Tafoni Baloney + reworks

I’m having trouble coming up with a title for my second tafoni. “Son of Tafoni”? I hope you’re not too offended by my poor taste in humor.

This second one sharpens up nice. Perhaps it’s because it was on a flatter plane and focusing was simpler. This one is even more subtle then the previous one. Almost colorless, it has a hint of color here and there and it’s in more appropriate intensity than the previous image.

This image is actually “above” the previous one. These two tafs are the ones you see as background in the previous image. I tried adding a color caste here as well and was unhappy with it.

D810, 24-70mm, tripod etc.

Please comment. I use your feedback to make adjustments (most of the time).

Nathan’s rework:

Ed’s rework:

I like this even better than the other one. If I had to critique anything it would be to clone out the dark area at top left of center. I know that’s being super nit picky.

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I agree …

I like this one even better too, the diagonal lines and colors play a stronger supporting role in this comp, adding significantly to the impact of the image. I thought your first tafoni image was pretty good, but this one is better IMO. I like the tonality here too, you started out a little darker than the first version of the other image.

In terms of deciding on a title, this one is somewhat obvious to me, I vote for “Twinfoni” we are sort of back in Arbus territory again… Ping Pong anyone ??

This image really does invite a comparison of the subtle differences between the two tafoni formations. But once you get over the initial comparison of the two, there are a lot of interesting elements that your eye can wander to in the rest of the image. So maybe this isn’t such a Ping Pong image after all.

Excellent use of diagonals Igor. your high presentation and subtle pastel colors are delightful.

I missed the first image in this series but I like the shapes and patterns in this image.

Allthough I think the muted colours work I thought I’d post a colourized option to demonstrate a different direction. I used some cyan to create some colour contrast.

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I struggled with that as I took this image. Then I thought that rules are made to be broken. And then I thought "How can I justify critiquing images on this rule if I don’t follow it myself. In the end I took the image because I liked it. It felt right. As you’re suggesting the tafoni don’t dominate this image like in the previous one. They’re part of it all somehow.

To see how I felt about it I cropped out one of them and compared the two images. At first I liked the cropped version. But slowly I decided the comp looks clicheish. I’ll briefly post in. Actually it looks pretty good.

I much prefer the original version with the two tafoni. The image with just one tafoni feels more static. The two tafoni version also shows more of the surrounding rock color/texture, which to me is a very appealing part of the original post.

This looks good, Igor. I would clone out or crop the dark area at the top as mentioned and I would give the saturation as serious boost to pull out some colors and color contrast. I prefer the original over your single tafoni version. Works nicely.

Here you go, Harley:

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Works for me. What do you think?

I greatly dislike it. But, to your point, I may have made up my intention when I took this image and don’t really want to change it.

I’ve looked at this for several days and can see it’s good points. What bothers me is how the yellow/orange patch on the left is starting to dominate the image. However, I do like the yellow in the cracks a bit more than in the original. You’ve certainly shown a different direction, as did Harley.

I had another thought on the direction of the rework that you did based on Harley’s suggestion.
Instead of adding saturation and contrast, consider this. I selected the darker grey tones in hte original image and added a photoshop cooling filter to the selection. This makes the tones darker, but then I reduced the blue saturation (lightening the tones slightly again), but still creating a shift in hue. To me this makes the stripes more prominent, and reduces the dominance of the warm tones that you are concerned about.

Superb image, Igor. I like this one much more than your first image, and I prefer your original post here over the various reworks. I like the more faint saturation over the more saturated version as well. The textures and somewhat counter-crossed lines make this so appealing.

Sorry @Igor_Doncov for the late response…I’m just joining the party so am coming at this without having read much of the comments. I just looked at your first three images…your presumed original, “Nathan’s rework” and “Ed’s rework”.

I must say that to me, I like your original best.

Please be patient with me here and let me know your thoughts on the following…I’ve gotten to the point of trying to let the images speak for themselves more than imposing my will upon them too heavily. For what its worth, I tend to try and simplify my processing to assure I’m emphasizing one, maybe two (with one dominant) of the following components…1) Light/contrast; 2) Color saturation/harmony; and 3) Texture/Detail. My point here is that texture and line speak more to me in this image than color and luminance/contrast here. By working the color contrast too heavily, I think it detracts from the texture/detail and detracts from the essence of what drew me to the excellent image in the first place.

Interested in your thoughts on the above and thanks for sharing! -Jim