Water as Stained Glass #3 + Rework

REWORK:

ORIGINAL:

What technical feedback would you like if any? What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Is it luminous enough? Are the large OOF areas annoying? Any other feedback welcome.

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Single frame, a73r, 24-105@105mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 640, hand held.

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#ig @bonnie_lampley
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Great image, Bonnie. I do lots of these, too, and love to experiment with composition, color, shutter speed, ISO, etc. These images keep my eyes wandering.

Technically speaking you may know, too, that there is almost always some compromise among ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. I find higher shutter speeds work best for freezing the moving water. If you are unsatisfied with blur, 1/200 sec may just be too slow. I typically set mine to about 1/2000 sec and see what the light gives me for aperture and ISO. It would be great to be able to shoot these at low ISO, high shutter speeds and high aperture, but that combination is just about nonexistent in my experience. As Galen Rowell taught us, there will always be compromise - the question is what are we willing to accept? IMO, this is a good image (and I particularly like the bottom half with that shadow snaking through!).

Bonnie, this is my favorite image so far of the “water as stained glass” series. I like having the stained glass fill the frame. Since this is essentially going full abstract, any OOF or soft areas do not bother me in the least, in fact I think it enhances the abstract effect. I also like how you have one strong horizontal line to break up the pattern of otherwise vertical lines.

And after all, since this is “stained glass”, my personal preference would be to see a little more luminosity in the highlights, and maybe a bit more contrast. Here is a rework with my preferences reflected.

Thanks, @Matt_Lancaster. I do know a faster SS would help. I’m in the habit of shooting full manual - I should let the aperture and ISO slide sometimes. I’m am too wedded to thinking I need more DOF with a smaller aperture - maybe it doesn’t matter with these so much.

Thanks for your continuing thoughts on these, @Ed_McGuirk. I’m finding your advice helpful.

I do like your rework, with more contrast and luminosity. The one thing that was stopping me from going this route was that the colors started to wash out. It finally occurred to me to try the lab color thing to deepen the color and brighten at the same time. I’ll post a rework above.

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Your rework looks great, nice idea to use LAB.

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Another good one Bonnie. The rework definitely steps it up a notch for me, too. Good series.

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The clarity and contrast of your rework is fantastic Bonnie.

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This is another beautiful image in this series. The mosaiq of patterns and the almost metallic colors hold a lot of interest. Interestingly, this reminds me of plant cells under a microscope from when I took biology in high school and college.

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Other than maybe suggesting a diagonal comp, I really like this image. It seems to have the perfect vignette for drawing the viewer into the center of the frame.

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Bonnie, the view is terrific. I prefer the extra contrast and darkness of the rework.

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