Fountain at the Concord, Paris

[Priya Viseskul]

I took these shots while Jim was busy playing with his ND filter.

We were there around noon and the sun was shining in its full Winter glory. At first I tried the "long" exposure, though without neither the filter nor tripod of course the shutter speed was not long enough and the shots did not come out so smooth.

#1

So I reverted to the faster shutter speed. The frozen droplets in the air seems to yield better result.

#2

#3

When encountering a fountain, would you generally go for smooth, flowing water or frozen spray?

 

[adrian jordin]

The worlds least useful answer...."It depends...."

If you've got continous jets or streams of water then the longer exposure may well be better..if you've got several jets spraying water in all directions, freezing the spray would be my choice.

I think #2 is excellent, but the effect doesn't work so well in #3.
I'd try and take both and have more fun deciding...

 

[Pete Askew]

These are really interesting Priya. For me, each works but for different reasons. I the brush-like texture the slightly longer exposure has created in the first one especially against the darker elements (although I'd probably have cropped the upper area of to keep just 2 main tonal groupings - losing the upper shadow). I also like the frozen and lit spray in the second (I guess I agree with Adrian's answer of "depends"), especially the mix of dark and light droplets. The third I like for a totally different reason. As a colour shot of the fountain (with the OOF wheel behind) it is good in it's own right. But adding the textural overlay of the frozen droplets lifts it above that. It now seems to have some sort of dream-like quality that I really like. A bit of edge glow could really enhance that further I think.

Do you have a preference?

 

[Brian Moore]

Priya,...I agree with Adrian. I also like #2 better as well: the drops of water shimerring and frozen in time and the sill-oo-ett work very nicely together. As to 3, I like it rendered in color, but I find the Ferris wheel a wee bit of a distraction. However, the way the image is composed (or cropped) suggests you intended the Ferris wheel as a feature in the picture. So maybe it's just not working for me.

 

[Priya Viseskul]

Pete - "A bit of edge glow could really enhance that further I think" ... any advice on how to achieve the effect?

I like the third one best - with the festive feel the the wheel and droplets give. But, like Brian, I think the wheel makes the picture a tad too busy. I would like to improve it but not really sure how.

 

[Paul Lange]

I think number 2 is really good. The conflicting elements of a still statue and the movement of the water is really interesting IMO. The moving water has been frozen by the fast shutter speed and paradoxically it has given the statue a sense of movement.

 

[Priya Viseskul]

I adjusted #3 a bit, adding a bit more highlight and less clarity to make it lighter and softer ... does it look better?

 

[Chris Dodkin]

I love that effect in #1 - looks almost like a line drawing the way that the water has caught the light

 

[Hamish Gill]

I love the photos, the first 2 equally for different reasons ...
I think that really answers your question... there is no answer, experiment, take photos and be happy with the results you are happy with, regardless of technique used!

The adjusted version of three could quite easily be a post card i think! it certainly has a postcard feel to it! i like it!

 

[Priya Viseskul]

Thank you everyone for the feedback and kind words

 

[Tim Pindar]

I like 1 and 2 a lot, and find the different results fascinating. Good photography and a good thread too!

I too would like to hear more about "edge glow".

 

[Pete Askew]

Sorry for the delay in replying. I usually use the glow effects in Nik ColorFX but you can achieve something very similar in PS. The version of the image below was created by converting a copy layer into a smart filter and then applying gausian blur (quite heavy - 3 px in this case) and changing the blending mode to hard light. Then I adjusted the opacity to suit and used a layer mask to fine tune it. Using the original file you should be able to get a more subtle effect that gives the edges a glow and adds a dream-like quality.

 

[Priya Viseskul]

That is very striking, Pete. I like it.

And thank you for the details, I will give it a try.