Nature Photographers Network
This is the preserved archive of the original Nature Photographers Network. The community continues at naturephotographers.network.
Lee Creek
‹ PreviousLandscape GalleryNext ›

Lee Creek

by Tony Colvin

Gallery: LandscapePosted November 12, 2010128 views17 comments
I took this image yesterday with a 28-105mm set at 50 mm, f/13, 1/25 sec and 100 ISO on a tripod. It was just past noon but some clouds blocked the sun for a few minutes, so it wasn't real bright.
I can't seem to get the crystal clear images that I see on this site. My images come out fine with film but this digital age is killing me. Thanks for looking.

Comments

17 comments
Comment posted by Joel DeYoung on November 12, 2010 at 10:50 PM
Tony, I like this composition very much. I looks like a very peaceful place. With a little bit of work in post, this shot could sing!

I can't seem to get the crystal clear images that I see on this site. My images come out fine with film but this digital age is killing me.


Hang in there! You can find a lot of information to help you from members here on NPN. One who's tutorials that has helped me a lot is Tony Kuyper. http://goodlight.us/index.html
Registered on July 12, 2009, 92 Posts, 1074 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Colvin on November 12, 2010 at 11:02 PM
Thanks Joel, I have learned alot here and Tony Kuyper site has alot of excellent info. I just need to be patient and hang in there. I really appreciate all the help I get from all the people on here, I just hope that I catch on before they give up on me.
Registered on December 2, 2009, 15 Posts, 93 Comments
Comment posted by Guy Tal on November 13, 2010 at 9:18 AM
Wonderful soft palette. The only thing I would suggest is a small counter-clockwise rotation and crop to eliminate the bright patch on the lower left corner. Film/digital are just different tools. The art of making great images has always been and always will be the same. Learning new skills is not always easy but it will help better match your work to your vision.

Guy
Registered on November 1, 2003, 566 Posts, 15507 Comments
Comment posted by Morris McClung on November 13, 2010 at 9:38 AM
For a shot like this I would push the sat and vibrance in the raw and a little more work on the curves adjustment. The colors and comp are nice, with Guy's crop of the bottom suggestion, there is a lot of potential here. I really like the calm reflection. Your exposure looks good, too. Just keep at it, the learning curve is a pain, but worth it imo.
Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments
Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on November 13, 2010 at 9:46 AM
Tony,

I think you have a nice photo here. The colors have good variation and the reflection is clear. In addition to the crop suggestion Guy made, consider a slight boost in contrast. Use a Curves adjustment layer and move the 191 input point up just a few points and the 64 input point down a few points so that you create a shallow S-curve where the mid point at 128 stays where it is. This should help in getting you that crystal clear look you mentioned. But as always photograph to your vision and liking. I hope that helps.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Colvin on November 13, 2010 at 11:58 AM
Thank you guys. I tried the crop and the CCW rotation. I also tried the curves as Youssef suggested. Is this any better? I sure appreciate everyones help.
Registered on December 2, 2009, 15 Posts, 93 Comments
Comment posted by Guy Tal on November 13, 2010 at 12:19 PM
The repost looks fantastic, Tony! I especially like how well the subtle riverbed patterns in the foreground come through in this version.

Guy
Registered on November 1, 2003, 566 Posts, 15507 Comments
Comment posted by Vance Gese on November 13, 2010 at 1:07 PM
Love the composition, Tony, and your repost is really outstanding. Beautiful work. You have a tremendous eye for composition, so hang in there with regard to the processing stuff. It will all come together.
Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments
Comment posted by Ed Cooley on November 13, 2010 at 4:07 PM
Nice color and reflection. I thought the color should be nice along Lee Creek. I hiked from this bridge to a 1/2 mile past the low water bridge a week or so ago and it was not nearly this colorful.

Thanks for posting Tony.

Look at the technique articles here on NPN and you will find all the help you need to get the sharpness you want.
Registered on August 22, 2007, 45 Posts, 547 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on November 13, 2010 at 4:57 PM
Repost is a definite improvement, even on my laptop. I like the scene quite well, especially ow the colored trees sort of bookend both sides of the image.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments
Comment posted by Chad Merrell on November 13, 2010 at 5:38 PM
The original was very nice. The repost is great!
Registered on July 8, 2010, 91 Posts, 304 Comments
Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on November 13, 2010 at 8:04 PM
Wonderful Tony. The repost has much more depth to it and the colors really come through nicely. Hang in there with the processing, its not easy to know what to do for each image, but with experience you'll get the hang of it.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Colvin on November 13, 2010 at 8:53 PM
Thanks for the help and encouragement everyone.
Registered on December 2, 2009, 15 Posts, 93 Comments
Comment posted by Morris McClung on November 14, 2010 at 4:07 PM
Got your e-mail, and checked it after your repost. Much better! You have really brought out the colors and light in it. Well done!
Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Pelton on November 14, 2010 at 8:45 PM
Beautiful image, Tony. Another thing you might consider is a good digital workflow book such as Tim Greys Photoshop CS4 workflow or even John Shaw's Photoshop guide. One thing I have learned on similar scenes is to push the exposure to the right of the histogram in ACR as far as you can (before blowing highlights). THis gives you much more information to work with from that point on.
Registered on November 25, 2003, 380 Posts, 4647 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Colvin on November 15, 2010 at 12:27 AM
Thank you Morris & Mark.
I will look for those books Mark, Thanks.
Registered on December 2, 2009, 15 Posts, 93 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on December 19, 2010 at 8:44 AM
Beautiful shot Tony, the rework really improved this one! :toast:
Merry Christmas :wavey:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments