The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Monet famously painted the Rouen Cathedral over and over again, but in different light. These photos from Big Sur are an homage to him. They were taken at sunset and the time span from the first to the last is only ten minutes. It is interesting how quickly the light changes. For me magenta is a very tricky color to deal with in color photography. I often have to decrease the saturation to keep the photo from looking too garish. Also, many sunset photos, especially at the sea, have a definite magenta cast and there is a fine line between it looking beautiful or unnatural. Interestingly, I can take the first and lightest of these photos and decrease the exposure in Photoshop and pretty closely mimic the other three photos without distorting the hue or making it look weird. I read about magenta and found some interesting things about it. Most of what I read is over my head, but the simple version is that magenta is not a âspectralâ color, that is, not one that exists in the visible light spectrum. It is a mixture of two spectral colors, red and blue, in equal portions. Not sure what that really means, but it definitely behaves differently in post processing than its parents, red and blue.
Specific Feedback
Not interested in critique as much as you sharing your experiences with magenta light
Technical Details
Canon 100-400 lens at 115 mm, f4.5, shutter speeds varying from 1/8 sec to 4 seconds, ISO 400, taken in late December
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Thanks Igor! Very informative video, especially the first part. One take home message: color doesnât exist in reality. Color is subjective. Red, green and blue actually exist as waves with different wavelegnths. Magenta does not exist in realityâŚthere is no magenta wavelegnth of light. Our eyes have rods and cones which percieve the amounts of red, green, and blue in magenta and then sends that info to our brain which creates a magenta experience. And because each of us have a different set of rods and cones in our eyes, we perceive âcolorâ differently. And so does every species with eyesight perceive color differently. Itâs a little heady thinking what I am doing with the color sliders in Photoshop is doing exactly what our brains are doingâŚcreating a subjective (and changable) experience of color.
There was another video I once saw that I canât find it that was really valuable. It talked about how to achieve color balance, or how we perceive color balance. For example, an image with equal amounts of blue and yellow is harsh to our eyes. Either of the two should domiate the other. A good balance is a blue image with highlights of yellow or the opposite, a yellow image with a dash of blue. These ideas have influenced my work. I no longer try to make things look ânaturalâ but try to make images look beautiful. I mean, even Eliot Porter was accused of making his colors unreal and we think of him as the epitome of realism.
BTW, I do know the Monet paintings that inspired your images.
Gorgeous sunset and colors! I would think that everyone of us have experienced some gorgeous sunsets. I know I just love the transition of colors, all the way through twilight and beyond.
Good topic on color too. And thanks for the video link @Igor_Doncov . Very informative, but did get way down in the weeds and beyond my interest in absorbing all the âvaluesâ and means of measuring. But still, very interesting concept between numbers/measurements - and perceptions. Also, how each individual may have different color responses based on their own âconesâ and other subjective factors. This really explains, or at least justifies all of our interpretations of color, hue, saturation, etc.
Even a statement/claim I use often, âthis is certainly within the realm of being naturalâ, is purely subjective and different between each individual.
One other thing to acknowledge is that all our tools - from the camera (and internal processing algorythms), to PS/LR/ACR or any other photo processing software - are purely about numbers and algorythms - there is no subjectivity. for example, a color value of R128 G128 B128 is neutral gray, right? Well, even though thatâs what the numbers define, that doesnât mean we each see that same gray (not even counting monitors, color spaces, etc.)
Anyway, a good exercise in thought and thanks for posting.
