Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
The Water of Leith again, with a touch of digital warm selenium...
The same applied to my Philosopher's Garden shot:
The same applied to my Philosopher's Garden shot:
By Yon Bonnie Bank
- Thread starter Rob MacKillop
- Start date
Ralph Turner
Well-Known Member
Superb, Rob. The way the tones are rendered is beautiful and how the lighter elements are set off so well against those velvety shadow areas. The selenium effect is the just-slightly-warm 'icing on the cake'. Beautiful.
Gianluca Drago
Well-Known Member
Both the high road, and the low road, are wonderful!
Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
Thanks, lads. The selenium allowed me to keep a dark mood, while the creamy whites would pop. Very happy with it.
John Holland
Well-Known Member
Stunning. I especially like the second image.
Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
Thanks, John. Pleased with the second.
Ralph Turner
Well-Known Member
Well, this inspired me to have a play with an image of mine from that roll of Ilford Ortho that I played with a while back. The subject sort of lends itself to this look. My quick efforts fall well short of yours, Rob, both in the less-than-perfect condition of the originsl flower and my quick edits to see if it could work. Although this example of mine isn't ideal, it's given me food for thought for the future. I've always liked images with that subtle warm tone look. I hope you don't mind me hijacking your thread with a couple of my own (before/after).
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Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
I don't mind at all, Ralph. It took me a while - not terribly long, but a while - to get the exact degree of alteration I wanted, and of course the lighting in the original is important. Here's a low-quality jpeg of the original DNG file:
Now that I see that here, I'm thinking the crop was a mistake, but I wanted more focus on the upturned leaf, which became the subject of a poem. I might do the whole thing again!
Now that I see that here, I'm thinking the crop was a mistake, but I wanted more focus on the upturned leaf, which became the subject of a poem. I might do the whole thing again!
Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
Here's the above with some warm selenium. I couldn't exactly reproduce what I had in the first post above.
Ralph Turner
Well-Known Member
I think with your crop works so well, the leaf and the dark space above it (with the three cow parsley blossoms) complement each other nicely. Would incorporating more diminish that? I don't know. The selenium effect on the lighter version is interesting, where it concentrates on the darker midtones more. With mine I just tweaked the middle slider on the blue channel in 'levels'. I don't know if this emulates the selenium process well or not, it's not something I've ever tried.
Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
There’s that dark space upper-left of the upturned leaf which could probably do with some of the cow parsley, but that goes beyond my self-imposed limitations for editing shots, plus I have no idea how to go about doing it…
I think your technique might well work if you pull it back a little. It looks slightly over-cooked to my eye, but this is a subjective area, and I’ll defend to the death (actually, maybe not that far!!!) your right to edit whatever way you feel fit.
I think your technique might well work if you pull it back a little. It looks slightly over-cooked to my eye, but this is a subjective area, and I’ll defend to the death (actually, maybe not that far!!!) your right to edit whatever way you feel fit.
Ralph Turner
Well-Known Member
You are, of course, absolutely right....so I had another play and struck a happy(?) medium. I also lifted the lighter areas of the leaves a little to suit my preferences. By comparison, the 1st attempt was a little heavy handed and muddy looking.
Btw I'd rather you didn't defend to the death, either - just think of all the blood 'n' giblets - though I do appreciate the sentiment
Btw I'd rather you didn't defend to the death, either - just think of all the blood 'n' giblets - though I do appreciate the sentiment
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Gianluca Drago
Well-Known Member
To be honest, to me, also the first image looks a little bit too cropped underneath. Nevertheless, it is a gorgeous photo (and I prefer it to the second one).
Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
Wow, Ralph, that second version is a winner! Really nice. A beautiful transformation of the original. I’m so pleased I had a small hand in pushing you in that directionYou are, of course, absolutely right....so I had another play and struck a happy(?) medium. I also lifted the lighter areas of the leaves a little to suit my preferences. By comparison, the 1st attempt was a little heavy handed and muddy looking.
Btw I'd rather you didn't defend to the death, either - just think of all the blood 'n' giblets - though I do appreciate the sentiment
That’s what this forum is for.
Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
Agreed, Gianluca! I was never happy. I remember trying a number of crops when I first took the photo, and couldn’t get satisfied. I’ll try again, though! Thanks for your comment.
Ralph Turner
Well-Known Member
Cheers, Rob. Indeed, this forum's a good place to be.Wow, Ralph, that second version is a winner! Really nice. A beautiful transformation of the original. I’m so pleased I had a small hand in pushing you in that direction
Brian Moore
Moderator
It's a bonnie fotie!
Gianluca Drago
Well-Known Member
This photographic contribution by @Rob MacKillop provoked many different kinds of reflections in me.
1) The first photo for me is wonderful. That leaf of Petasites (perhaps in English it is called butterburs or coltsfoots?) is a major presence in the scene. It fills the emotional scene in the frame as if it were an animal, velvety but sentient and perhaps dangerous (in a video game he would be The Boss). The contrast with the delicate, snow-white geometries of the Anthriscus sylvestris inflorescences is epic. Then there is the water/sky flowing in the background as if to dilute the ongoing conflict in the larger breath of the passage of time. Like in a David Lynch film: the struggle between evil and good, and underneath the time flowing obliviously (well maybe this metaphor is far-fetched ).
2) I learned a lot about selenium and maybe it will come in handy in the future, although B/W is not the water I wallow in.
3) This forum will also have its flaws (and it does), but it is the most open forum I have found so far, where an inexperienced person like me can afford to criticize the work of older members and good photographers without fear of censure. This was written in black and white by @Hamish Gill at the beginning of its history and for what I know this promise has been kept.
1) The first photo for me is wonderful. That leaf of Petasites (perhaps in English it is called butterburs or coltsfoots?) is a major presence in the scene. It fills the emotional scene in the frame as if it were an animal, velvety but sentient and perhaps dangerous (in a video game he would be The Boss). The contrast with the delicate, snow-white geometries of the Anthriscus sylvestris inflorescences is epic. Then there is the water/sky flowing in the background as if to dilute the ongoing conflict in the larger breath of the passage of time. Like in a David Lynch film: the struggle between evil and good, and underneath the time flowing obliviously (well maybe this metaphor is far-fetched
).2) I learned a lot about selenium and maybe it will come in handy in the future, although B/W is not the water I wallow in.
3) This forum will also have its flaws (and it does), but it is the most open forum I have found so far, where an inexperienced person like me can afford to criticize the work of older members and good photographers without fear of censure. This was written in black and white by @Hamish Gill at the beginning of its history and for what I know this promise has been kept.
Ralph Turner
Well-Known Member
Indeed, Brian, both Rob's pics are belters.
Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
Which one?!
