi thank you for your great comments. If you look at the one on my facebook page you will see where I did just that with the eyes. See previous comments for the link.
I LOVE THIS!!! I really have a thing for goats and I just love this guy. He’s just done and needs a rest. That said, I love the darker image too. What a great shot!!!
Thank you
nice shot of the goat Barbara. I like that you have the leading line of the picnic table. he looks great contrasting against the green background too. Well done 🙂
Thanks
Barbara
I really like this image “goat at rest”
He jumps out of the background and his repose is just fantastic, great piccy
I prefer the fb image
Thank you. Also thanks for looking to see what it really looks like.
Too much fun! I love it when you catch wildlife in these unusual situations. Nice details!
Thanks. Me too!
Thanks
Finally went to the city and got to take some pictures of the river. ISO 800. 300 mm. f 5.6. 1/3200. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9353f8fbb996b08e1a517145b1394b391c2d40e8677b45c24cf2815979e4ee74.jpg
Hi Roseann. Nice reflections and shadows in this shot. Just wondering what the single point of interest is? My eye is inclined to look through the shot to the bank.
Love the rich greens, the nice reflections, and peaceful feel of the river. My eye goes right for the center pillar. You might try cropping out the pillar to the far left (rule of odds), and perhaps opening up the blacks at the top and bottom just a bit. Is that an animal-made log jam?
Thanks. I will try that.
OK. How do I open up the blacks?
It depends on what software you’re using to post-process. In Lightroom, you can adjust the Shadow slider and as you drag the slider you should be able to see the dark areas lighten and see a bit of detail emerge from the black areas. In Photoshop, you can adjust using the Levels or Curves adjusters.
Thank you.
Hi Roseann, very interesting image you have here. Can you tell me what’s the single point of interest is in this image? Brent
I cropped it some more. It is the Damn that is forming.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2ce7c4ccb0a4a945d062d7f04f37664cb3b3c9677e576d86e69e985d6b2f990b.jpg
Redo.
This close-up of a Rhododendron bloom was taken yesterday afternoon on my Lumia 950 phone at 1/320, f1.9, ISO 50. My goal was to use the multiple leading lines, especially the warmth of the bright green stamen tip, to lead the eye back to the center of the bloom. I played with a number of crops, and liked this one the best. Critiques welcome. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c6dc6f28680f0ff35e9fb23b7594df8798c04fbf33ff82238e73eddd68af2259.jpg
Beautiful image Brenda – I do like those multiple leading lines, leading my eye back to the centre of your flower. I’m also very impressed with the shallow depth of field you get from this phone camera. Good idea to crop the image so that the flowers petals fill the entire frame, and keep the background uniform. Brent
Nice shot Brenda. I love the soft pastel colors and the detail you were able to capture. Simple but elegant POI.
Hi Brenda. Great shot with your phone. Like it.
My kinda image! Beautiful melting background and sharp crisp POI. Good composition and leading lines, and i like how you have removed distractions by filling your frame with the flower. Very well done Brenda 🙂 Very impressive from a phone!
Too good
stop taking these brilliant photos
you’re making me and my fancy pants camera feel inadequate! lol
Actually this just goes to show that it isn’t the equipment that makes the image – it’s the photographic talent
Beautiful flower. Nice tack sharp in the middle. You can see the very hairs of the flower. Great color and composition.
Beautiful!
Lovely image, Brenda. I like the leading lines, and the soft colors. Also love the way you’ve filled the frame.
Beautiful detail at the centre and nice choice for the crop to fill the frame. Well done, Brenda.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/38b7e56fbaec7c13608eb830a62024ccb45b3530f0a273a6125e7be9ed7def73.jpg I went out to the nearby Maroochydore Rver where there are several old fishing shacks which add interest with the morning light. My settings were F8, ISO 100 Shutter Speed 1/45 at 44mm. It was a lovely way to spend the morning.
Very serene and peaceful. Nice.
Thanks for your comments Peter!
Nice peaceful shot. I love the warm colors. Good composition and even though slightly rippled, I love the reflection. It really ads to the photo. The shack in my mind is no doubt the POI.
Thank you Jim what a way to start the day! The sunrise wasn’t spectacular but the warm light and reflections were rather special.
Dianne, a beautiful beginning of the day. Good composition and warm colours.
I’m very lucky to live close by this spot! A beautiful morning!
Lovely “golden hour” photo and great composition!
Many thanks Janet!
Hi Dianne. Nice peaceful shot and warm colours.
Thanks Denis
Beautiful capture….the golden glow on the shed gives the image such warmth. I am presuming the shed is the POI and not the reflection?
Yes definitely the shed is the POI this time. I must take the 3 of these which are together when I get back next week I think there are five of these left along the river. Thanks for your comments.
Great piccy.
I really like the light on the shack and I think the reflection adds to the image
To me the shack is the POI. Is there a pile missing? closest corner?
You live in a beautiful part of the country.
Hi Nick, there are several of these shacks and most are in a better condition than this one. It’s great living at the Sunshine Coast!!
Love this image. I like the soft colors and the beautiful light. I like the reflections in the water and the composition and leading lines are great! Great shot!
Thanks Barbara, I love being around water, great opportunities for photos!
Beautiful tones, love the reflection. Great shot.
Thank you Sara, it was a lovely time of the day.
Stunning image, Dianne. The light is just gorgeous.
Beautiful golden hour shot… love the reflections.
A really cool photo, great light, and nice framing.
Very interesting image Dianne – Love the warm colours and the reflection of the water. I also like the leading the line from the left going into your main point of interest. I’m wondering whether this image would be more impactful if it was zoomed further out and I could see more of the reflection and the leading line on the left? Brent
Hi Brent, I’ll have another try but there is a modern concrete bridge in the background to the left which I didn’t want to include. It’s close by so I’ll see if a different position may give me a better angle.
Lovely shot, Dianne. In my opinion, the reflection works to bring focus to the shack.
Here’s my second POI. This was in the outskirts of Petaluma, California. The mother cow was nearby but I cropped her.
Used my big lens, Tamron 150-600 1/1000, f/6, 440mm, 400 iso.
The story here was we drove quite a long way to Bodega bay to look for pelicans. Did not see one! Settled on taking pictures of cows instead in the full sun.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bdde5f512e52da5e77f7f7303652526f2fcca90e8b679becae654b9cc5dffeed.jpg
Hi Chris. That is a big lens. Like the shot. Got the calf looking at the camera. Were you hand held or did you use a tripod?
Hi @denisobyrne:disqus , thank you. Normally I use a tripod or mono pod but in this case, I rested it on a fence. Not very technical but we pulled over to the side of the road and I jumped out to take the picture so didn’t have time to grab the tripod, etc. It’s ok to take a few shots but if you use it a lot, it can get really heavy.
No tripod needed here Chris you were shooting at a fast enough shutter speed. I like the way your main point of interest (the calf) looks a little startled by you, and I noticed the long eyelashes on that calf – almost supermodel like. One thing to check when photographing with such a long lens is that the eyes of your subject of tack sharp. Brent
HI @brentmail:disqus , thanks. I hope he wasn’t startled by me, I was pretty far away and his mother was right next to him.
Great picture, Chris. Love Bodega Bay.
Thank you @disqus_CPf99pJbLG:disqus , I do too.
Really nice capture Chris and beautiful Bokeh in the background! Well done
Thank you @disqus_0318UBWWd3:disqus
Nice POI shot with beautiful bokeh….love cows 🙂
Thank you @rerrorocher:disqus , I love them too.
Nice pelican … !
That is one very healthy and well posed calf
great image – the detail in his fur is brilliant
Haha, thanks @disqus_4pYt18DaZN:disqus, I can never find a pelican when I have my camera, only when I don’t. Then they are everywhere, mocking me. His mother was off to the side but I cropped her out.
Great shot. Love the background color, it makes the cow pop off the page. Great composition. Nice sharp and clear image.
Thank you @disqus_ZMqciOxroU:disqus
I am cattle country in Oklahoma and we have lots of cows and longhorns.. I think the colors and warmth of this photo make it.. Good photo 😉
Thank you @disqus_imjBJuoPfH:disqus , it was late afternoon, lots of sun.
Love it! I have a couple shots of cows from my vacation-this is spot on!
Thank you @disqus_cdh6bhNTbb:disqus , I like cows. They are kind of unassuming.
I like this! Great detail.
Thank you @valerieworthen:disqus
Chris, I love the very soft eyes and wet nose.
Thank you @peterbrody:disqus, me too.
Hi Chris – I really like the way the background fades away around the calf’s head. The splash of light on the wet nose is great.
The point of interest in this photo is the little girl hiding among the stools, at least it is my intention. I darkened the stools on the left and lightened her face to draw eyes to her face. The settings are F5.6, 1/200s, ISO 640 and 135mm
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/aebe68b4f0a2cbd4d1e421e515ff45d5ac0a3810fb036c3deaef2be1503af88d.jpg
Nice shot. Love the eyes as she looks up at you. Nice composition.
Thanks Barbara. I like her eyes too
welcome
Works for me
even though I saw the stools my eye was immediately drawn to the little girl
Thanks Nick
Hi Janice. Like this shot. Good eye contact and they draw you in. Well done. I would be very happy with this.
Thanks Denis
You can just see the mischief in her eyes! Great composition and POI.
Thanks Sara
She’s definitely the point of interest for me… she’s up to something! 🙂 Great focal point and I like that the pop of red is supportive instead of dominating.
Thanks Brenda
Hi, Janice. Makes you wonder what is going to happen next. Beware.
She was very shy. watching the camera and hiding 🙂
Great shot, it’s very hard for me to take pictures of people. She’s definitely mischievous!
Thanks Chris
Great shot Janice, such a mischievous little face! The eyes are sharp and engaging with the viewer. I do feel there are elements in the image that are competing with each other. The brightness from the window and the stool in front are distractions. Perhaps look at using a graduated filter to vignette that side of the image?
Thanks Rerro. Darkened a bit more of the left side, I think it draws eyes to her face better. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/82642ffb3ac97f6be25b0b9cac2c4f150ae574c7bd1d0ebf841b983beac69980.jpg
Love that cheeky eye contact by your subject – and that’s what the main point of interest is in this image those eyes. By using a longer lens 135mm you got her face tack-sharp and the background blurred. Good job of darkening in the other objects in this image (distractions) to highlight your main point of interest, well done. Brent
Thanks Brent
I love candid face shots, and this one is just great, well done.
Thanks John
What a great photo, Janice! I’m drawn instantly to those impish eyes.
Canna Lily also from the Royal Botanic Gardens
50mm, f/2, 1/400 s, iso 50,
Not 100% happy with this as I’d have liked the leading flowers more in focus
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d60ae9362f132b3224a0153d1316c56249a4eff6e96124f60158c5ec73ccabe4.jpg
Hi Nick. Maybe so but I still like the shot.
Nick, after the POI the repetitive red colour in the background makes it a great composition.
How gorgeous, I love cannas. Lovely flowers
Lovely, it works!
Striking colors! Very nice.
WOW! Beautiful! Great composition, sharpness and love the soft blurred background. Great job!
Nick, I think the flowers looks great.
I agree. The flower looks great. What would happen if you cropped it a little more in from the left side? I would like to focus on just the flower and not the leaf to the left. But I love the picture!
Like this?
I took a little off the bottom as well. That leaf was a little prominent.
Thanks, I think that makes for a better photo
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/72a59e5bc704491797bbbbfee2fd7b5c3e5a3618b2b6a9db17b2bb94de4248c9.jpg
I agree the cropped photo looks better. Love the red flowers with texture and soft background with a hint of red as well.
Very nice @disqus_4pYt18DaZN:disqus , I love it even more now!
Lovely flower and beautiful contrasting colours – brilliant that you have used an f-stop of f2.0 to get the DoF separation, but yes, you do have the disadvantage of the focal plane decreasing. As such, you have a sliver of image in focus and the rest a bit soft. Focus stacking would have been an option in this case, if you were on a tripod as a solution to this.
Thanks
I haven’t attempted focus stacking as yet. I’ll just have to wander down to the Botanic Gardens with tripod and other paraphernalia and give it a go
Enjoy…its great fun!
Great capture Nick, my eye goes to the red flowers on the left. I agree with @rerrorocher:disqus that maybe you’re depth of field is too shallow in this case. I’m a huge fan of shallow depth of field however you want to make it easier for the viewer to settle on your main point of interest in this image. Also in this case you need to choose what that is – which red flower will the main point of interest be, and then how can you make it obvious? Yes leading lines help too – to get the viewer looking at what do you want them to look at. Thanks for sharing this image with us. Brent
Very nice Nick
Janice Chen, I love the photo of the little girl. Nice work.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6bb211ec1547363d5602136ace98a4c413e1e8b9d650b771948da4a9bd42a2a3.jpg
This is a photo of my dog Teddy. Teddy like the beach. ISO 2500;; 65mm f/6.1/80 sec
Pretty dog. Great focus and catch lights in the eyes. Background might be able to be soften a little by using a shallower depth of field, but overall the composition and focus are great!
Hi, Doris. Cute face. Is there a way for you to photoshop out the hand?
Great shot, beautiful face!
Hi Dorris. Nice shot of your dog. I would agree with Peter re the hand. When replying if you click on the reply under the photo or comment you will be on the same tread and it is one conversation.
Adorable pup. Like the POV and expression on the dogs face , so inquisitive. I think if you blurred out the bottom of the photo the hands would not be as much of an issue.. You of course could take them off with Photoshop.. But overall I’m attracted to his eyes. Nice job!
Good example of single point of interest Doris – my eyes settle on the dogs nose and eyes. Something you can do with this image in post processing is to lighten those eyes and make them pop it even more. Looks like you did use a flash – maybe turning up your flash a little more would help to add more light into your subjects eyes. As you’ve probably noticed this image is all about the eyes. Brent
What a sweetie! Nice job capturing that look into the camera; hard for the viewer to ignore him!
Thanks Peter. However, I do not know how to photoshop the hand out of the image.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/213a5a66991bd935f56880b888d98151c10c1125f9534f454a8a83e2826d8b2f.jpg
This was May 5th, 2018 at the Cliffs of Moher from the ferry. I couldn’t believe we got two clear days in a row at the Cliffs. The day before we had seen them from the top of the Cliffs. Just beautiful days. ISO 400, 44mm, f/10, 1/400. I was very excited I didn’t get sick on the ferry-we had a number of very large waves.
Sara, that’s a nice POI. You can’t miss it.
Quite the shot from a moving ferry!! I can feel the rolling swells while I look at the photo.
Thank you Gary. It was quite a challenge to take photos that day as the waves were not conducive to level shots. On the plus side, when we were coming in to dock, a dolphin came up beside the boat. I got a shot or two, nothing too great-but I did manage to capture the dolphin coming out of the water!
You are welcome Sara. Wow a dolphin, that is so cool!! I am wondering if there is any chance you can lighten the shadows a tad? I bet there is something wonderful hiding in there.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/46fa8abe08d20990605ef2f8fed87ff3e2c9467a71bf27fe7b52ce5984d45154.jpg
Here it is with a little less shadow.
I was mistaken. I guess just a bit too much haze/mist but thanks for trying.
Hi Sara. You were luck with the weather. Great shot given your platform. It is a magical place but one you need to take care at. It can be very dangerous. Well done on this shot.
Great effort from the boat, I visited The cliffs of Moher,did not realise you could use the ferry.
less shadow is certainly better, well done.
Great photo, especially given the conditions in which it was taken. I can see the size of the swell and the base of the pinnacle (Crab Island?, I looked at a map!)
I’ve been studying this photo and trying to work out a couple of things in my mind on how to improve it. Namely, how to make the pinnacle stand out more from the general coastline and whether the pinnacle needs sharpening up a bit and whether that might help to lift it from the cliffs.
And frankly I’m not sure either can be done. If you lightened the background cliffs a bit more I think the image would look contrived, and I see a general lightening made the photo look hazy. And it doesn’t help that the pinnacle is in shadow and the cliffs in bright sunlight.
I took the liberty and had a play in Affinity Photo and came up with this, I used the sharpen filter and upped the shadows a little bit
now don’t get me wrong I think you have a really good photo, I’m just intrigued on how to make it really pop.
Something I noticed when studying the image is that the white lines which I took to be quartz are also made up of heaps of white birds, interesting.
PS: Do you shoot in RAW?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/438935fe4ea16b416b8e53abcafa55b6b88ff08d5e1a26d337c593b6267fdc31.jpg
Nick, I have been shooting in raw for quite a while now. Although I should probably double check that as my daughter uses my camera once in a while. Thanks for trying to adjust the photo. I use Affinity also. I am not sure what the white lines are, I don’t remember if the recording we listened to once we got close to the cliffs said. But I know the Cliffs are sandstone and that the piece that is separating on the right has been that way for about 100 years and looks like it might drop off at any moment.
The reason I asked about raw was that often you can bring out the shadow detail from a raw image where it is often lost in a jpeg.
I’m still learning the processes in Affinity only have recently moved from Photoshop.
Great capture hear Sara, Your pinnacle really does stand out in this image. As @disqus_4pYt18DaZN:disqus asks – how can you Separate this pinnacle or from the background cliffs even more – I’m thinking black-and-white, and then using contrast to separate the foreground darker object from the lighter background cliffs. Try it. Brent
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/87b1c569cc2dd1bdb53df454d09a6bf812fa599320e14656591e45d4d849e5de.jpg
Here is the B&W image. I played with it a bit, went a bit far and not quite enough, hopefully this is the correct mix.
Here is my second picture for the single POI. On a recent day off I visited a place with reminders of closed industrial activity: the intensive coalmining which stopped in 1980. This site contains reminders of those activities, like this tower. It was taken after sunset so I had to take a picture with long time. The legs and the head of the tower were illuminated with a nice golden glow.
50mm 1/80 F5.0 ISO 400
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/19b141d90ec929ae8b494e81b033b902276aef9f911920ae4c0b2208102b246b.jpg
Christian, Very cool! I wonder if it would balance a little better by cropping the LHS or if you had more space on the right hand side? Love the colors.
I intentionally took this composition as the legs are not symmetrical in the picture. Therefore I gave more space at left side.
Gotcha. Makes sense.
Great shot! Love the colours. These type of structures always give me the creeps and I don’t know why. 🙂
Very crisp and sharp image. Like the colour contrast, and that the tower is well lit, making it stand out as the POI. Nice shot 🙂
I like the colors also. It has enough “pop” to it that I’m wondering when it will walk again from its location. 🙂
Hi Christian. Nice shot and well taken. The lighting is well balanced and focuses the eye on the tower.
Hi Christian, This image raises a lot of emotion in me… I am seeing beauty in the way you have captured this tower, and at the same time I abhor everything about the subject. Well done!
Christian, Great photo … composition, lighting, and sharp focus … very nice work !
Beautiful photo. Great detail. Lovely clouds. I agree with Kerrie’s sentiments though.
Stunning photo, simply superb single POI
The lighting of the structure against the dark blues of the sky are very eye catching
I simply have no idea how to make this a better photo, because I think it’s ticked all the boxes already
Well done
on another note I have often wondered how miners can simply leave equipment whenever they wander off. It’s akin to littering though on a larger scale.
Wow @christianpiron:disqus this tower really does stand out from the background – because of those warm lights contrasted against the dark blue sky. You also have three leading lines leading the viewer from the bottom up to the top of the tower. How can you make this better? I’m thinking maybe lighten the sky and little at the top – Or shooting this few minutes earlier before the sky gets too dark. Well done. Brent
Great shot, Christian. I love the way the light identifies your POI.
1/640 @ f3.5 to keep the DOF shallow. A bit of standard basic adjustments in LR plus a wee bit of a vignette.
A shot of our provincial flower before they disappear until next spring. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f6f127dc7f16633d4299254da32eeeaf56afb6d014d1a967af696cc3e2771e65.jpg
Gary, a beautiful picture. I like the colours and the contrast between those of the flower and the tree.
Thank you Christian,
Great shot. The colors are beautiful.
Thank you Sara.
Beautiful POI shot. Like the contrasting colours, and the vignette is very subtle and does not overpower the image. Good choice of aperture to draw the viewers focus to the flower. Well done 🙂
Thanks Rerro!
Love the texture of the log, perfect contrast so POI, great image.
Thank you John.
The log for a background really defines this as an environmental shot. Very well done.
Thanks Point!! I noticed this while I was walking my dads dog. Went back with my camera after the walk was dome.
Hi Garry. This is lovely. Good background and composition.
Thanks Denis.
Hi Gary, love the composition, and awesome DoF. Great image!
Thank you Kerrie.
Beautiful. Love the striking simplicity. Nothing at all striking about this photo though. Do you know what kind of flower this is?
Thanks Chris. The flower is a Trillium.
Thanks @disqus_zS1S9COlVo:disqus for the info.
great single POI, the limb leads the eye into the flower
Not sure you need the vignette on the left side though
nice simple uncluttered photo
Thanks Nick. I’m a sucker for vignettes. 🙂
Excellent capture here Gary– Your flower is tack-sharp and really pops in this image because of that dark background with a lighter flower. Love your shallow depth of field and the leading line – the fallen over log. I also like the way you’ve put the flower in the right-hand third of your composition. This image rocks! Brent
Thanks Brent. I think this outing may have been the first time I tried using the flippy screen on my camera to get low (usually a laying in the dirt type of guy) and I am pretty happy with how it worked. I’m going to run it through some PS plugins to get a painterly effect just for fun. Seeing as this is a photography bootcamp I figured best to stick to some basic editing for the post.
Gary, I think your composition is spot on. The contrasting colours of the single plant vs the background help your plant to pop. I love textures, so for me, there are 2 point of interest here because my eye is drawn to the bark in focus just before the plant. The direction of the log then helps pull my eye into the plant.
Thank you Judy. Quite honestly I did’t realize how shallow the DoF was going to be when I shot it. I was merely trying to keep some distracting background branches/twigs blurred. I could go back and just shoot a textured log for you. 🙂
A couple of friends making there daily visit.
iso320, fl140mm, f6, 1/125sec https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b49676f23ec7fcafff5c6571bf53d91c6bba0508c268230703b04dd85b0cbec1.jpg
Wow.. lovely colours!! Do these guys just stop by for tea and cookies?
Thanks Gary, that’s about right.
Can’t miss them can you?!? Wow, that would be great to have them stop by each day.
Thanks Sara
Thanks Sara, it is nice that they call, can be a bit noisy at times though.
Love the Rainbow lorikeets…..they always have such fun! I am interested to know why you opted for the white vignette?
Thanks Rerro, seemed to me to go better with the white railing.
Thanks John, i do feel that you have perhaps overdone the vignette in this case, and it is kinda taking away from your subject and softening the colours you are trying to extenuate. Try and be more subtle with your approach, so that the viewer doesn’t not even notice the vignette. At the moment it looks obvious and your eye goes straight to it because of the strong contrast it creates – exactly the opposite of what you want to happen. Play around with your image and see if you can reduce the effect
Thanks Rerro, I take your advice and removed the vignette, I hope it has improved the image.
What unbelievably colorful birds. Where do you live? These guys are not indigenous to New Jersey.
Thanks Peter, I live in Queensland Australia.
Looks even better without the vignette !! Thanks for your location.
Thanks
Australia has some awesome looking birds. Thanks.
Beautiful colours John, lucky you to have these lorikeets visit you daily. I agree with Rerro that the white vignette is a little distracting for your POI. I’m sure that making it less obvious would enhance the overall image.
Thanks Dianne, I have gone with removing the vignette.
Hi John, I like the shot. However I do think the vignette is a tad strong.
Thanks Dennis, I will remove the vignette,
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/74b7f9d3c69991fb9711e6cc103174220857da427dac06712e850e726be400ff.jpg
Thanks guys, have removed the vignette, what do you think ?
WOW….a huge improvement! Just one more thing John…try and straighten the image so that the bar they are sitting on is level. A brilliant photo. We are now completely focused on the birds, they are very sharp and there are no distractions! Well done 🙂
Awesome John! The birds really pop now. Great image.
So much better!
Yes, love this without the vignette. These come to your yard? How lucky! What kind of birds are they?
Couple of very healthy looking rainbow Lorikeets, great photo. (and there goes my next POI offering!)
They really stand out from the background (and I agree that the vignetting didn’t help)
Is the railing straight? As a matter of interest, do they have trouble holding onto that railing?
And I won’t say anything about this being a superb Double POI, though I did find that one bird did distract my eye from the other when I tried to work out which was the single POI. lol
They are beautiful birds. I was just thinking this morning to take some more bird shots as we do have some wonderful species. Love the clean background which makes the birds pop
Wow John the colours in this image are just amazing! What makes these two lorikeets pop even more is the dull, monochrome background. Good idea to get rid of the vignette. The only question here is, which one of these two lorikeets is your singe point of interest and how can you make it obvious to the viewer? For me I think it’s the lorikeets eye on the right that attracts my eye the most, but then my gaze goes over to the one on the left – it’s eye and bill. Brent
Thanks Brent, I decided on the pair as POI, as the birds always stay with mates, a couple if you like.
Definitely better without the vignette, I think. My eye goes to the eye of the bird on the right because of the eye’s contrast with the deeper blue feathers. Multiple POI’s? Maybe, but I love it anyway. Perfect plain background to really get the colour to jump out at the viewer.
Here’s another SPOI photo …. my flower photo … R. “Strike it Rich” captured at Filoli Gardens yesterday. Prime 28 mm lens, ¼000 sec, @ f/1.7. ISO 100. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9124bce994589eb2e1d6687c98ac25aed444e736d8bfcbc9fac386a808d784e6.jpg
Brilliant, perfect SPOI! no doubt at all! Love the warm colours. Very beautiful indeed…you have struck gold here Richard! 🙂
Very nice, Richard. What did you do to set up the shot? Lighting? Background?
Peter, This shot was taken in the Rose garden and Filoli. I created the photo effect in Lightroom by highlighting the flower and blocking out the background using the brush tool.
Very well done. Love it @disqus_VMEwMaCfC1:disqus .
A beautiful rose Richard and well done for the image. Beautifully sharp and lovely tones. Have you thought of a closer crop to reduce the amount of negative space? Just a thought!
Hi Richard. Great shot. Well composed. Looks like an original canvas. Well done. Print and Frame it.
Very moody Richard. I love these kinds of shots.
Awesome! Looks like it could be a painting. I agree with a little bit of crop to put more focus on the flower. Well done!
Thanks to all for your very kind comments. I’m learning a lot from all of you !
Beautiful shot, so moody. I haven’t been to Filoli in months, maybe I will run into you next time.
Great photo
the colouring of the rose and general moodiness of the background work well
nice
This photo is just beautiful! I love the way you isolated it with a vignette and highlighted the flower which brought out the deep colors of the petals.. Gorgeous!
Hi Richard, this is a keeper. Just beautiful!
Really like your moody, dark flower image here Richard – almost “fine art” like. Like your shallow depth of field and the way you’ve darkened the background to make sure the viewer focuses on your single point of interest – this really works for me. I also like the way you’ve toned down to the colours a little. This image rocks and I think you should print it and hang on your wall. Brent
Subtle, simple, lovely. Great image, Richard.
I took this in my back yard about two hours ago. I’m excited about this one because I have not seen one of these lovely creatures on my property for years! The frog was resting on a Calla Lily leaf. Very overcast day which lead to a rather difficult shot in low light plus I had limited angles. I did not want to disturb the frog so I had to maneuver into some strange angles to get through the plants. Auto ISO jumped to 5000 for f/16 at 1/60 second – handheld with the XF80 coupled to a 2.0x tele-converter – for a 160mm on a APS-C sensor. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/60a53123760760788e8970f5e2563ba17b2a8edb47c76b6c48da62442c8712fa.jpg
WOW! The broad, dark leaf of the Calla was the perfect resting place and background for this beautiful frog. Awesome image, Point. You did well to get this hand held. Do you know what species of frog it is?
Thank you Kerrie. It is the Pacific Tree Frog. It will change color to hide better. It is little too – only about an inch long. They used to be more common on the area I live but the past couple of years they have been difficult to find.
What a great shot! Just fabulous Point – all those leading lines drawing you into the POI and the perfect colour contrasts! Brilliant for a hand held shot. Well done! 🙂 Just because i am pedantic i would be trying to remove the white specs on the leaf, so we have a perfect green background…but that is just my preference. Also, have you tried rotating the image slightly CW, so we see a little more of the eye…
Thank you.
Hopefully I will get a chance to see how a slight rotate works in the next couple of days I will have to lower the contrast on the leaf to lessen the pollen (the white specs). When I did that before the leaf color was not quite where it needed to be but I’ll see if I can get it a little better.
Hi Point. Very good indeed. I like the way the lines on the leaf lead you into the shot. Great capture.
Thank you Denis.
Point, it is not my favorite pet. But very colourful. Great picture while the frog is climbing on the leaf.
Nice shot Point. Dont you hate how those stupid plants get in the way? 🙂
Beautiful shot! The colors are lovely. It’s always tough to get some of these shots through plants and other things in the way.
Such great detail with the high ISO. Great picture.
Beautiful shot, love the colors!! I don;t see any noise at all, even with the high ISO.
great photo
the lighting and the aspect work well
love the frog’s colouring
That’s awesome for a hand held shot under those conditions – and with that high ISO. And nicely focused too. Cheers
Awesome shot. Very sharp, love the eyes and the colors. Great composition! Love this shot very much. Great job!
Wow, an amazing shot. Beautiful complementing colors and very sharp. Great work
What a beautiful frog, love to see them in my backyard. Great sharp shot especially given the challenges you had.
Excellent capture here @point_reyes:disqus – You must have very steady hands to hand hold your lands at 1/60 of the second. Your image is Tack Sharp and my eye settles on the frogs copper eye. I really like the leading lines from the leaf that leads me to your main point of interest. I’m really surprised by the lack of noise at ISO 5000. My only suggestion here is to move the frog off centre for a slightly more pleasing composition. Brent
I’m going to sound like an advertisement. Sorry about that. 🙂
I do have steady hands but the lens and the new camera I got were of a major help. The lens has 4-axis IS and the camera (a Fuji first) has 5-axis IBIS with a CIPA rating of 5 stops. The lens attached to this camera the X-H1 gains the 5th axis.
The X-H1 is very different from all the other Fuji cameras – its big! A big grip with a balance that works very well with the bigger lens like the macro lens I use. The X-H1 also has a feather touch shutter button which further reduces shake/vibration.
Many of the mirrorless cameras are considered ISO-invariant. My Fuji cameras happen to fit that category. There is still noise but I normally have more issues with at 6,400 and higher.
OK. End sounding like an advertisement. :p
I was able to move the eye to the one of the 1/3 grid lines for a slight off center approach. I could not do what Rerro suggested. When I try to transform (i.e. rotate) the image for the eye, the lines in the leaf are not as dramatic.
Very busy time for me. I barely had time to even try some of the suggestions offered up to me. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8f2a46e18c3ce3675671f63d35e38cac4d034679c8a8e3ae87141cd177334a20.jpg
Wow, I’d love to get my hand on that camera to give it a test run too. Brent
What a beautiful image!!
What a beautiful frog, and your image showcases him very well. My favourite thing is how the faint ridges in the leaf radiate from under the frog. That draws me in in addition to the contrasting colours.
Greetings. I live on a very sandy clay Island – so some of our rock formations make interesting sculptures. For this shot, I had to wade a bit into the a fairly cool Atlantic ocean shore and position myself so I didn’t catch tourists or other distracting bits of landscape. Did some post processing in LR. Taken at iso 200, F10, 1/160, 28mm. Hope this works as POI
Greetings. I live on a very sandy clay Island – so some of our rock formations make interesting sculptures. For this shot, I had to wade a bit into the a fairly cool Atlantic ocean shore and position myself so I didn’t catch tourists or other distracting bits of landscape. Did some post processing in LR. Taken at iso 200, F10, 1/160, 28mm. Hope this works as POI
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f021f1f8eb653b7430291e5d0e2196cee27a98bc0fe1755fb677191f40dc1585.jpg
Lynne, this is a very interesting picture. As you say it is a particular (SPOI)sculpture. And the clouds make the picture even more interesting. I think it would even be better if there was some more water before the feet of the sculpture. But perhaps you didn’t have much space.
Hi Lynne. You went to a lot of trouble to get this shot. I think it is little dark. Could this be enhanced in post processing.
Very nice. I do agree with the others that it is slightly dark and could use a little more water on the bottom. Great POI.
Yes I would have liked more water on the bottom. The problem is / was that there are a a lot of various rocks and out growths of sand and clay in the area. So in front of this entity there were others. If I could have been taller, I might have been able to get more of the water in front. Ugh
Yes this does work as a single point of interest Lynne. That’s rock formation looks pretty cool. When I saw this image immediately I was thinking Long Exposure. If you can get a hold of a neutral density filter this would make for an excellent long exposure landscape image. Black and white would rock here – pun intended! Brent
The rock sculpture – take 2. Attempted to lighten it in LR as suggested. Thanks for the suggestion. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1f82de38fcbf870958f0ee9ad8815165257ac1ce9ed8cbf08f4d50a815098deb.jpg
Lynne, now the colours of that sculpture is more impressive. Nice doen.
Lynne, I like this much better. Now it is light and airy.
This is a great improvement on the original and brings out the unusual layering of the rock. Much better light to show off the rock sculpture.
I like the second shot better, too. Is there a way you can sharpen the detail on the rocks?
Wow Lynne, what a great shot!!
Great POI and an interesting formation
and this lighter version really works well
I’ve read the other comments, so I won’t say that my initial thought was ‘more water below’
Lovely rock formation….what a story this rock could tell! It is clearly the POI in the image, but i think you could add a vignette or graduated filter to darken the highlights in the clouds and sky. The sky is taking up about 70% of the image, and it is quite bright, so your eye is pulled in that direction and it ‘overshadows’ the rock.
So much better when you lighted it up.. It brings out the textures and shape of the rock. Interesting shaped rock. I would have darkened the sky with a graduated filter also because of the brightness of the background.
Great composition. Love this lighter one as well. Nice soft water and great detail in the sky.
That is a very interesting rock formation. I really like this image. Sounds like it was a bit of a challenge taking this photo 🙂 My first thought was to try a longer exposure to try smoothing the sea and sky, but that was probably not possible if you had waded into the cold water.
Forest Giant. I took this a couple of days ago while walking in the forest not far from my home. It is a Mountain Ash, or Eucalyptus regnans – the tallest flowering plant on the planet. I feel humbled getting up close to these majestic beauties. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/52a7684ea72a4217fb738af7a8f5219848fcffb0bd98222411d42774cbc20486.jpg
Great looking tree, Kerrie. Can you darken the tree to increase the contrast with the background?
Never seen a tree like that one. How unusual.
Hi Doris, these trees are quite common in my part of the world.
Hi Peter, thanks for the feedback, I posted a re-edit above.
Hi Kerrie, I liked the re- do of the black and white version. The colored version is like a tree in an enchanted forest. Mystical and magical.
Maybe like this? I’ve tried to bring it out by lightening up the background a tad. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bdfac34854f5a97eeccf0e3a2a1bb2670a297bd46f77b970c6b700b6725507da.jpg
Kerrie, nice detail. As if there is some magic in the tree. Good contrast after lighting up the background.
Thanks, Christian. The whole forest is just magical. I often go for long walks there.
Magnificent specimen
I’m thinking that even though the background is busy and distracting (typical Aussie bush) that the tree stands out, And that burl growth looks fantastic. I imagine that in the colour image it blends in somewhat
nice photo
Actually, are you sure it’s a regnans? Those in the background seem to be but the bark here looks different, just wondering.
Hi Nick, yes, it’s a beautiful gnarly old tree. Perhaps not the best choice of subject for single POI because of the cluttered background. I’m sure it’s a regnans. The smooth, lighter bark begins further up the trunk -beyond the scope of my lens. The trees in the background are also regnans, but they are regrowth specimens, not sure how old they are, but babies compared to this guy. The area was logged in the late 1800’s,so I’m guessing my subject was left alone because of the lack of “good timber”
Hi Kerrie. Nice detail on the tree. In this one it stands out more from the background.
Thanks Denis. I love those gnarly burls on this old tree.
Hi Kerrie, this version is the better one I reckon – the tree definitely stands out more – no doubt about what is the single point of interest. The background is just a support act now.
Thanks so much, Alex. after I posted it I had my doubts about it being a single POI.
Very interesting growth on the trunk of this tree Kerrie. The majesty of these big old trees is breathtaking. I am struggling with the amount of detail in this image, and my eye does not know what to settle on. The similar tones involved in the image are also competing with each other. I would be interested to see this image in colour, as i believe we might be able to get better separation using the natural hues…not sure, but would be great if you could post the colour image
Thanks for the comments, Rerro. Here is the color version, I’ve desaturated the green in the background using brush in LR. I don’t have photoshop.
Kerrie, i don’t think the photo uploaded.
4th time lucky…I tried 3 times, but it wanted to load way up on the top of the page! Do you ever have those mornings when you think you should have just stayed in bed? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/efab6fe827866555b06d7cf8cf4ce5bbdf4a7304c83e462be465f1cff70c51db.jpg
hahaha….often! I am a fan of black and white, but in this case i think the colour will be better. I too mostly use LR. I like having the green in the background, because this helps separate the brown trunk from the rest of the forest. I have done a quick edit on your image to show you what i was thinking. I have enhanced the colours and clarity and added a vignette.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/20e39badb96553a99c8a1a30bda8e75d6eebab49a7116a5a2b090e1ecb723402.jpg
Hey, thanks so much Rerro, I think what you have done looks so much better! I was convinced that I needed to pull color out of the background (??) It’s amazing what another pair of eyes and a different mindset can do! Your critiques are so very helpful. thanks again. 🙂
Its a great shot of an old beauty! you did him proud….Well done on capturing this Kerrie 🙂
I reckon I like the colour more than the B&W
In my view the trunk stands out more. There’s a lot of detail in that bark, magic!
I like what Christine has done but maybe a bit too much ie I’m not sure our bush is that vivid a green
The only other edit I’d attempt would be to try and straighten the trees in the background to the right and left of the frame. They lean in to my eye
great photo thanks for sharing
Hey Nick, thanks so much for your feedback…. Those trees leaning in bothered me as well…it took me a while, but I have finally worked out how to use the transform vertical tool in LR! I won’t post the image coz I feel that I’ve had my fair share of posts. But thank you.
I’m glad that I’ve nudged you into learning something new! lol
It’s your call but I’d suggest that you post it for the simple reason it will show others what can be done.
Nice. Image really pops.
thanks Lynne, it’s Rerro’s work!
Good job here @rerrorocher:disqus – Yes the tree now pops even more! Thanks for sharing. Brent
I like this color shot better. The reds in the tree help to separate it from the background. Also the different tones of reds help to bring out the shapes in the tree better in my opinion.
thank you Barbara.
welcome
I like this colour version more too Kerrie – Because of the tree is more separated from the background due to the colours. I also like the textures on the tree trunk which make this image very interesting. With such a large subject – how can you create a single point of interest from this image? Home wondering whether you should get a little closer and photograph one of those growths on the tree trunk? Not sure. I love trees too – There is something very calming walking through a forest of giant trees. Brent
Hi Brent,Thanks so much for the feedback. I realise now that my B/W conversion was not great…I should not have put it up here.(don’t know what I was thinking) I actually prefer it in colour also. I wanted the tree itself as the POI. So even tho a shot of one of the burls would probably have been more appropriate for this challenge, I’d rather just settle on it being a bad choice of subject and or lack of skill on my part. Oh well… if we aren’t making mistakes we aren’t learning. 🙂
I have to agree, I really like this in color. I can really see the detail better with browns and greens.
Thank you, Chris. I really like it too.
I agree the colour version is more effective for this image. Love the rich red of the large subject.
Thanks so much Judy, I also prefer the color version.
This image is awesome. You nailed it!
I like the lighter background alot better and it brings out the outline of the tree and the textures in the trunk. 😉
Thanks Terri.
I definitely like this one better. Love the texture of the trunk. I keep looking for the image of a face to appear out of all that gnarlyness! Too many Disney movies as a kid.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9998091809297b1765ba843809a4dd5ce3a93a53b1b79297a128bf9b8f2c4bc4.jpg This is a blue- footed booby dancing for me while I was in the Galapagos Islands. No info on the settings.
Great, looks like a happy bird!
Thanks, Chris. He was strutting to impress the girls!
Haha, that’s what males do!
Thanks a lot, Chris.
An interesting bird and well snapped
To make him really eye catching, he needs to stand out from the background more. eg, those rocks directly behind him are distracting. For a moment I thought the one to the right was a wing. If you could lighten up the background a bit it would help – I think I’d leave him as is though
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b48a415c92c0051539196c00a37b94fa876b209b9c025184868b1e38ed3239ac.jpg Hi Nick and Rerro, Thank you for your advice. I used Lightroom to brush over the rocks to lighten them in the background.
I love the original too, but this is even better. Great capture and the processing of the rock helped focusing on the bird.
Thanks, Erez.
I think this is a bit better, too, Peter. What a fun picture. The head and eye are well focused. That is the first place I looked.
Thanks, Judy. Take a look at the last one I re- edited after Brent’s comment to brighten the eye a bit.
Hi Peter. Good shot Peter.
Thanks, Denis.
Lovely shot Peter…but i have to agree with Nick, I immediately thought the rock was part of the wing. This is a problem that i have found so often out in nature. The animals and birds tend to blend in (a method of protection i presume, from other predators!). This becomes a challenge for us photographers…..trying to separate them from the background, and other elements of the same colour. See what you can do with the background in this image, to emphasize the bird!
Thank you, Rerro. See the re-do under Nick’s comments.
Very interesting shot. Love how this animal looks like he is going to fall over. The background looks like a painting. Composition is spot on and the image is well done. Great job!
Thank you, Barbara.
welcome
Love the shot Peter – It’s all in the body language and movement. Great capture! After looking at the body language my eye goes right up to that yellow eye of the booby – Wondering whether you should add a little more contrast and shadow detail to that eye? Brent
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/26438e1627628f6768c9832c71153548a0842d17362d2cc558c6be97acf8bf49.jpg Here is my attempt to add color and brighten the eye, as well as lighten the rocks behind the bird to differentiate his wings from the rocks. Thank you. I used the brush in Lightroom. It was my first time to use the tool. I tried not to overdue the effect.
Looks good
Thank you. Your advise helped my delve deeper into what you can achieve in editing single areas vs. global editing.
Hopefully my second single POI is better than my first. Taken in front of a botanical garden conservatory in the middle of downtown Oklahoma City.. There are gardens filled with flowers and I tried to single out one for this lesson. I tried a different angle and pov and tried to catch the light by shooting up toward the bottom of the flower.. It was a cloudy day when this was shot so I played with the colors to warm things up and tried to bring out the shadows on the underside of the flower itself. Settings: 1/640sec F/7.1 ISO 100 with 50 mm lens F/1.8 https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/838d4e7f46cc0362bbdef876e81ddf5c6e20b2b944af9ee1517e4a262e53a104.jpg
Terri, this a very nice picture: colourful, sharp flower with a blurry background. I find the picture well balanced.
Thank you Christian.. I’m glad you like it… A vote of confidence is always appreciate 😉
love the shadows on the flower underside. Like the soft texture in the background. Lovely shot
Thank you Lynne.. you are very kind.. I am learning so much here. Its a great course and I see so many great photos here. 😉
Beautiful! The colors and the blurred background, very well done!
Hi Terri. Nice shot. Nice soft background.
Pretty flower. Great composition. Love the back lighting and soft background.
Well done
Nice composition, nice colours and well muted background
Wonderful shot Terri….love the tones and the way the light is illuminating the petals! Can’t fault this, and one to be proud of. Print it, it would look amazing hanging on a wall! 🙂
Oh my god, what a complement! Thank you so much for those glowing words of support Rerro… Its nice to hear I actually accomplished what I set out to do.. 😉
Hi Terri, ditto on everyone’s comments. Just beautiful.
Well I appreciate what you and everyone has said.. I love flowers and wanted to do it justice.. Thanks very much 😉
Hi Terri, Amazing and beautiful. My eyes are drawn right into the soft petals. So calming and peaceful.
Thank you Peter.. I appreciate your comments very much 😉
An amazing shot and beautiful lighting through the flower. So well done!
Thank you so much! Really appreciate your thoughts.. 😉
Wow Terri at first in this image looked like a painting! Stunning! Very interesting because you’ve photographed this into the light and I can see the shadows from the other petals. Yes as a single point of interest this image is excellent! Brent
Thank you so much! I was so much happier on this than on my previous bridge photo.. The light was there and I also liked the way it accentuated the petals. I can’t wait to learn more, so excited to be here 😉
The layering of light through the petals makes this image rock. Lovely!
So grateful and happy to hear this.. 😉 I appreciate your critique 😉
Greetings. Trying to catch up with POI. This is my laughing Buddha in my garden. Lot’s of greenery in the background, so did shallow DOF F1.8, 50 mm,iso 100 and touched up in LR https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/35e5a4ba9354537646a5c6465c253ac38b5136c20fac826e100557acc4ce749c.jpg
Love it! Great shot.
Hi Lynne. Nice shot.
Lynn, I see that light is coming from left above. I wonder if light coming from left/right in front wouldn’t give a better result. It would give more detail to that side of the face of the statue.
Interesting shot Lynne. The fact that you have shot this using a shallow doF i suspect your background would be blurred out nicely, and there would be a natural separation with the subject, whic would allow you to have some breathing room around the buddha. If you have cropped this, perhaps you could go back and open the image up a bit, so we can see a bit of the background?
Thanks Rerro. Here it is as suggested. Not sure I gave him enough room at top though. Cheers
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/97d12741c80621d2d7a7eb6777ac16c4458eedd0ebd7f618c4624e7e9c8ed1bb.jpg
Ohhh, love this version alot better.. Warming it up and the colors in the background made it feel happier and not as gloomy as before.. It feels alot happier 😉
Nice shot. I like the soft background and the light that comes in from the top left. Your image is sharp and the composition is nice.
Very interesting capture here Lynne – and yes my eyes do settle on the face of your laughing buddha. Good choice to use a very shallow depth of field shooting at an aperture of F1.8 on your 50 mm lens to separate your statue from the background. This might be good as a black-and-white image too. Brent
My last image for this challenge is another from my trip to the zoo. I was determined to get a shot of the Rhino’s. They have such great faces and their bodies are so full of detail. This is a black rhino. It was difficult, i only had a 70-200mm lens, and of course the rhino’s don’t always play the part on cue! Being the zoo, there are lots of distractions so i made the decision to focus on the eye of the Rhino (this was my POI). My settings were f2.8 1/250sec at 200mm ISO100.
I have attached a before and after picture to show my thought process and my final image, where i have transformed the shot to draw the viewer to the eye. I used the Rhino horn as a natural leading line and placed the eye on the bottom rule of third corner…..which i have called ‘Respect and Sadness’
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8fef0cfe54334ed6a241876003c6bd1c1d34891cfed8dd7e67fb1ee60b3a9307.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c972e6fe5d0e065a19f01f7fe7a01161efa9980dd1e5d2617942d1ef319d7fe4.jpg
Rerro. WOW! This is fantastic! The detail of his skin is great, and the intensity of the look in his eye is bothsad and beautiful. A very powerful image, given the fate of these wonderful creatures.
Thanks Kerrie 🙂
My eye is drawn to his eye, so that worked!
Love the textures in the skin – great photo
I might have cropped a little less on the right but … what you’ve done works
Thanks Nick 🙂
Wonderful picture, Rerro. Again!!!
Thanks Lon! 🙂
Hi Rerro. Like this work. The eye is very good indeed and draws me in. Maybe one day!!!
Nice. Love the detail on the Rhino. This is a very tack sharp image that gives the viewer the feeling of being close to the Rhino. The horn works well to lead the viewer to its eye. Great shot!
Thanks Barbara 🙂
Hi Rerro, my eyes are drawn right to his eye. When you enlarge the picture, it is riveting. Such a small eye for his massive head.Is there a way you can you erase the log in the lower left corner to make it darker? It was a distraction for me.
Thanks Peter…not as easy as its seems – i did try, but this was the best that i could do, without impinging on the rhino itself!
It is still a great shot.
Thanks Peter 🙂
Yes Great shot and great title. The eye is mesmerizing. Agree with others re the left hand lower corner is a bit distracting –
Thanks Lynne….:)
The first thing I saw was the eye and then I was distracted by the log in the lower right… I like the crop but I would have left more space on the right side of the eye as well. Great capture… !
Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Great crop. Love this image and the skin texture. Really a great work.
Have you considered to darken the log at the bottom left? It will nicely match the already dark top-right corner and will give you a nice vignetting.
Thanks for the tip 🙂
Your second image rocks @rerrorocher:disqus – and I like the post processing too. Great example of how to use cropping and post processing to go from a busy image to a single point of interest image. I also like the way you’ve placed the eye off centre and in the right-hand third of the image. The textures on the rhinos face are very interesting too. I am very impressed. Brent
Thank you Brent – i especially wanted to put a before and and after image to show how to use post processing for a SPOI as it is not always easy to get the shot without distractions in the real world.
Excellent – you should do more of these. I like. Brent
For sure…watch this space!
Love the crop Rerro. It keeps me right there. I would love to see more contrast in a total black and white (but then I can be heavy handed with my edits and tend to go a little unrealistic 🙂 ). Quite honestly I could play with this for hours, it is such a cool photo.
Thanks Gary, i did think about black and white, but wanted to keep it as natural as i could. But i agree, the potential for different styles to this image are endless!
I really like the cropped photo. Very dramatic with great detail. You inspire me to start looking differently when examining my photos. Great job!
Thanks Valerie 🙂
Love the second shot-just beautiful! It certainly captures the Rhino.
Thanks Sara 🙂
Beautiful image! Love love love the crop! I wish we could do more to protect these magnificent animals. One of my images for a class I took was a rhino ear. The topic was finding beauty so I focused on getting the hair and texture. But I love your image.
thanks Chris….there is just so much detail everywhere on the Rhino…..i wish that i could have kept the ears in the shot. But the trees were in the way. And the old rhino…he was not budging! Would love to see your picture of the ear!
Terrific. I think the crop concentrates my focus as a viewer on the eye & your digital processing brought out interesting features in the hide surrounding the eye. It makes me feel bit sad. Mission accomplished, I’d say 🙂
Thanks Judy…glad that my plan worked! 🙂
beautiful capture!
Thanks Barbara
Great shot Rerro! The first image seems a little under exposed. The close crop on the horn and that eye really make this the better image of the two I think.
Thanks Jim – the first (original) image was the before, and the second image (the original edited) the After! I purposely shot the original image underexposed, so that i could pull the detail out in post processing. I only posted the original image, to show how you can transform your SPOI during the editing phase. 🙂
So I was out learning how to take pet photos that require a fast shutter speed to catch them. I do have to admit she was on her way back with the toy and had slowed down for this one. I was shooting with My nikon D750 ISO 800, @f/4, 1/1250 of a sec, @ 112mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/93459cd19a93a441377f8f0d85fa81fa72dcf828ffd71cfa562078847cd83c44.jpg
So I was out learning how to take pet photos that require a fast shutter speed to catch them. I do have to admit she was on her way back with the toy and had slowed down for this one. I was shooting with My nikon D750 ISO 800, @f/4, 1/1250 of a sec, @ 112mm. It was a cloudy day. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/12a718a8bedd13ede6cfeb4f428529e25f2370c039d91d51d9c63f4f402743e1.jpg
Hi Barbara, great focus on the eye! Nice shot of a moving subject. Well done.
Thanks
Really like this picture, great capture.
Thank you
Great shot….awesome unique frame….don’t think i have see a Frisbee frame before 🙂 Good catch light in the eyes and nicely sharp considering this is an action shot. Good choice of having a very high SS. Well done Barbara 🙂 I am presuming the eyes are your POI or perhaps the whole face?
Thank you very much. I was thinking the whole face. It captures the essence of what she is doing.
Nice shot and well positioned. She won’t lose the Frisbee holding it like that.
No she won’t. Thank you.
Hi Babara. Good shot. Like the eyes. “Come and get it if you can”
Thank you. Yep she loves to play fetch!
Hi Barbara, a very happy dog. The frisbee looks well -used.
Thank you and yes it is.
I’m a sucker for dog photos… this one is really good but it kind of bothers me seeing half of his body cut off . The frisbee surrounding his face is cute and really takes your eye to his face. Sharp and clear focus definitely and great depth of field to blur background. Great job!
Thank you very much Terri. Believe it or not I didn’t shoot her whole body so I made sure that I didn’t cut the front legs off.
Oh well , cute dog and good capture 😉
thank you
Great capture and I love your unique framing of the face 🙂
Thank you
I laughed when I saw this image, you’ve gotta love pets how they get tangled in their own toys! I like the way and the Frisbee has enhanced the dogs eyes which are the point of interest in this image. Well done. Brent
Thank you. The funny thing is she carries it that way so she can see where she is going.
This shot made me smile Barbara. Don’t you love it when you are trying something new and it works out.Great capture!!
Thank you. Yes it is nice when it works out; however, the really fast action was a bust. I did learn that my settings where wrong so next time I will get the faster shots in focus.
Gotta love the personality of a dog! Great shot.
Thank you
What a great shot! I have the same camera but only cats to practice on and they are too busy napping for an action shot. I love how his face is perfectly captured.
Thanks. I have 2 cats and your right its hard to get action shots.
Great shot!
thank you
Was thinking of calling this one “flock of Rainbow Lorikeets making snow angels” … but it is more correctly “flock of rainbow lorikeets flying overhead with bland overcast sky”. This shot was taken late last Sunday afternoon, with very little light left, and I overexposed slightly as the birds were backlit. To get a higher shutter speed to stop the wings I had to bump the ISO up. I had a few photos as they flew overhead but this one had them close together to form a single point of interest. I am waiting for a nicer day with better light to try again and get some higher quality images of the birds. Settings: 1/1000s @ f/8, ISO-6400, lens Olympus M.75-300 @ 150mm
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/118f70ffa4f15d9727460814326da90b7c2527be5d2ec43032ffef59b2f666f9.jpg
Interesting, when I saw the formation I thought of The Roulettes
Well taken especially for birds that have such a quick wing action
Where are you as I was watching some flying overhead this afternoon?
Nick, thanks. I was pleasantly surprised with the photo given the light, conditions and high ISO. Made it seem worthwhile standing out in the cold last weekend. I am up the NSW coast north of Sydney and they are flying around most days.
I’m in Sydney, bit north of the bridge
so unlikely to be the same birds! Lol
Hi Rodney. Interesting Shot. I like the way you explained hoe you achieved it. I like it. Looks like a very good pencil drawing with pastel colours.
Thanks Denis. The jpg straight out of the camera did have a drawing look to it, mostly due the the exposure of the sky and some noise visible in the birds. I used that camera jpg and applied a little bit of noise reduction and some increased saturation and contrast. Worked out much better than trying to process the RAW image.
Rodney. Many thanks for that additional data. There are times that I have ditched a RAW Shot that was not turning out. Must remember that technique before I do so in the future.
Nice shot. Very pretty birds. Birds in flight are hard to capture. Of course sometimes there is nothing we can do about bland skies other than to over expose them which gives you a nice whitish background. I think the only thing that might make it a tiny bit better would be to crop it just a little bit more.
Thanks Barbara. I was quite happy with this capture, and have plenty of shots over the years that are not so good, many don’t even have a bird in the frame! I did crop the original a little around each side while keeping the flock at the top right third, and still keeping what I considered a single POI. Treading the fine line between having a single point of interest and then finding four points of interest, how does this further crop look? Too much?https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d2dcf126230a439fc127f3efe4ac0efd3af5235f653c4d78d660d49d3dfebb6e.jpg
Love minimalist look to this. Great shot
This crop is much better. The birds are angling up so they have room to move up into the frame but not to much room. Great job!
Wow I really love this and of course am jealous we don’t have lorikeets in California. I only wish the sky had a little blue in it but I understand we can’t always get the weather we want when we need it for our photos.
Thanks Chris. I will try another day when there is a blue sky. Yes. We just need to take the weather, light, insects etc as we find them at the time and make the most of it 😉
Rodney, those birds have nice colours. Shot nice together. It would be even better with a bleu sky.
Thanks Christian. Blue sky would be good. Hopefully next time. 😉
Love the colours and the formation and shape this image makes Rodney. Capturing flying birds is not an easy task, but you’ve done it well. I like the way you’ve left space below and to the left for the lorikeets to fly into. I think with this crop as wide as it is- your group of lorikeets is a single point of interest however if you crop in closer they will be separated more and won’t be a single point of interest – more like 4 points of interest. Brent
Thanks Brent. I was quite pleased myself with the capture of the birds in flight this time. Previous attempts haven’t always been as successful.
Hide and seek. Fujifilm X-T20, f/5.6 1/640 ISO 200. 18-135 lens at 135mm.
My POI is the insect. I hope that it is obvious. I tried cropping into the flower top and left too. I like this version more, but it the POI is better understood in the other version
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3aba333f14af881f01726be1ecc58ac5416502f921db81c263b14e9d84621a1a.jpg
Here is the other version
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fc13d8d6f72a40ec1bc2f43feefb19068ec20be2e8793d734d87936618e1d4b0.jpg
Very interesting 2 images here Erez. Not sure which one I like better? After looking at both his images for a long time I think the closer crop works better for me – because the flower colour is so intense I think the top image (wider crop) takes away from the bug in the flower. This is a difficult one because of the intense colour – I wonder if you toned down the colour a little bit we might have a different winner. Thanks for sharing. Brent
Thanks Brent. I tried toning down, but I like the strong colors here and I think that it haven’t done the job since the texture of the flower is so much more interesting than the bug’s texture, so the flower “wins” even with less intense colored flower.
As a feedback to you and your boot camp: I think that the main contribution for me is that it makes me think more about every image. In this example I haven’t considered the cropped flower version before had to think about the POI. The other tasks and the different remarks (by you and others) helped me consider more aspects in the photographing/processing that I often fail to consider. Thanks again!
Yup – thanks. This is exactly why I setup BootCamp – to get honest positive feedback from multiple people (not just me) and then to think more about your photography. Loving it. Brent
Hi Erez. Very good shot. My preference is the cropped version.
Thanks for assisting with a difficult decision!
Hi Erez, I like the both , but the cropped version with the insect off center attracts your eye to the beetle ” burrowing” into the flower. The stems on the bottom draw your eyes into the flower. Good job.
Thank you Peter
Great picture! I have to say I love the second one with the closer crop. It’s nicely off center and I know exactly what I am looking at. the backside of an interesting bug.
I like this image best. In the original I thought the flower was the POI, now I’m sure it is the insect. I like the blurred contrasting background too. Well done!
Thanks @janetrhead:disqus and @disqus_jT6tbkcRRn:disqus! No doubt this version has a clearer POI. When I took the image my POI was the flower and the bug was an extra “spice”. It is only before posting it here that I realized that the bug might be a better choice.
This is the first image I have uploaded as I have been overseas and then came home to a family loss. I took this photo in Namibia, hand held using a GX8 with a 100-400m lens, ISO 200, f9, 1/500s. The birds in Africa are amazing and we waited patiently for this one to take off.
PS sorry if this appears twice but when I couldn’t see it on the feed he I was done so thought I must have done something wrong. Anyway hope it works this time.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4dbc864eae814636bb4df1dc1575b9b18d9f414488fdc60ecf579639315cca85.jpg
Hi Karen. Great shot. A real intensity and focus in that Left Eye. I was in Kruger some years ago and the whole experience was magical.
Thanks Denis. Yes Africa is a very special place. This was my second trip there and it was just fantastic
I don’t think there is any doubt what your single POI is
Great capture, simply love the intense look in the eyes
I was going to comment on the shutter speed – to the effect that 1/1000 or quicker may have got the wings sharp as well
But … I’m also thinking that the blurring imparts a sense of movement
Great photo
Thanks Nick. I agree faster shutter speed would have captured everything sharply but I quite like the motion blur in the wings
I agree with you here @Sillen55:disqus – I like that blurring showing movement in your amazing image @disqus_VqadTxOfuV:disqus – for me it’s all about that intense eye. What eagle is this? Brent
Thanks Brent. I think it is a goshawk
Beautiful
Great capture! I love that the body and head are so sharp while the wings are motion blurred. Got the best of everything.
Thanks Erez, I am really happy with the shot too.
Karen, Great shot. Did you see what he was intensely looking at ? Africa is an unbelievable place to visit to see animals in their natural habitats.
No, but his partner had already taken off, which we weren’t able to shoot, so there was definitely something they were after
Amazing. Thanks.
Love it. Nice shot.
Thanks Valerie
Great shot Karen. Love the eyes, the body position and the motion blurred wings.
Thanks Janice
Hi Karen, Love this image! the focus on the bird’s eyes and body, with the motion of the wings and clear blue background make for a really nice image. Very well done!
Well done!
Beautiful shot! Love that face Great capture. And I am sorry for your loss.
I really like the sharpness of the eyes and face. Great shot against a contrasting background!
Thanks Janet
Great shot – you can see the focus in his eyes.
Thank you Lone.
Great image Karen! I love it! Love the motion blur in his wings while his body is tack sharp. You nailed this one!
Thanks Jim
Hi all. The last shots I posted for this challenge were all taken around the garden. Got a fine day last week and went to the botanical gardens. Bigger environment and trying to show different points of interest. Number 1 of 5. ISO 200, 36mm, F4.5, 1/200 sec. Same lens as before – Tameron 18 – 200. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d1a9f792c0f98cb7d942c7afe20a47588c52201dd90713dc78df4518f8effc1f.jpg
Monet
I was going to leave it at that! But this image intrigues me. It has very busy background and the waterlilies under the bridge add to that busyness.
Notwithstanding that my eye keeps getting pulled to the bridge and to a lesser extent to the reflection
Interesting image
B&W?
Hi Nick. Many thanks for that feedback. I agree with all your comments re busy back ground etc. I was aware of that when taking the shot. My objective was to isolate the bridge from the background. Tried all different angles, different focal lengths, etc and could not blur out the background. I am still not sure that I achieved what I set to do. I will look at a B/W conversion. That could be interesting.
Love the reflexion but I would have liked a bit more water at the bottom to show the entire reflexion
Hi karen. I would agree that the crop is tight. Only seeing that now. Many thanks for your feedback.
It is difficult to have an obvious POI when so much is going on, but you certainly succeeded! Beautiful and interesting.
I agree with the others about the tight reflection, but it is beautiful as is.
Hi Erez. Many thanks for the feedback.
Hi Denis, I love the bridge and it’s reflection. It would make a great painting.
Hi Peter. Many thanks for the feedback.
You’re welcome.
Nice Denis. Love the reflection!
Hi Jim. Many thanks for the feedback. I kind of like this one myself.
I know this is breaking the rules – One photo every few days. Just wanted to get these last few out there. ISO 800, 200mm, F6.3, 1/100 sec. Nearly nailed this one. Focus is not as sharp as I would like. This little lad just appeared and it was take what you could get. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d62aa9178b0c94f3a15ffeff6da717457e79627c70a23198670da169793c365b.jpg
I love his face Denis!
Love eht subject and his expression. The wild daisies add a nice touch to the image. Too bad he isn’t tack sharp.
Hi Jim. Many thanks for the feedback. Yes I would agree. Not sharp. He was there and then gone. It was pretty much point and shoot.
ISO 160, 105 mm, f/4.0. 1/8 sec. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/686fb76463af2915ec71352b37ab4af477f556b33b2791b35b014dfaea86b80f.png
Love this shot especially the black background, well done.
Many thanks!
The positioning of the flower works well, and there is good contrast with the pink flower, green leaves and black background. A very attractive image!
Thanks, Dianne, for you positive comment!
Nice complimentary red and green colours with the flower clearly the single POI.
Thanks, Rodney, for taking a look and your comment!
Very good composition. Pretty flling in of the picture. I like very much the colours.
Someone thought it almost looks 3-D. Thank-you!
Hi Fiat76. Nice composition and background.
Appreciate your comment!
Beautiful capture. I love the detail and the dark background. Really great!
Chris, thank-you for the compliment. It is most appreciated. I am on a learning curve with a new camera and lenses!
Stunning image. the colours and the contrast work really well together. Well done 🙂
Thanks for the thumbs up! Much appreciated!
Beautiful work. Love all the details and the illumination. Beautiful colors too.
Erez…..many thanks for your comments! Your thumbs up is greatly appreciated. I upgraded my camera and lenses and am on a huge learning curve.
This is a fantastic capture of a flower and way you’ve used that shallow depth of field really works here – well done @fiat76:disqus Really like that the centre of your flower is Tack Sharp, for me that’s the single point of interest in this image. Composition works for me here too having your main point of interest off to the left. Brent
Hi everyone. This is my first upload in bootcamp.
30mm macro lens 1/60 sec f3.5 iso800
This was taken while walking my neighborhood in the evening. The rose was slightly lit from the right hand side from the headlights of a distant car approaching.
Edited in lightroom, including a reduction of clarity to give the rose a soft look.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f94ff7c526996cf3d0d3a5ea0836c54d4e5b8857927a8909b668b6bea337d9a9.jpg
Hi Jarrod,
I really like the angle that you’ve taken this image but for me I would like to see the flower a little brighter
Thank you Karen. To be honest, I could not decide between the image I uploaded and this one which is slightly brighter. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/01b45d560b9d88dc3cb4b73783d0a968f42c6cc0d9b05d48bfc63fa41d4bc12b.jpg
Welcome, Jarrod. I like this one better. It draws my eyes in toward the center of the rose.
Thanks very much Peter.
Yes, I prefer this one
I do like the softness of the first one, but I think I prefer this one also. Thanks for your advice.
This one is my pick.. Much brighter and grabs my attention more because of the light at the top of the flower
Thank you very much Terri.
Hi Jarrod. My preference is this version.
Thank you very much Denis.
Definitely the better of the two. Nice close-up.
Much improved – well done. Brent
Hi Jarrod. I like this shot. Nice angle and softness to it.
Thank you very much Denis.
Very nice. Like the softness of the shot.
Thank you very much for taking a look Sara.
Beautiful shot. I like the first one you posted. Seems moody and, well, evening Looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Thank you for having a look and taking the time to offer your opinion.
Nice photo
I prefer your second offering
I think the 1st is a bit dark whereas the 2nd pops out at you
I think the composition is spot on
Congratulations on posting your first image to BootCamp @jarrodbeare:disqus – Love the warm colours from your flower against the dark background which makes it POP even more. Very brave to photograph at night in such dark conditions. I like the way you have cropped this image with the rose more to the left. How can you improve this image? Lighten it up that little as you have in your second version. Glad you’ve joined us here. Brent
I don’t usually attempt to take images of birds but this one decided to bring his breakfast quite near to where I was. It was taken at F8, Shutter speed of 1/90 and at 200mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/15cc757f1d5fba495467de5cdf0ca3f611d8ad66b80f418c54ae4c19cab9c4ff.jpg
Hi Dainne. Good capture. Like the light on the bird.
Dianne, Nice shot. It looks a bit crooked, maybe straighten just a tad??
Love it, I have never been able to capture a bird with a fish in his mouth. Great shot.
I studied this for a while and wondered what the S POI was – the fish or the bird.
Seriously great image and great capture
I also like the lighting from the side
Well grabbed!
Really nice shot! Love the lighting, composition and lighting. Image is tack sharp. Love the fish in his mouth.
Like the way you have a framed this composition Diane – with the roof at the bottom and your bed on the right hand third. My eye goes directly to the birds head and beak. I also like the muted colours from last light. Something to remember when photographing wildlife like this is to use a much faster shutter speed, especially when you’re photographing with a longer lens. 200mm lens = 1/200sec or faster, preferably 2x or 3x that shutter speed (like 1/400sec or 1/600sec) so that you don’t get camera shake. Hope this helps. Brent
Thanks Brent, I must remember this in the future. I was so excited to see he had his breakfast in his beak that I rushed my photo. It’s sometimes difficult to remember this important rule in the heat of the moment. Appreciate the suggestion!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/db15d03a0f366a50837d7ed2de6e59e905ad30042db53cbf3411539ad49bd6c8.jpg
Kitty- his name is Squeeky Mouse:)
Hi Craig. Nice shot. Personally I think I would like to see more of the head.
Craig, this is a overwhelming picture. Very direct with POI on the left eye. For me the crop works.
Craig, Nice tight crop. I am a little distracted by the other eye, though. I think a slight change in position would have made this a bit better.
Aww, love this Love all things cats. I want to reach in and scratch his nose.
good focus, I think maybe a little less crop.
Cute Kitty, Craig. My only comment would be to have taken the shot more to the kitty’s left. When I look at his left eye, I don’t see his iris. This makes the eye look odd ( maybe it is the veterinarian in me ). It would have been better to see only the one eye.
OK I generally don’t like pet photos
But this has something that catches your attention, well framed and a great S POI
nice piccy
The details in your image are amazing Craig! What settings did you use to capture this shot? Brent
ISO 3200, 105mm, F11, 125th second hand held.
Was taken just after I got the camera so the learning curve was still very steep. Aperture priority.
Craig Mostert
Village Vet Hospital
You’re doing great!
My 2nd single POI is the majestic Mt Cook in New Zealand. This photo was taken in a windy summer morning. The clouds were moving very fast, few minutes later, the mountain peak was completely hidden in the clouds. The settings are F8, 1/30s, ISO 100, 28-300lens@200mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ee862818f6ac98b2a5e85a68791b4a1ca68f8318f8bbfb5b3bea5c39ff8591a7.jpg
Hi Janice. Interesting shot. I like the light falling on the peak.
Thanks Denis
Janice, I really like this shot. The lighting and the clouds are wonderful. I wonder if it would have more impact in B&W?
Thanks for your suggestion. I made a b&w version, seems more dramatic. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4037b1854d99c3121e1e3f8d2ca370047ab4977d4e2179a50d8a9a8b2d4009af.jpg
Really nice as a BW as well!
Awesome! Turned out great!
Yup, this version is BRILLIANT!!! Print and frame. Brent
Wonderful light
thanks Karen
Stunning, love the light and golden glow of the sun off the tops of the mountain. I can definitely tell what the POI is in this capture.. Breathtaking 😉
Thank you Terri
OK
Been there, taken the photo and, damn, … yours is a lot better!
Well taken, I can see the clouds coming in, the sweep of the cloud off the top of the mountain is superb.
Great lighting of the side of the mountain, the golden tones work really well with the clouds.
Brilliant image
Thanks Nick, I love Mount Cook 🙂
Wonderful image. Love the lighting and the clouds motion – great work!
Thanks Erez
Nice. I love these kind of shots. I was bale to capture a similar one in Grand Teton NP a few years ago.
It certainly is majestic Janice – and the way you used your composition really does enhance the peak for me, with the darker foreground mountain half framing it. Looks really windy at the top with that cloud catching the light. Well done. Brent
This one I was experimenting with water. Just messing around really. ISO 200, 63mm, F29, 1/10 sec. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a2ec15eb8d9e8c79ff5af166ec699c0eadf7615680677c00ba5b2c2ab67643ae.jpg
Denis, what is here your POI?
Hi Christian. I was trying to capture and show the movement of the water flow. The flower stems appeared to be pointing in that general direction. That is how I saw it when taking the shot. As I said this was an experiment.
I simply love waterfalls and rapids
Nice slowing down of the water – you might want to go with an even slower shutter speed. (maybe have a look at a neutral density filter or two)
for a Single POI there is too much going on, but I’m sure you know that
and the frond, if you are using it as a framing object doesn’t really work, seems to clutter up the poi rather than enhancing it
Notwithstanding all that I find the image soothing
I like this shot. You got a nice creamy white foam on the water which lets us know that the water is moving. You also used it as a leading line going from the top left and out of the picture in the bottom right. Great job!
Hi Barbara. Many thanks for that feedback. That gives me heart to go back out and try some more. I can be my own worst critic – every thing is not good enough!!
Your welcome and I totally understand. I am my own worst critic
too!
Nice Denis. water and waterfalls are wonderful to work with. The greenery sort of frames the image but the two protruding into the water are a little distracting.
Hi Jim. Many thanks for your feedback. All of these shots were by way of experiment. I was trying to isolate the water and leave some of the foliage that was there. All a learning curve.
Here is my next entry for the POI theme. This is a saw whet owl. The gloved hand he is perching upon gives context to the owl’s size which is why it is included in the crop. The owl is a mascot for a wildlife rescue group now that it can’t fly. His wing was so badly damaged that it had to be amputated, hence the ‘cowlick’ feathers where his wing should be. I took this photo inside a tent with under relatively low light conditions. I used Photoshop to get rid of some of the black frame in the tent that was in the top right hand corner beside the owl’s head, and also cropped to remove black tent poles on the right hand side to remove as many distractions as possible. I also added a vignette and blurred the background a little more using the blur tool in Photoshop https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ea6f8db3b5200350431e850bf20c6e53332dcd372a417c24f7e9bbdb129d860f.jpg . Settings 35mm prime lens, 1/200 sec, f/3.5, ISO 400
How can you look anywhere other than at those eyes. All tack sharp with catch lights of the sky from the scene behind you nicely captured. Great shot ( and adjustments).
Very nice! So sad that he can’t fly. Those Eyes! Beautiful, or should I say handsome? 😉
He’s a tiny fellow isn’t he. Love bird photos and his eyes just stare back at you. Blurred background really makes him stand out.
Wow!!! @disqus_W81kCdSr3n:disqus what STUNNING and so clear image. The face and eyes are riveting I want to rub his head but I know that’s not a good idea. What a beautiful, clear, detailed image.
Beautiful, crisp and clear photo.. His eyes were what drew me in the this bird is so awesome. Good detail.. Only thing that bothered me was too much hand at the bottom.. I would have cropped more of it out but overall a real stunner! 😉
great shot, love the eyes., well done
Very good! I would say the eyes draw my attention they just keep staring at you. Great detail.
What a handsome little owl. Those eyes are mesmerising
great detail and great photo
I’d crop a little more from the left, probably to halfway to the owl
what a gorgeous owl…those eyes are mesmerizing! Still too much distraction in the background for a SPOI shot. Try using the gradient filters – one on each side of the image. By doing this you can control how much vignetting you want independently. I am thinking the eyes are your SPOI so try and darken everything else out except the owl itself!
Thanks for these suggestions, Christine. I tried the gradient filter on the colour image, but I thought the result was too contrived; maybe I was too heavy handed with it. I tried a different crop to really emphasize those eyes…much better for this assignment, I think… and a B&W treatment that seemed to work better with the gradient filters. So many options!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0eb9d70655c130fa0669979aeebcbc256c903e7c32eb00048c47ba1d7e475d64.jpg
WOW…..brilliant! Love the B&W…well done Judy! Love the fine detail in the feathers around the eyes! We missed that in the previous image.
Love the B&W close up.
Love love love this version
Very nice. Good example how you can get two great photos out of one image!
Hi Judy. This is a whole new shot and very good adjustments. Love those big eyes.
This version rocks too – but for me those yellow eyes really drew me in on your colour version. Brent
Thanks Brent! I like the colour version best, too, because of the pop of yellow in the eyes, but acknowledge the background was a tad busy.
Judy, a great shot. Beautiful colours of the owl. Perhaps a more central position of the owl in the picture would give you a better POI. The colour of the glove is a bit to heavy and distracting. Perhaps a desaturation or blurring could make your POI more SPOI.
Hi Judy. This is a lovely shot. Love the eyes. If I took this I would be over the moon.
Great shot of this owl. Every aspect of the owl is tack sharp. Great use of depth of field to blur out the background and a nice composition.
Gorgeous capture. What eyes! Great DOF
That is a beautiful shot of this owl. The eyes are so sharp. So sorry to hear he lost a wing. Great photo.
The eyes are right on. The point of focus has made you the point of focus. Great photo and love the color contrasts.
Really nice Judy! Tack sharp. Love the eyes with the catch light. The eyes definitely have it on this one.! Great background blur. I definitely think the gloved hand adds scale to the critter.
Wow @disqus_W81kCdSr3n:disqus this image is so sharp! Look at the detail in those eyes and feathers. Great job with blurring the background and darkening it more. Those yellow eyes are mesmerising! Your image rocks! Brent
I captured the image of this frog while walking in our local forest preserve in the Northern suburbs of Chicago. Most of these critters would jump and dive as soon as I started getting near but this fellow just hung out and watched me as I leaned over the boardwalk to get closer to him and snap the shot. I cropped the image and used some contrast to bring out the highlights and shadows for more impact in Lightroom. I shot this using my Nikon D7200 at 1/500 sec, ISO300 at f/5.6 at 300mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e67558bbcbee60e48e981af4a2b5df05f597fa8a2ae09256631e70a5e406f62d.jpg
Wow…excellent shot Gary. I love the vibrancy of the image and that the eye is perfectly in focus. Great melting background..well done!
Hi Garry. Great shot. Lovely colours, and very nice sharp eye. Like this one. Print and Frame it.
Great photo of the frog
the eye seems to be spot on, great colour and positioning.
It might have been nice to have his nose in focus as well, but the eye is all important.
A marvelous shot of this frog. His eyes are tack sharp and he looks like he will jump right out of the picture at you. Great background as well. You also gave him some room to move into and out of the picture. Love this shot!
An amazing image and good work with a very shallow depth of field. Love it!
Love the color in this photo and depth of field works for me!…Good composition and nice aperture…Nothing too distracting to take away from his eye. 😉 Enjoyed this photo alot
Great colors! The DOF is awesome, well done!
Great picture – his eyes are sharp and he looks fine.
Love this. I especially like the shallow depth of field. He looks like he is silently waiting for his next meal to venture past. Good Job!
Great image, Gary. The eye is nice and sharp and beyond the head, the detail melts away.
Great photo.
Really great shot! I love the colors and how tack sharp his head is and how his body blurs into the background and how he is camouflaged into his environment.
Beautiful capture Gary. Really like the colours in this image – the greens, yellows and browns. Also your depth of field really helps focus my eye on the single point of interest -that’s closer eye of the frog. Excellent. Brent
Hi, here is my final POI, Early morning walk while on holiday in UK.
ISO400, F4.5, fl56mm, 1/125sec
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7afe95dd5b220dccd37d80c7cc9c0c8bb4baeeaa489c0a4ec4b1e07622a80760.jpg
Hi John. Nice shot. Like the lead up to the house.
Beautiful shot John….Love the s-bend in the road leading up to the house….but what is the SPOI?
Thanks Rerro, the Inn is the POI, difficult to change angle or approach because of road and terrain.
Totally understand! Love how the trees frame the inn, and the road leads us to the POI, and it is lit up, so i think you have achieved the brief quite nicely!
Interesting photo
The road leads us down to the building
the building is partially obstructed by an oak tree.
as framing, the tree to the left and the Oak seem to do a good job. My eye is drawn to the building though there are distractions on the way
Love how the leading line comes out of the right corner of the picture and leads the viewers eye through the photo. I am not sure if the building is the POI or if its the winding road. Beautiful colors as well. Nice shot!
Great colors. For the house as the POI, I would have gotten a different angle, as the garden on the left and the trees distract from it as the POI. If the road is the POI, I would like to see a lower perspective to showcase more of the road. Those are my thoughts.
I really like the warm colours in this image and in contrast the cooler roadway which leads me to your main point of interest – for me is the white building in the background. To make your main point of interest to stand out even more, I would go further back and zoom in with a very shallow depth of field. Well done. Brent
One of the many Hot/Cold houses in the Botanics (The Bots as we call them). ISO 200, 24mm, F7.1, 1/320 sec. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/01e7cfedd13e0cd09f5d9bc0248d9354023d12ab0b50b87560768014b945c193.jpg
Very nice shot. I like how the sidewalk leads the viewers eye to the Bot. Then you have all those leading lines that help the viewer to take in the whole building. Great work!
Hi Barbara. Many thanks for the feedback. I wasn’t going to post it – to ordinary – and then changed my mind. Glad I did now.
Your welcome
Denis, I love it. I have a very similar shot from our last day in Ireland! I can’t decide if it would have more impact if the sidewalk was straight on or if the slight angle is better?
Hi Sara. No right or wrong here. Just your own taste. My late father showed dogs. One time I remember a judge saying to him, “I just do not like Brindels – colour of the dog – and she was beaten into second for best in show. Some like an angle others do not. I would call it poetic licence.
I like the slight angle. The sidewalk is very simple and leads up to the BOT, which is busier.
Love the subject matter but then again I am a construction guy. Nice geometric shape with great symmetry and detail. Great leading line in the sidewalk with the low perspective leading you to the subject.
Hi Jim. Many thanks for the feedback.
Love the vivid colours in your image – and the leading line (pathway) which leads my eye up to your point of interest – the hot-house. This image rocks Denis!!!! Brent
Hi Brent. Glad you like this one. I was not going to post this one – thought it was two ordinary. Glad I did now. We have a saying in AA – “KEEP IT SIMPLE” . I did that just here and got the result. Many thanks.
Simple is better
My last one for this project/challenge. I learned a lot from this months challenge and many thanks to you all for the helpful comments and tips. ISO 200, 154mm, F5.6, 1/250 sec. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/39910359d15dcb1ac03460a971621f3b365803a2e73222debdf54c3a67d0bd66.jpg
Prefer the previous one. I think the background on this one is a little distracting
Denis
I don’t think this works, although it could. I assume the tower is you POI. and to be fair my eye is drawn to it.
The problem is that the tower isn’t tack sharp. If it was it would help immeasurably. Blurring the lines of the glasshouse would also help to separate it from the background
Hi Nick. You are correct. Should have used my tripod. Was at 154mm on a 200 lens and I find that once I go above 70mm a tripod is needed to het good sharp shots. I was experimenting here trying to isolate a item from a general landscape scene. I agree with your comments and they are in line with what I was expecting.
This could be a great POI. The image is a bit blurry though. Is it possible the camera hadn’t focused properly or were you in a moving car? Any of these factors could have contributed to a picture having some blur. I also agree with Nick on the background.
Hi Barbara. Many thanks for the feed back. These last shots were an experiment really. Trying to isolate a subject in a general landscape scene. I agree with all the comments which have been very helpful and good pointers for future efforts in this regard.
Denis, I really like the subject matter. I find the glass in the background a little distracting. A little tighter crop might help along with upping the contrast and maybe taking the exposure down a bit. I wonder what this would look like as a BW?
Hi Jim. Many thanks for your feedback.
Thanks for all your contributions to this challenge @denisobyrne:disqus – Your images and all your wonderful comments. You rock man! For this image I know what your main point of interest is – The Tower! I think if you photographed this with a longer lens and more shallow depth of field (which means maybe getting further away and zooming in more) the tower would be more separated from the greenhouse in the background. Also use a faster shutter speed to stop any camera shake. Well done, glad you learned a lot in this challenge and thanks again for your contribution. Brent
Hi Brent. Many thanks for your kind comments. Share and share alike as they say. I will have to have another go at this one taking your comments into account.
This shot is of the Captain Cook Memorial taken at Point Danger down on the Gold Coast. Taken with my iphone, the settings were F2.2, 1/20000, ISO 32. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/44495587ab7cba3bdbf4ebc2af5cf87f2cece8a7e331784b59c4a500a8da3da3.jpg
Great shot with the Iphone. I like the shadows on the building and it is very sharp. Great perspective too!
Love the diagonal lines starting from the corners – nice shot!
an interesting photo
the leading lines are great, and the structure stands out from the sky
I wonder haw it would go as a black and white?
or what it might look like with early morning light or late afternoon light hitting it?
Clean crisp lines and sharp edges.. for an iphone photo this is really good! The light accentuates the textures in the columns nicely and the blue sky helps to make the structure stand out nicely. 😉
H Janet. Great shot for an iPhone. Like it.
Like the perspective of this point of view.
I really like the leading lines in this image Janet – they are leading my eye from the bottom up to the crest of the memorial. Your image is nice and sharp – I wonder if there is a way to enhance the main point of interest (those black vertical bars) in this image? Maybe add more details in the shadows so that it pops a little more. Brent
This is MooMoo 🙂 1/60, F7.1, 800iso. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4cda50a09c1bb8086e15713305558957c8c1c516783be7bc3d30451f4e78cf73.jpg
Great shot of MooMoo. The eyes are tack sharp and you managed to get a catch light in the left eye which tells me the light was coming from that direction. Love the soft background.
Beautiful portrait! Love that the background color matches the eyes color.
Nice shallow DOF… Love the focus on the eyes and beautiful eyes they are.. They blend in nicely with the blurred background color.. Nice catchlight in the eye and like the composition in the frame
Hi Keri. This is good. Lovely soft background and great eyes that draw you in.
I think I need a cat. They have such great expressions. Great photo.
Nice. Maybe if you bumped up the exposure a bit it might further enhance the image. Good catch light in his eye. That is always a plus. he looks mad or really focused on something.
Just love the intense eyes and expression from this cat @keridown:disqus – Just like @disqus_imjBJuoPfH:disqus image above, it’s all about the eyes in this image. Try the focus and we compose technique I explained above in Terri’s image to get those eye’s tack-sharp. BTW their colour matches the background – nice touch. Brent
Thanks Brent.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/90127e9e1defcc93cfaee5fda92c17636effb0f85d2373a4d7077d6f71534539.jpg
My first contribution, taken on a local path. ISO 800, 1/250, F1.8, 75 mm
Interesting shot. I like the soft background. It helps to allow the flower to pop off the page. Great job!
Lovely! I like the composition.
The black bg makes it pop!
Hi Michael. Welcome to the gang. Like the shot. Nice soft background which helps the flower to stand out from its background.
Lovely, I might crop just a bit off the bottom, not much, but just a bit.
Welcome
Love grevilleas, such an intricate flower
Nice simple POI,
Stands out well from the background and I agree with Sara’s crop suggestion
For this to work really well, I think more of the flower needs to be in tack sharp focus. I had the same problem with a bottlebrush, still haven’t got it as sharp as I want it.
Congratulations on your first contribution@disqus_Wgr8IOHUDq:disqus – wonderful image! When I zoomed right inI noticed that your flower is tack-sharp and it’s separated from the background due to your shallow depth of field at f1.8 – well done. I also like the way your flower is much more colourful than the brown background, which makes it up even more. Can you tell us a little more about this image – what you were thinking, what do you want to view it to feel? Brent
Congratulations on your first contribution @disqus_Wgr8IOHUDq:disqus – wonderful image! When I zoomed right inI noticed that your flower is tack-sharp and it’s separated from the background due to your shallow depth of field at f1.8 – well done. I also like the way your flower is much more colourful than the brown background, which makes it up even more. Can you tell us a little more about this image – what you were thinking, what do you want to view it to feel? Brent
Hi Brent, you seem to have participants from around the world so I was looking for something relatively unusual. The bush was located in some undergrowth, overcast with a slight breeze – hence the high ISO and shutter speed (hand held).
Thanks
I took this shot of one of our pink Peonies after a rain shower. I loved the water droplets on the flower. I used a black felt to obscure the other flowers, and I cropped in tight to get the flower the way I wanted it to look. I used my D750 @ f/8, 1/640 of a sec, ISO 400 at 120mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c12cecf0218d583bc86d959004f3ae5bdd1ad176e4bb6caaaf5ec842efbdb5c4.jpg
I took this shot of one of our pink Peonies after a rain shower. I loved the water droplets on the flower. I used a black felt to obscure the other flowers, and I cropped in tight to get the flower the way I wanted it to look. I used my D750 @ f/8, 1/640 of a sec, ISO 400 at 120mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/63d3b5be3a36ecc82266f3ccb83de37ced9b68d1256c51e4b82f92f13c3819c9.jpg
Hi Barbara. Lovely shot. The water droplets are great and make the shot for me.
Just beautiful, the colors, the crop, the water droplets. Very well done.
Thank you very much
Nice picture, great color and raindrops – good picture
thank you
Nice photo, well cropped and great colour saturation.
the use of the felt worked well – I’ve been meaning to use the same idea on some local banksia nuts
Thank you and good luck
Very nice.
Nice. Love the water drops! Great background blur and focus on the subject as well as a nice tight crop.
Great image here Barbara, glad you used the black felt to get rid of background distractions – very smart! For you, what is your single point of interest in this image? For me it’s the droplet right in the middle that’s catching the sun – however when I zoom right in that droplet Is slightly soft. Brent
Great image here Barbara, glad you used the black felt to get rid of background distractions – very smart! For you, what is your single point of interest in this image? For me it’s the droplet right in the middle that’s catching the sun – however when I zoom right in that droplet Is slightly soft. Brent
EOS 7D. aperture priority, f/13, 1/250s, ISO 100, 70mm
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d8545bb94d8c3d706703269eb52cd0eb7308bceec0201c9f04b42571bbeaf036.jpg
Nick, absolute a SPOI. Great picture. At first glance I thought the picture was put in BW, but then I saw the blueish colour in the ice and the brownish colour of some stone. So well done: the red is in contrast with the rest of the picture. Also great composition: rule of thirds and the different layers: stone, water, ice…
Hi Nick. Nice composition. It is simple and good.
Great shot!
Beautiful shot and smart use of colors.
Nice Nick. The fog and our clouds in the background did a great job of blurring out the background so it doesn’t compete with your POI, but there is still just a little bit of interest there which I think adds to the image. The bright red color also really helps to draw you to the subject. bright colors will do it every time.
No doubts about your single point of interest here @Sillen55:disqus – Like how it jumps from this image because of the colours and the monochrome background. Perfect crop leaving space for your subject to look into. Well done. Brent
No doubt about your single point of interest here Nick – Like how it jumps from this image because of the colours and the monochrome background. Perfect crop leaving space for your subject to look into. Well done. Brent
Since I started late on this project , I thought I had better get in at least one more for the road (so to speak before the deadline.. This is POI number 3 for me.. I mixed it up with a photo of a homeless kitty I found in a parking lot of a local hotel.. It was begging for food but stopped long enough for me to capture its face..
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/db98b163f9c45c07a981765eefedef1574496fa4cec5cb053608006b6a0fbf76.jpg
The settings were 1/250sec F/5.6 ISO 500 112mm focal length
Hi Terri. I like this head shot and the softness in the background. Nice eyes and good composition in my view.
Thanks Denis for your comments.. he was in the shade by a stairwell so that helped to difuse the bright sun from hitting him directly and gave some nice catchlights to his eyes
Nice shot! Not being a fan of cats (I am allergic) you did a great job on this! He looks confused or concentrating deeply.
No not confused but was hungary and I think if he posed for me he would get a treat lol .. Anyway, thanks for complement 😉
Impressive portrait Terri and great eyes. Love it
So nice of you to say so Erez… I appreciate the comment 😉
You got nice sharp focus on his face! I also like the contrasting color in the background… makes him pop out!
Thats just the cement behind him in the parking lot but it does reflect off his fur nice 😉
The eyes are great and when I went to the whole photo, the cat is really giving it’s opinion by sticking out it’s tongue slightly. Great catch.
Thank you so much Karen.. I think he was trying to tell me he was thirst lol..
I love his eyes.. So pretty, thats what got my attention in the first place 😉
Poor kitty. I wish none were homeless. Great shot though. Love the sharp nose and eyes. You can almost count every single hair.
Thank you so much.. He made an interesting subject and I really liked the color on his fur and those yellow eyes alot 😉
Glassy eyes were captured beautifully. He has a story to tell.
Thanks, I really liked his eyes too. 😉
Nice capture. Love the detail in his face! The catch light in his eyes makes the image pop. It draws you straight to his eyes.
I appreciate your comments …very nice of you 😉
Just love the eyes in your image @disqus_imjBJuoPfH:disqus – Can’t stop gazing at this cat! This image is all about the eyes. Something I noticed when I zoomed right in is that your camera captured the nose in focus, and the eyes are just a little soft. This happens a lot to me when I’m photographing humans or animals at such a shallow depth of field. What I do is I use the focus and recompose technique – Where I put the centre focus point on one of the eyes, auto-focus, and then we compose before taking the image. I also fire off a number of shots because animals tend to move. Hope this helps. Brent
Just love the eyes in your image Terri – Can’t stop gazing at this cat! This image is all about the eyes. Something I noticed when I zoomed right in is that your camera captured the nose in focus, and the eyes are just a little soft. This happens a lot to me when I’m photographing humans or animals at such a shallow depth of field. What I do is I use the focus and recompose technique – Where I put the centre focus point on one of the eyes, auto-focus, and then we compose before taking the image. I also fire off a number of shots because animals tend to move. Hope this helps. Brent
Well thank you for your critique and comments regarding the cat.. I see what you are saying and you are right! Thanks for the helpful tips and I will certainly keep them in mind the next time I photograph animals or people.. Most of time I tend to just shoot landscapes so this was a departure for me from the regular photos that I do.. I wanted to stretch myself and it seems I did.. 😉
That’s what BootCamp is all about – getting out of your comfort zone so that you become better. Brent
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bed199842d64662d3a4cebc0e271372be3cf572d5b7f46907c15a8fcc57110bc.jpg
This is my last submission. This was taken at Muckross Abbey, very cool place. I think it is one of my top five memories of our Ireland trip.
ISO 400 16mm f/3.5 1/40. This is one of the hallway ceilings. I was drawn to the patterns. I cropped it and straightened it, enhanced the colors slightly.
Hi Sara. You got around while you were over here. Cool shot.
Thank you Denis. We had two weeks and we made the best of it.
Cool angle, makes it an interesting abstract. Love it.
Have you considered adding a little vignetting? I think that it can make this image even more attractive.
Ere thank you. I will try a vignette, not sure how to accomplish that yet in my software, but a good picture to practice on.
Interesting almost like 2 mirrored images side by side.. The composition is really interesting .. There is something about the balance on each sides got me confused. Does’nt seem even but maybe its just me. I do like the reflection and the pattern in the water.. Very different 😉
Terri, It might not be quite even. I think part of it is from where I was standing when I took this. I don’t think I was directly under the middle of the arch, plus it is an old building from the 15th century.
Its a wonderful photo anyway. I love old architecture , the textures and details are really remarkable.
Great image – very intriguing
My 1st thought was Alien
Thank you. I forget to look up sometimes-but in this case I am glad I did.
I like this. I wouldn’t have known it was ceiling. I thought it was a sculpture. I would crop the left side and lighten the shadow just a little to match the right side. Otherwise I like it.
Karen, Thank you. I will see what I can do.
Nice geometric symmetry shot. it is almost and abstract and I find myself asking what the heck am I looking at. Very cool!
Very interesting capture here @disqus_cdh6bhNTbb:disqus – Took me awhile to figure out what it was, thought it was a reflection at first and then I read your description. In your image, for you what is the single point of interest here? My eye tends to settle on those two dark holes. Brent
I really liked the X in the middle. But you do get distracted by the two black holes.
Very interesting capture here Sara – Took me awhile to figure out what it was, thought it was a reflection at first and then I read your description. In your image, for you what is the single point of interest here? My eye tends to settle on those two dark holes. Brent
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/721a353be7d61181ea264e2693f38b64e1ac65bbd200f19185417a5f549fa08c.jpg
Just another shot of the river. I need to go the city more. I love reflections. They warp the world.
ISO 800 70mm f/5.6 s 1/2500.
Hi Roseann. Lovely reflections.
Love the colors in this photo. It reminds me of a bridge on the River Duoro, Portugal. So many reflections, visual and my thoughts. And your photo makes me want to know the story–are those nets or vines or something else on top of the bridge.
Nets. to stop the birds from nesting.
Roseann, Nice shot. I like reflections too!
I like reflections, too. Especially buildings with lots of glass. These old bridges are great subjects.
great reflection
intriguing image, I like it, cool
Very artistic @disqus_fEOVZraeCR:disqus – Looks like an oil painting. I do you like the colours of blues and the greens. For this challenge, what is the single point of interest in this image to you? Brent
Very artistic Roseann – Looks like an oil painting. I do you like the colours of blues and the greens. For this challenge, what is the single point of interest in this image to you? Brent
Would you call it a reflectoin or bridge? But the reflection is the poi.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/59f53b9e316d22e9596cc997e9b05c52b5e58e30da5b9e4cfd2a60d0aaf26f68.jpg
This is a photo I took last summer. The sunflowers were growing wild by the rail road tracks by my office. As I was focusing on the sunflower, a butterfly landed on the sunflower and smiled for the camera! (Or at least I think he was smiling). ss 1/500; f 20; ISO 1400 at 300 mm.
Beautiful image and a great capture!
Beautiful and what a lucky capture of the butterfly!
Kathy,
Great sharp detail of the butterfly. Good timing for you as they are hard to get when you try to follow them. The yellow of the sunflower frames it nicely and draws your eye in.
Hi Kathy. This is very good. Very good composition and light. Detail is great. I would try and make the Butterfly the main point of interest. I am drawn between it and the sunflower. That said my eyes tend to fall back on the Butterfly.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9947a779062f919ca15621366bf96912cbae311075c11ada8c1fcd60c680fb50.jpg
I am resubmitting the photo and cropping it. I agree, it looks much better. I am on vacation and it took me awhile to find the photo on my laptop. Thanks for the suggestions.
Hi Kathy. Hope you are enjoying your vacation. I prefer this one.
much betterer, IMHO
Yeah I do you prefer this version @wfkatz:disqus – Less distractions in the background and you’re butterfly really does stand out in this image – it’s as if the sunflower frames your main point of interest. Brent
Yeah I do you prefer this version Kathy – Less distractions in the background and you’re butterfly really does stand out in this image – it’s as if the sunflower frames your main point of interest. Brent
great photo
the petals lead you in and lo and behold a butterfly, perfectly in focus, cool
my only suggestion would be a tighter crop, I don’t think the space off to the right adds anything? And that bit of railing(?) is a tad distracting
Beautiful! Very clear and crisp. I might crop a little more on the right side, get rid of the background.
Nice image! I agree a tighter crop might help the image.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ba9c3c8b32fd3640f3eaff4bb4118dc6223aa68bad6f16d72f71652df6f01300.jpg
I was photographing birds on the beach and this bird found a chip! I was able to snap the shot before the other birds swooped in to fight over the prize.
ISO 2000; f 7.1; 1/500 ss; 300 mm. (I realize I am posting two photos on the same day but the month got away from me!)
Great shot!
Kathy, well composed and quick on the shutter too ! Looks a nice sharp and crunchy chip. I like it.
Nice picture sharp and i like the composition
Hi Kathy. Good shot here. Nice sharp and clean. Good eye. Yes I like it.
I like the softness of the feathers. I’d crop a little more on the left side and fill the photo with the bird and his/her chip. I know what you mean by the month getting away from you. It takes 1 thing to happen and then snowball and all of sudden the month is almost over.
My second and last post for this challenge. Taken in Linaria, Skyros island, Greece
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1323c0216c48ae59f2a148b3bfedc8fd86b3410140cf32570543c4b76cfc7f56.jpg
The sepia tones make this feel like an antique photo. Great focus on the prow of the boat.
@erezshilat:disqus, I love the fishing boat! Have you tried cropping a more of the background buildings out?
Thanks for the tip Brenda
Thank you Leila, much appreciated
Hi Erez. Good shot. I might try a crop on the buildings behind. Is the boat floating or on a mud flat. I would love to see this shot from a lower angle which in my opinion would enhance it even more. Still a very good shot as is.
Erez, this a very good picture. Good composition. The lighter part on the boat gives it the SPOI it deserves. Are these the origional colours?
Many thanks @christianpiron:disqus . The B&W transformation was done in Lightroom, not in the camera, and I further darkened the (very) cluttered floor bellow the boat. I also used split toning to tint the bright grays with brown-yellow and the darker tones with dark blue. I hope that it answers your question.
Nice single POI
the monochromatic tone of the photo really works well.
I have to echo the thoughts on cropping the buildings – I find them distracting and taking my eye away from the boat.
Really nice BW! You might experiment with cropping in a little tighter on the boat. Even though the background is blurred somewhat, it is so busy, it is still a bit distracting.
Thanks @disqus_sy7k92j4W1:disqus, @disqus_4pYt18DaZN:disqus and @denisobyrne:disqus for your feedback. Bellow is the cropped version. I tried it before posting, but I must admit that I prefer the original – I think that the cropped one, even so has a clearer POI has less story in it. Matter of personal taste.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2599076a0590fde5c207ddd06a316969a413b800c9fd1f2ac81741f24dacb3c8.jpg
Hi Erez. I agree with your comments. However this would be my preferred shot.
Eraz
I agree with you, the crop doesn’t really work, though it does get rid of the distracting buildings
I wonder if the buildings were darkened a bit in post processing whether that might lessen their distraction
Hi @Sillen55:disqus and thank you for your feedback. This is after darkening. Darkening more looked too artificial to my taste. I really appreciate it that you took the time to think and offer ideas.
I prefer the original two @erezshilat:disqus you’re right, it does tell more of a story. Even though there is quite a bit happening in the background my I does settle on the boat in the foreground. Well done. Brent
prefer the original two @erezshilat:disqus you’re right, it does tell more of a story. Even though there is quite a bit happening in the background my I does settle on the boat in the foreground. Well done. Brent
Thank you Brent!
I didn’t post last week so am doing two this week as the month’s challenge ends. I was doing a training session a couple years ago and didn’t feel very confident about doing portraits, but the perfect opportunity came along as one of the trainees was speaking. The lighting and colors and her dignified posture all came together. NikonD5300, 1/25; f.4.5; 1000ISO; 38mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c51ee1a57e91ac5b5a53b58006c5897a67d404013e2407bca1fb4f2eaa683d5b.jpg
She is a wonderful single POI
To my eye to make it a better image her eyes, forehead and nose need to be really sharply focused.
Though I think you have done really well given the lighting conditions, handheld?
Yes, handheld (no tripod so as not to disturb the session) and shot with telescope lens across the room. I still get nervous taking pictures of people when they don’t know I’m doing so.
I would crop more on both photos to bring the focus more to the subject. The portrait I’d crop both front and back and to just below the longest tie on the arm. Her serenity makes the photo hard to turn away from. Cropped it’s really holds the attention of the viewer.
I really like old boats. They remind me of my father. I would cropped the building in the background just below the windows or even to the grass. I like the tone of the photo. Makes it seem like an old photo.
Lovely photo. I struggle to capture people so I am always happy when others do it so well.
Here’s my last post and, of course, my passion project of Macro Flowers. This was taken in Giverny, France, just after a morning rain shower. Nikon D5300; 1/250; f/8; ISO 1000; 185mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0f3c0170022a0a24ea16afbc77eb87c137a94afdcd0b42a1bd79beb19910c53a.jpg
I just love these Macro flowers pictures – nice color and bokeh – really like this picture
Beautiful color, love the rain droplets. Well done.
I just bought a macro lens. In time I hope my pics will be this gorgeous.
I just bought one, too. Am still experimenting for the best place to position the camera. I hope to see some of your macros soon.
Striking! Love the raindrops. Very well done.
Wonderful photo. Love the colors and the water droplets
Hi Leila. This is a lovely shot. In particular I like the rain droplets. Great shot.
Really nice, great photo.
I like the tack sharp petals and the raindrops really enhance the image
My eye is drawn to the stamen(?) which seems to be framed by the petals. It’s a pity it isn’t in focus as well, I imagine it is further back than it seems and thus I’m asking for the impossible.
You are right–the stamen was deep inside the tulip so it’s not as much in focus. My intention was to focus on the raindrops on the outer petals. It was a great morning at Giverny and I took dozens of flower macros.
Yes I so see what you mean here @leilagonzalezsullivan:disqus – the raindrops do feature as a point of interest. I agree with @Sillen55:disqus though about my eye going to the centre – framed stamen too. Excellent image. Brent
Yes I so see what you mean here @leilagonzalezsullivan:disqus – the raindrops do feature as a point of interest. I agree with @Sillen55:disqus though about my eye going to the centre – framed stamen too. Excellent image. Brent
My favorite spring flower, tulip. Love the raindrops and nice depth of field.
Beautiful photo. I love the color and raindrops.
Really nice shot. Love the color and the water droplets. The petals curving inward seem to draw your eye into the center. As I think Nick posted, too bad the center is on a different focal plane and not in focus. Overall a very nice image.
In Denmark it is spring now, and unusually we have had a long time of good weather, I just love the spring when everything start to grow, the flowers bloom and so on. And this picture just show that the strawberry is on its way. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0e893ceaf85112e677d8dfea72caaf882febd4f108a4ef4ebc5aca1baba5647f.jpg
Quite nice. I believe your strawberries are ahead of ours here in Minnesota, as spring came a bit late. Lovely shades of green.
Sara thanks just looking forward for the strawberry to be ready
I love this macro of the strawberry, so detailed down to the seeds and sharp with a lovely green background to match.. The only distraction for me was in the upper left. Maybe crop in alittle to hide this but overall a great shot!!.. I would have also shot it from a different angle instead of straight on but that’s my opinion only for what its worth.. 😉
Terri thank you for your feedback – i Will Crop it a tiny bit more ASAP
No problem… I guess I notice little things like that 😉
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9fd8d6716d847e15d6dd57899256d6ed7d4842685fcac8f1f6a0bd6258185678.jpg Hi Terri
I now how cropped it a little bit more and remove the noise in the upper left corner.
Love it 😉 Thumbs up to you! It definitely made the difference 😉
Terri thanks
Interestingly I prefer the original with a bit of space around the fruit.
I hadn’t really noticed the top left until I read Terri’s post
maybe just crop from the sides?
Nick thank you
Yeah I prefer original too – has more “breathing space” around your main point of interest. Excellent Chat just love all the shades of green in your image. Brent
Yeah I prefer original too – has more “breathing space” around your main point of interest. Excellent Chat just love all the shades of green in your image. Brent
Brent thank you and i agree
I have removed the noise but keep the original cut https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9dde58c1200fd41f03db3a475ce5d19af5a4f8964beffdad49c3c4e669cd3c05.jpg
Perfect!
Love the detail.
Roseann thanks
Breathtaking – i love this! Love the green against green. Love the detail, the the separation from the background….and it is pretty clear what the SPOI is! Well done.
Although you were shooting at F8, you got the great bokeh because you were zoomed in almost macro-like to 210mm – you were also able to get most of the berry in focus. Great shot!
Rerro thank you for the feedback
Hi Lone. I like this a lot. Lovely soft background, great detail on the strawberry. Nice lighting and composition. Very good indeed.
Denis thank you for your feedback.
great photo
Just goes to show that it is possible to separate an item from a similar coloured background.
Nice sharp image and the lighting is good and the background blurred to perfection
well done
Nick thank you for the feedback
Love this close up. We don’t usually see, or maybe we don’t notice the strawberry in its green stage. It’s beautiful.
Karen thanks and your right normalt we don’t notice it when it is Green.
Hi Lone, I just love this image, beautiful detail, and great background.
Kerrie thank you
Great close-up of this strawberry! Love the color and the texture. Mine are just setting on the plants here in Ohio now. Can’t wait for them to ripen!
The Lark bird just sing so beautiful – every time I take a walk in the forrest I hear the lovely song from the Lark bird.
I was lucky to catch him in the sky, when he was singing.
Settings: 1/2000 sec, F6.3, ISO400, 210mm(70-210 F4.0) https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fc9e694a0b1739aefee65f0b1c1bfe15a9a3e78073f270f80a47f8fe19cf1dfc.jpg
What a great shot… nicely focused and a fantastic angle.
Bernd thank you
Great capture all round and you have the lark well placed in the photo with plenty of space to fly into.
Rodney thanks for your comments
Awesome shot Lone – and a perfect shot for this challenge. the composition is perfect….the technical detail very good. Well done!
Rerro thank you for your feedback
Wow! Love the detail and clarity. Great Job.
Valerie thank you
Hi Lone. This is great. The detail, composition, light, everything about it just magic.
Dennis thank you very much
Great shot.
Karen thank you
A bird on the wing
Extremely great capture and every aspect of the lark seems perfectly in focus, brilliant
Nick thank you
Great in flight capture. You might want to crop down a bit and still leave room for him to fly into but reducing some of the negative space.
Jim thank you for your comments – i Will look into crop it a bit more i am NOT sure it is a good idea but i Will try
Jim I have cropped it a bit more https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5601ef9e42af0399a2a9862fc32aac58ca73b26b945f4e49dc5611419127a409.jpg
I like this one a lot
I do like this crop more @lonehauerbergjensen:disqus Love the fact that we can see the birds eye, and that wing has got just enough blurring to show movement. Well done. Brent
I do like this crop more @lonehauerbergjensen:disqus Love the fact that we can see the birds eye, and that wing has got just enough blurring to show movement. Well done. Brent
Thank you
My second challenge image was taken January 2017 on the western Antarctic Peninsula. D200, 1/2500 sec, f10, 34mm, ISO 100, with a circular ND filter. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/797f8459137f527956a3004584171306222a8c36f52bf734c577ee8260cf70fb.jpg
What a gorgeous shot! I love the reflection and how the white is contrasting with the turquoise blue of the sky and water.. Amazing 😉
Brilliant! Great shot Belinda – i love the uniformity of the mountain and its reflection in the water
Very nice Shot, I really like the reflection in the water. Well done.
Hi Brenda. Great shot, Love the reflection. Well done.
A great image of a very photogenic part of the world
Not a cloud in the sky, amazing (I don’t think we got one cloudless day when we went)
The image is nice and crisp and the reflections fantastic.
My one question, is did you have your camera’s white balance adjusted? I ask because the snow, to my eye, seems to have a slight colour cast [yellowish tinge?] to it
Funny, I’ve looked at these images so long that I failed to realize they were slightly off white balance. They were shot at auto WB, and despite the cold temps, the blues were really ‘warm’. The only filter used was the ND. Here’s a corrected version… thanks all for alerting me to that! I’ll have to go back through and adjust them in Lightroom. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e168d06f655405f4e16de7e8a9b420b0329f318e459e497aa0342ff971a0cc0f.jpg
Ah heaps better
I only really noticed because I happened to be looking at mine when when I saw yours. And i doubted the snow would have changed colour so much in 5 years. When we were there I made sure that I adjusted the white balance before we did anything
Much better!
Wow, @disqus_jQhbwBCFPu:disqus your little white balance tweak has made all the difference to your image – good suggestion @disqus_W9X9AYgvoB:disqus . There is no doubt here what the single point of interest is in this image – Well done. Brent
Wow, @disqus_jQhbwBCFPu:disqus your little white balance tweak has made all the difference to your image – good suggestion @disqus_W9X9AYgvoB:disqus . There is no doubt here what the single point of interest is in this image – Well done. Brent
A slight adjustment to the white balance will make this shot pop.
Beautiful composition! I agree about the white balance, the snow color is off slightly.
I have been lucky enough to have been to Antarctica as well. It is a truly awesome place and is definitely a place that you cannot explain it really has to be experienced. Beautiful shot and great reflexion.
Very serene and peaceful. Did you see penguins while you were there?
Yes, they were everywhere… in the water, on the ‘bergy bits’, and we saw/smelled a few very large rookeries. If you look closely at the discolored areas in the snow, those are evidence of penguin activity. I was surprised at how high they could climb.
Thank you.
Nice shot. Great composition. I agree with the comment that tweaking the WB could really enhance the image.
This little guy was in the parking lot wandering around looking for handouts. I struggled with posting the original photo or a cropped version so I am uploading both. I look forward to your feedback and preferences. Taken Wednesday, F4.5, 1/500 sec., ISO 200, 70mm. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e46c36f521f23e13c78c334aa536a5496e905d7da6d4db159333efd2fc62c9bb.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e7d04c0371bfa1ade05536930308207caf81dca00a689c6dc70924b96ae72e05.jpg
Hi Valerie, I like the cropped version better. The white line at the top left was a distraction before it was cropped out. Now the first thing I see is the bird’s eye. I would still use the cloning/healing tool in the upper left to get rid of the white, to blend into the road.
Thanks Peter for the comments. Something I need to do is slow down and pay more attention to the background. I didn’t even see the remaining white in the crop before I posted. I agree it is a distraction in both photos. I appreciate you pointing it out!
You’re welcome.
Hi Valerie. The cropped version is the one for me. Good eye and it draws me in.
Thank you Denis
Valerie, definitely the cropped version is much stronger. Removing the little bit of white structure would make it complete.
Thanks Christian, I agree with removing the white.
Cropped version. You can see the specks of food on his beak.
I really love the cropped version though the original is great too. The feather detail is perfect.
Thanks Chrs
Thanks
I like the cropped version of the two images.
Thanks Jim
Great image Valerie, tack sharp, and I think that tiny bit of colour on the beak is just perfect.
Thanks Kerrie. I appreciate your comments.
The second one jumps out more to me Valerie. I cropping in/zooming in you remove some of the background distractions and I think that is what makes the image so much better. Well done. Brent
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e60132ecc15442f1c4cc5d966e65698ae7969f66fe1974329da7640d16a834b1.jpg This is an iguana that was basking in the sun in the Galapagos. He was showing off his new set of dentures. Quite a brilliant set of silver caps.
What a beauty! Great capture and a good separation of the subject from the background.
Thanks, Erez.
Great shot and a lovely smile
Thanks, Lone.
Hi Peter. I like that smile.
Thanks, Denis.
Wow. Love his smile.
Thank you.
Sure it is not a sneer? But the head is a POI for me. Nice colours and lichting.
Maybe he did something he is feeling quite sneaky about. The point is that it makes you wonder what he is up to.
believe the yellowish color signifies he’s ready to service the ladies! You did a great job of showing the rough texture of his hide. How did you do the background?
I was very close to him and shot it at a shallow depth of field. I lost the settings from my present computer. I shot from a low position kneeling down, with the sky in the background. The time of day was close to sunset.
Wow! Great shot, the detail of the skin, the light off those silver caps-just brilliant.
He could be a model for a tooth paste commercial or a try-out in Hollywood.
Wow, @peterbrody:disqus I love this and am of course jealous of going to the Galapagos. Look at that face!
If you ever have the opportunity to go, do it. As a veterinarian, I just was amazed by all the beauty of all the animals.
Very cheesy grin, wonder what he’s been up to? Like the light shining on his face,
It’s sunset and he’s thinking of his date tonight.
As flash as a rat with a gold tooth
Good photo. Nice light and a good pose
To make it a really great photo the focus on his head would need to be tack sharp
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4345bac7e0494ef4370d4ff80732e7f1af0ee922d0fa4b5628405f32b15c20de.jpg Hi Nick, I went back to Lightroom and Luminar to try to increase the detail as best as I could and decrease the noise. Thanks for your advice.
Needs to use some tooth whitening toothpaste? Good capture here Peter – what settings did you use for this image? Brent
Hi Brent . I copied the picture from my external hard drive and lost the settings. I used my Canon 7D. I had to have used a shallow depth of field and a fast shutter speed due to shooting animals. Must say though, iguanas don’t move very fast when they are out getting a sun tan. Thanks.
Thanks Keri 🙂
I’m a little behind due to a very nasty bug from eating romaine lettuce last month. This photo was taken in Duluth, Minnesota on a cloudy day but the colors in the garden were popping all over the place. ISO 100 1/640 sec F/5.6
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/13b25f9065f9e357b7624294da834159b061b204165bf9c8b994a2d03d0f452a.jpg
Karen, it’s a lovely shot. Have you thought about changing the orientation, or a tighter crop?
Thank you, Sara.
I agree with Sara… maybe crop tighter but its a gorgeous shot! Love the water drops on the rose.. The color is vibrant and photo sharp.. I love it!
Thank you, Terri.
Hi Karen. Good to see your over that illness. Lovely shot, however a lot going on with all the foliage. In particular the rain droplets on the leaves.
Thanks, Denis. I have one cropped closer but I don’t like it as much. I’ll take another look at it.
I love this photo. I suppose I might try cropping it a little more to just emphasize the rose and water droplets but I love it as it is.
Great picture of a beautiful rose and water droplets on the leaves and petals. Which did you want us to focus on? I like the droplet just above the rose.
Thanks, Peter. The rose was the subject – the water droplets were the bonus.
Really nice close-up. Love the colors & contrast & the great background blur which definitely makes the rose the POI. The sharpness & clarity of the water droplets is awesome and adds so much to the image. Nicely done.
Thanks, Jim.
Hi Karen, this is such a beautiful image, the colours are divine, your focus is excellent. I do feel that a tighter crop may enhance it even more.
Thank you, Kerrie.
Karen, I really like this. You captured amazing detail. Zoomed in, you see the rain droplets like little magnifying glass.
Thank you, Rachel.
Great work Karen – just love it. The rose pops up so nicely and the rain drops are a great contribution.
Thank you, Erez.
great photo
I’d wondered whether you may have enhanced the colours until I read your description
Nice composition and like the water drops
I might have moved the leaves to the right to take the photo – though I do like the way the rose is ‘peeking’ out from behind them
This is my 2nd photo for the challenge. Taken at my house in the fall. Two days after taking this photo, the first heavy frost announce that winter was indeed coming. ISO 125 1/100 sec F/6.3 70mm
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/864b04f4a9c86c4a9d9a92e1c0c22b3938ca887123aa63872aa7bae865eb64f0.jpg
Hi Karen. Lovely shot. Nicely framed.
Love the textures, complementary colors, and the depth of field you used on this one. Do you have enough image available to open up some space to the right?
Nicely done. The color is beautiful.
This is a beautiful capture @disqus_W9X9AYgvoB:disqus – And as I zoom in on this image I see that one of the flowers in the middle is tack-sharp. Is that your single point of interest or is it the entire bouquet of flowers? Brent
I wanted the whole flower which technically is all the blossoms. I know the flower that’s in perfect focus. I should have cropped to have that one be the POI for the challenge. I liked the photo as soft focus. The hydrangea plant produces a number of bouquets and they look like soft cushions.
I’ll crop it differently to focus on the sharp flower.
It’s a tough challenge this one – but it’s got us all thinking differently which is the goal of these challenges. Well done. Brent
This is my second photo for this challenge – again taken on my recent holiday. ISO 400, 1/500s, f6.3, 100-400m lens at 400m https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b929c55f7f1f7e8bc2513e0a6bb2ed260734a4af545f4a97e6ef62105f9fae33.jpg
The elephants in Africa were amazing. They are so intelligent and majestic. My eyes go right for her eye .Great shot.
Thanks Peter
Love this image, Karen! The skin textures and colours are beautiful, and my eye is drawn to that eye.
Thanks Kerrie
Love the texture, color & contrast! Great photo! The only thing that could make this photo better would be to lighten or enhance the eye in Lightroom.
Thanks for the feedback Jim
Hi Karen. Very nice. I love the detail you achieved here. Not long after a mud bath. You can see the remnants on it’s ear and forehead. I wonder could you lighten the eye a bit in post processing?
Thanks for the feedback Denis
Just lost my Heart to Elephants and i love this picture it has a lot of details and it is sharp my Hearst is beating for the elephant
The texture on the old leather skin on these giants are amazing! Their eyes are full of emotion….and these animals have many human traits too! Look at those lashes! Great image, nice crop….i personally would be trying to get more detail out of the skin, by playing around with the clarity and sharpness in LR. Well done Karen 🙂
Thank you Rerro
This is such a wonderful photo. I don’t know how or why anyone would want to kill such a majestic animal. It’s a beautiful photo. I love everything about it.
Thanks Chris, they certainly are beautiful creatures
Love the way you’ve cropped this image Karen. Really like the textures and shapes in this image. Would love to see what this looks like has a monochrome image. Brent
Hi Brent, The shot is as taken – no cropping. I have had a go as b&w as suggested. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/25ef714106604ef7eac087ed6b4539f6d554f70b4754bcbcb9a0f6f25108bb95.jpg
Oh yes – now we’re talking. Love it. Brent
Thanks so much
Hi karen. Now this image is great indeed. I can even see the eyelashes .
Thanks very much Denis
Great photo
I like the lighting and how it has brought out the texture of the skin
This is my 3rd submission for the POI challenge. In 2014, while photographing in Grand Teton National Park, I was extremely fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to get this shot of a Great Gray Owl, aka “The Phantom of the North”, because of their elusiveness. I shot his in broad daylight at ISO 250, 120mm, F5.8 & 1/125sec with my first Nikon. This owl is the largest species of owl in the world by overall length. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e844d6d99f6320bd38e750c98dfee70dbaf9576dd02ffee1cebb132cd7eb3f7c.jpg
Hi Jim. This is a very good shot. I like the detail and the back ground while there, is just that – Background. The Owl on it’s perch stands out for me.
Thanks Dennis. I was somewhat worried about the busy background and the really white tree. I even thought about a tighter crop on the owl but I did not want to lose the effect of the entire owl and also seeing him in his environment. I think his eye draws you to him. This was a jpeg straight out of my camera. The only post I did was the crop. perhaps I should have done some Brent Mail editing magic like he did with the skate boarder but I am pretty new to Lightroom and still learning the basics.
How lucky to get this great shot, my eye goes straight to the owl even though the tree trunk is so light
Thanks Karen. I was somewhat worried about the busy background and the really white tree. I even thought about a tighter crop on the owl but I did not want to lose the effect of the entire owl and also seeing him in his environment. I think his eye draws you to him. This was a jpeg straight out of my camera. The only post I did was the crop.
Great shot. Lots of detail.
Thanks Rachel. I was somewhat worried about the busy background and the really white tree. I even thought about a tighter crop on the owl but I did not want to lose the effect of the entire owl and also seeing him in his environment. I think his eye draws you to him. This was a jpeg straight out of my camera. The only post I did was the crop.
Beautiful capture and great focus on his face. Nice use of Rule of Thirds and depth of field too!
Wauw what a great intense shot
Thanks
Great shot Jim. How did you come upon the owl. Were you walking in the park or waiting in a blind?
Peter, if you are familiar with Grand Teton, we went in the south entrance at Moose Wilson and turned left down the gravel road which takes you to Teton Village. I had a photographer’s guide to GT that said there was a beaver pond along that route with ample parking that is known to be a good wildlife viewing area. We made it a point to check it every morning. One morning when we pulled into the parking lot and there was a whole row of photographers lined up looking the opposite way so I figured there must be something really interesting over that way. I walked over and ask what everyone was looking at and they pointed to the owl in the tree. They proceeded to tell me how rare it was to see a great gray so I thought I had better take a picture of it. JUST PLAIN DUMB LUCK!
Wildlife can be like that – right place at the right time. Brent
background gives context and owl is definitly POI. So sharp – I can see the wrinkle feathers in his forehead and his eye is looking down at us. Has an attitude. Great capture
Thanks Lynne
Wow, yes you are fortunate to photograph such a beautiful bird. Love the back light on it’s head and that yellow eye. I’m wondering if there’s a way to get your owl to be more separate from the tree that it’s perched in – because my eye is distracted from the owl by the white bark on the tree. Something I do to see what pops in the image is to close my eyes slightly and then look at the image and see what shapes I can see, what objects jump out when my eyes are half closed. Try it and tell me what you see? Brent
The tree of course! Point made and taken. thanks Brent. Looking forward TO THE NEXT CHALLENGE.
Great capture
The tree, probably because of its bark and placement in the photo, detracts from the owl
I’m wondering whether if you cropped the righthand side so there was only a sliver of tree whether the sole focus would be the owl.
ie ignore the ‘rule of 3rds’ and centre the owl
Thanks Nick! Brent had the same suggestion. I’ll play around with it when I get a chance. now that I am retired, I am busier than I was when I was working 50-60 hrs per week managing construction projects here in the US. Having a 2 year old grand son compounds this problem. I am thinking I may even try a graduated filter or and adjustment brush and maybe try to bring down the exposure on the tree and thus the color.
This is my 2nd submission for the challenge. This was shot by the Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic len. It is honestly quite difficult to use, but very interesting to play with. The photo was taken at the Victoria Harbour and I tried to use the ferry as the POI. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/598a242833bcaac10a21a7a4b56b7433f2295db1692488cca373ed17040b68ed.jpg
Hi Julie. For me the Ferry is lost in the background, and is just part of the cityscape shot- Which I like.
Thank you Denis.
Your composition and the fact that it’s B/W helps with the POI. You might try cropping tighter so that the ferry stands out more clearly from the background. I’ve never worked with that lens… what makes it challenging to use?
Thank you Brenda. The lensbaby is quite difficult to get the focus right. And with this lens, you can somehow control how the bokeh looks like and the extent of blur by twisting the Composer. So it is quite interesting to experiment the different effect, but at the same time it increases the difficulty of focus. To give you an idea, here is the photo of the Lensbaby. The part being twisted is the Composer. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/71ea0ff1e4b001978cf8f9f0ae8ae8a9f074409655b0cf8798c9a59a8b5ca5b9.jpg
I do like the artistic feel of this image Julie – I’ve never used a lens baby before, the images look pretty funky. I’ll have to give it a try someday. Yes your ferry definitely is the main points of interest in this image – I think they are a a few things you can do in post to make it jump out even more. Maybe if you lighten the water around the ferry, it will jump out because of the very dark hull. Also I think a tighter crop would help remove some of the distractions in the background. Brent
Thank you Brent.
Settings: EOS 600D, EF-S 15 – 85mm lens @ 1/250 sec., f/5, 59mm. Backyard shot of Bromeliad. The sun was filtered through a tree and only a beam was on the flower. A combination of arpature and post processing brought out the flower and darkened the background.
For my last submission for this challenge, I thought I would try something similar to Brent’s Masterclass – taking a busy scene and making the Single POI stand out. I took a photo of a Galah (rose-breasted Cockatoo) during the bird show at Taronga Zoo last year and while I panned to keep the bird in the frame, I had a higher shutter speed to freeze the wings, therefore didn’t have a motion blurred background. Given the galah was flying just over and close to everyone’s heads, the fully open aperture could only slightly focus blur out the “background”.
I cropped a little and then used a radial filter to add a exposure, contrast and saturation to the galah, and used a duplicate radial filter to adjust the remainder of the photo by reducing exposure and saturation.
While I had been happy with the original, the revised image is a much better SPOI. I have included the before and after photos.
Settings: 1/640s @ f/4.8, ISO-200, lens Olympus M.75-300 @ 75mm
Before
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cb026b6fc7df2683b3f57c1104b1c5a036deb329d113c2eb228c1fb4c597c08a.jpg
After
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/668d8fbd45631dea23cf9c0958ffc9963acb6f51dff14a3d189e907455e383b0.jpg
Really nice! The bird really pops!
Thanks Jim
Rodney, for me it still remains a bit too busy. Colours of the bird are also present in the crowd. My eyes were first attracked by the back of the 2 heads. Perhaps a crop with the bird and a little before + more blur of the crowd would give the deserved attention. I like very much the bird itself.
Hi Rodney. The second post is a big improvement. But still a little busy for me.
Thanks Denis. This part of the bird show is for the galah to fly just over the heads of the crowd and up to the top of the stand, so the people will always be in the photo. Next time I might try a much slower shutter speed to create a pan motion blur of the crowd, although this may also blur the wings. Will see 😉
Rodney, I missed your revised picture. That is indeed much better. The wonderful colours of the bird makes it more a POI.
Glad you found the “after” photo. Thanks.
Great work Rodney, and the bird pops up nicely.
Have you tried adding motion blur to the crowd, it might help to add even more pop and interest to the image, even so I love it as is.
Thanks Erez. Not during that visit with that bird but will try a pan motion blur next time. It may also blur the wings, but will see.
Panning is a great idea, but I meant adding motion blur in post processing using Photoshop or a similar software. You can mask the effect from the bird to keep it sharp.
Erez, okay, I misunderstood. Has been a while since I have done motion blur in PS and the masking was a bit fiddly and time consuming . I might give it another go.
Yes, I was visualizing that crop when I saw the first. I didn’t realize their were 2 photos until I read the post. Fantastic catch on the bird in flight.
Thanks Karen. Glad you found the after photo.
Nice shot of the bird
Thanks Lone
great shot maybe a little tighter crop + a little bit more blur ? just to bring the bird a little closer. well done
Thanks John
Brilliant – i love what you have done here! The picture is awesome, it is tack sharp, and it has a narrative to it! Its a keeper, well done Rodney!
Thanks Rerro.
wow – great shift from one to the second. Perhaps blur background a bit more or crop the head at the bottom. Great idea and narrative
Thanks Lynne.
This cropped version does focus my eye more on your main point of interest – it’s a huge improvement on your original capture where I can barely see the bird because of the busy background. I like the way you have brightened your Galah and darkened the background. I also like the way you have left space for your bird to fly into. Great case study – thanks for sharing. Brent
Thanks Brent (and again for your Masterclass advice).
it always amazes me how many people are looking elsewhere in these type of group photos
Nice tack sharp Galah – cool photo
Thanks Nick
This is my first posting. Lots of resistance in the last couple months. This image was shot with a Canon EF-S 15-85mm Lens @ f/5, 1/250 sec., ISO 100, 59mm. There as a, tree filtered, sun beam on the flower and I wanted it to jump out from all the green around it.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/534725459efccb8be7bd8e6791bac9d3dd53220407742ac646aa220ab822ff43.jpg
Nice shot. love the effect. The flower really pops with the lighting and the color!
Rachel, I love the color palette of the flower. Very nice picture. Perhaps a little darken of the points of the green leaves will hold my attention better.
Hi Rachel. Nice shot if a little dark for me.
Beautiful shot and the flower defiently pops!
you certainly have done that
Very nice sharp image Rachel. Not sure if you have darkened the background? But i would be trying to get a little bit of the green back…not too much that you lose focus of the subject, but at the moment there is a lot of black negative space. Also, try and place your subject off center next time, following the rule of thirds.
Great shot. Perhaps lighten the background just a tad for context.
Great shot. The flower is tack sharp and I do like the darker background because it allows the flower to pop out and makes it more 3 denominational. The only thing I might suggest is a cropping that would bring the flower out of the center of the picture and also would eliminate some of the excess space.
Congratulations @rachelgilmour:disqus for overcoming that resistance and posting your image. This is a great capture, my eye goes right to your main point of interest which is sharp and really stands out. I like the little bits of colour – the reds and purples. Something you can do right away to give this image more in impact, is to crop a little bit off the right hand side which will place your main point of interest more to the right part of the composition – instead of the middle. Well done. Brent
Thanks Brent.
Great shot, I am also drawn to it because I am not sure what kind of flower it is. Very unique. Very sharp and clear photo.
Didn’t I see one of these in a fly past in the Superman movies?
great image – nice and sharp where it counts
and I’m also curios as to what type of flower it is
Thank you all for the great comments. The flower is a bromeliad. They seldom blossom, at least in my garden, but last a long time. This is only one of two that I’ve seen with the seed pods.
As per a couple of suggestions.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9532030521f4c7ca5ce5a1d96f6b30a11ebd792243b6a5452e13307b59d46b1c.jpg
Here’s a closer crop. If I could find the original RAW image (LR misplaced it during the update last Oct), it would be easier to crop but it’s cropped from a small jpg file. I have a phobia about tiny photos. I did crop past the lower edge of the rose because increasing the size emphasized the slightly ragged edge. I would also erase the brown leaves to the left upper part of the photo and crop more to the right but I don’t want to lose all the dark green contrast of the foliage.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/04a994d2713c77cb5108b91efce57a37a4c11b8f3143e64881c381c224c74592.jpg
Karen, I find this image very beautiful and well balanced. The waterdrop gives it an extra. Well done.
Hi Karen. I prefer this to the original posted.
What an improvement. Yeah! You win flower photo of the day!
love the water drops
Really Nice love the drops an the 8ntense red color
I like the cropped version better, too.
Gorgeous. This picture is tack sharp throughout. I love the raindrops and the catch lights in them. Nice colors and great composition.
Love this image @disqus_W9X9AYgvoB:disqus – that drop near the bottom really stands out to me. With Lightroom did you use the “find all missing photos” option? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bf66f8804d18c87639c5de6b30fee04bf281ffc10a7c920dfcdd545870d9cecc.png
I think I already commented but let me say again, this is so beautiful it almost looks like it’s not real. I love it!
This is my fourth & final submission fro this challenge. I captured this image of a captive gray wolf this past January at the Grizzly Bear & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone Montana. Photographing captive animals is fine as long as you disclose that they were captive. Wolves in the wild are so elusive and shy away from humans so much that it is extremely difficult to photograph one in the wild, especially this close. The challenge when photographing captive animals whether in a zoo or sanctuary is to compose the shot in such away that you cannot tell that they are in some form of enclosure. The day I took this photo it was very overcast and on the brink of snowing at any moment with great soft light. My settings were ISO 1250, 300mm, F5.6 & 1/1600 sec. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Was a bit of a challenge to make the wolf stand out from the snowy background. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0fa30a7d115aba465c3a0cb957a15a9248d861db0560d18abed3bd8acecb454a.jpg
Absolutely stunning! Well done Jim, you have successfully made the wolf stand out from the snow. Very pleasing image, i like the white against white!
Thanks Rerro!
Great expression – calm, but intense. It does look like he is out in the wild.
Thanks
I love this! Would not have known he was in captivity. Very good detail. His eyes draw my attention.
Thanks Valerie
Jim, you did the job very good standing the wolf out from the snowy background. Can you explain why ISO 1250 and 1/1600 sec and not for instance 2 stops less for ISO and sec? Just to understand what was important for you with your settings.
Christian, let me first preface answering your very good question by saying I am an amateur at this and I am still learning. But here goes, I used my Tamron 70mm- 300mm telephoto on my Nikon D7200 which is a crop sensor camera. The widest my lens will go is F5.6 and I wanted to try to get as much background blur by using the 300mm focal length at that F stop. It was also a really overcast gray day. I am pretty sure I was in shutter priority mode. Using the rule for shutter speed when hand holding which I was doing I took the 300 x 1.5 crop factor and got to 1/450 sec. Using another rule for moving wildlife subjects I took that times 2 and that got me to 1/900sec. I have really been struggling with camera shake lately when hand holding and shooting wildlife. Even though they may be perceived as standing still, they are breathing and they may be looking around a bit, eyes moving, swallowing or chewing, all which can lead to a blurry shot so I kicked it on up to 1/1600/sec just for good measure. My Nikon does a pretty good job limiting noise up to about ISO 1600 and I knew I could clean it up if I needed to in post. I had also spent the day before in a snow cat in Yellowstone with a National Geographic wildlife photographer. It was a similar overcast day. He said he always shoots around ISO 1200 or so in those conditions. I figured if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for me. I also usually try to slightly under expose my images a bit to avoid blowing out the highlights. Anything in the shadows can be recovered in post. Once an area is blown out and over exposed, all of the data in that part of the image is lost and cannot ever be recovered. There you have it. Thanks for asking. Maybe someone else out there can weigh in on why the NAT GEO guy likes such a high ISO # in snow and overcast conditions, as fro me I have no clue!
Good idea to shoot at that faster shutter speed. Brent
Hi Jim. You did a great job here. I love every thing about it. The composition, light, the focus, clarity, colour. This is a winner in my view. Print and frame if you have not done so already. Very well done.
Thanks Denis.
Great shot! Love it.
This is a great shot, and had you not said he was a captive animal you wouldn’t know. You also did a great job with bring the wolf out from the background. Nice sharp image. Great job!
Thanks Barbara.
You did well here Jim, to make your wolf stand out from the snowy background. My eyes are attracted to the wolves eyes, which to me is the main point of interest in this image – and they are tack sharp. How can you improve this? I’m thinking that may if you left a little more space on the left that image might have a little more impact. Well done. Brent
Thanks for the feedback Brent.
Wow, this is a beautiful image! The details are wonderful.
thanks VJ
Stunning photo!!
Great shot! It does look a bit sad, doesn’t it!?
Great image
He looks vaguely bored
I believe this is only my third photo for this month, like others there has been a lot of distractions this month. This is a small clump of very small flowers, taken with my 18-55mm attached to a reversing ring ($10 US at B&H). The center flower is the POI, and the others that are out of focus add more interest than a single-blossom photo would, in my opinion. Other settings: 1/200 sec, ISO 400
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cac3a83486f8d0b6e4e9294c5f13d83afe61c1b8b13b6f080665c4460d79670a.jpg
Wow, the colors are extremely muted on my browsing laptop screen compared to what I see on my 4K laptop screen that I use to edit. I don’t like this result at all.
Hi Steve. Your main point of interest is a little soft. Maybe you could enhance the colour in post processing.
edited the same photo on my older (regular) laptop, seems to be a bit better. I need to break out the colormunki again, perhaps?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/48cc832802219a15df4c94f355f3f6935e4207c67fea8c0164c0a456bef81128.jpg
Hi Steve. I like it more now. Colour more vivid. Great job.
I like this – very vivid, very attention grabbing
this version is more punchy, more pinkish. Don’t know which is the natural colour but I like this one.
The flower top right is a tad distracting with the petal over the central one, I might have moved it to take the photo – but I sorta like it as it is!
cool piccy
Love the rich colors of the flowers. Nice focus on the center of the flower and the background does add interest to the photo.
Wow, the colours in this image really makes it standout. I do like the way your main flower is in focus and the others are out of focus. I’m wondering – Is there another way to make your main point of interest separate from the other purple flowers? Maybe darkening the other flowers and reducing the contrast on them will take away the distractions. Brent
Since I don’t know how that flower shot will turn out on others’ screens, I’ll upload this one from a while back, one of the first photos I took with my Canon T5, I hadn’t had it for more than a week and completely clueless about the various settings (my first DSLR). Settings ended up being f5.6, 1/80 sec and ISO 200 (having used film only for so long, I was used to 100-200 ISO and didn’t know what to expect if I went above that. I’m amazed at the clarity of a hand-held at 1/80 sec as a newby. I wish he would reappear so I could recreate the shot now that I’m more familiar with the camera but I haven’t seen anything other than the dark olive-drab colored ones since.
This small toad was hiding in plain sight at the threshold of my front door.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6477714f8f52806ad3aa8303d163996e0f52bf550fbcab6e49b8629ce0128efa.jpg
Minor adjustments to contrast, clarity and white balance within a couple radial filters to help focus on the subject.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5422dc3e7435c16823503f48d4bb38e25652cccecef6cd0cf2b25718a4cd0cf2.jpg
Hi Steve. Prefer the adj shot in this case.
Steve, I like the adjusted shot better. Well done!
I agree with Sara. The adjusted photo helps to bring the frog out more from its background and foreground. Great job!
Hi @disqus_0mZTVOIKLI:disqus , this version has much more impact – your blacks are much darker and your image seems to have more contrast. Something I would do is lighten the eye of the frog little more, to attract your viewers attention to it. Brent
Yes the adjustments make a huge difference. The frog now has much more impact.
Everything has been said, so I will just say really like the improvement. Good job!
Nice work and what interesting markings
original photo:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0834c7a7cd66da27e0a2cf960f3428daf72870c5fde5111867b4d54c8dcfea6e.jpg
My POI here are the eyes of Sheba the cat who happened to be lying by a vase of the right colour. Tried to bring out the green of the eyes by juxtaposition with the vase. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5d7e688dbb8aa6d4d6211562e1d4c437fe681d057fa40dc134675971330da01b.jpg
Great shot!
Thanks
Very nice photo. I love the green eyes and the green background. Great reflections and catch lights in the eyes as well. Good job.
Thank you
Lynn, I like the way your cat is looking. Perhaps cropping away the green for a great part woud give your picture even more POI.
Hi Lynne. Nice shot. Would you need to brighten the eyes a little to make them pop a bit.
Great shot Lynne – I agree with @denisobyrne:disqus here about brightening up the eyes – They are the main point of interest in this image. Brent
Lovely eyes Lynne.
great close-up
This challenge in now closed, soon (on the 15th of next month) we’ll have the magazine published. Well done everyone. Brent
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/338fb999e2c9ef5bb6af87ba467bfbb2edc82afa1cbe4d8436f3e09e0235611a.jpg As it’s still the 25th in California, I thought I had time to post one more photo. Feel free to ignore if I am too late.
I have cats and love all things cat related so I was busy taking picture of this tiger at a zoo and I realized how very lazy and similar he was to my own house cats. Just sleeping and rolling and yawning. So I snapped a series of photos of him yawning and just was sort of pleased with the details in the whiskers and tongue.
1/320, f 5.6, iso1400 and 290 mm.
Great work, very sharp and the colors of the subject vs the background are matching nicely. Love it.
I think that you might improve it by blurring the background a little in post. Maybe de-saturate it a little too, it adds to the vignetting effect. Beautiful as is so.
Beautiful image.
Thank you @erezshilat:disqus
Great picture very sharp like it a lot
Thank you @lonehauerbergjensen:disqus
I love these large cats too – growing up in Africa I have an affinity for the predators. Like the way you caught him yawning, And yes, the details in your image are super sharp. Hey, what would this look like as a monochrome? Brent
Thanks @brentmail:disqus I do know tigers are not like house cats but I just laughed at this guy yawning and being lazy like my house cats.
What a spectacular photo! Very nicely positioned, with space that the animal is looking into to the right. The branch in the background is unfortunate, but it’s not too distracting because the image of the cat is so sharp and it has such a commanding presence.
Thank you @david_enfield:disqus I thought about getting rid of that but decided to leave it as it was a natural part of the foliage.
Great shot Chris. Can’t tell that he is in a zoo!
Thank you @disqus_sy7k92j4W1:disqus
Hi Jim. Great shot. Nice detail and light. I like this one.
I spy another photographer, must be Yawn Time!
Good looking animal and a fine shot.
Beautiful creature and so well captured. It’s difficult to get such a sharp image in a zoo but you’ve done so well!
This is a winter sunrise. It reminds me of how cold it is out there when you have to get up at 5:00 AM.
Exposure is /1000 sec f/5.0 ISO 50.