Windblown

And original color version only adjusted highlights and converted to jpg….

image

Another windy summer day a few days ago experimenting with slow shutter speeds in a field of grasses.

Specific Feedback Requested

Do you like it in the original color or black and white better? Does it work? Anything else

Technical Details

300mm, ISO 100, f29, 1/15 . Lowered the highlights on the color one.

2 Likes

Great image. I like the B&W version best, it is more soft and dreamy.

Another vote for the B&W version. I like your high key presentation and use of diagonals Vanessa.

I really like the color version a lot. It conveys motion and a moment. It works.
Some nitpicking things for me. Dust spots upper left. Distracting clump of grass upper right.

I pretty much agree with Eva. I like the b&w because of it’s higher key presentation. I could easily switch to color if it was more high toned. I think the nature of the subject calls for that.

Hi Vanessa, thank you for sharing these two variations. I took some time to think about both images. I feel that the color image conveys more of the texture and subtle tonal variation in the grasses over the black and white version so that would be my preference. I would recommend cloning out the dark spot on the upper right. Also the curvy grass that swoops in from the bottom left catches my eye and conflicts with the rest of the diagonal lines of the grasses.

I think I like the warmth of the color version, Vanessa. Both are terrific, and I usually gravitate towards the B&W, but in this case, the color hits me nicely.

Thank you @Ola_Jovall @Eva_McDermott @Igor_Doncov @Matt_Payne @Alfredo_Mora @David_Bostock for all your feedback and comments. Now I don’t know if I like b&w or color better! Thanks for noticing the dust spots @Matt_Payne ! I usually remember to look for and get rid of those! I have a big one right in the middle of all my photos that I always have to get rid of, it looks like a bird! :sweat_smile: I really need to send my camera body in to get cleaned but don’t want to not have it. Also thanks for noticing the clump of grass @Alfredo_Mora in the top right, but I’m not sure which one you mean on the bottom. @Igor_Doncov do you mean by high tones that I should move the highlights up? Anyway I really appreciate everyone taking the time to look and comment! Thanks!

Composition idea: The bottom part of image has less structure than the upper part.

2 Likes

Cleaning your sensor on your own is way easier than people think, although I appreciate why people are scared to do it.

1 Like

I’ve actually looked it up and followed a video and tried but I can’t seem to get the big piece of debris out @Matt_Payne . I can’t even see it. Maybe it’s something else, and I know it’s definitely not either of my lenses…

I think I like your idea @Igor_Doncov . I’ll have to give it a try.

Vanessa,

Love this! I certainly get the sense of the wind, and certainly it brings home the sense of a field of grasses blowing in the wind.

For me, I’m more drawn to the color version. IMHO, the b&w doesn’t have enough tonal variation which for me reduces the sense of wind and motion. Also, the details don’t stand out like they do in the color version.

The seed pods or grass stalks have enough detail to show the viewer, that yes, we’re looking at grasses, yet the shallow dof and the slight motion blur really add to the overall impact of this image.
Oh, and I really like Igor’s first version (cropped is too cramped for me…), but I love the lighter, more high-key look. Yet the details of the grasses remain.

the only remaining suggestion would be to clone out the dark fuzzy blob in the URC, whichever version you end up with.

This works wonderfully. Kudos!

Lon

1 Like

What kind of camera is it? If not mirrorless, it might actually be on the mirror.

Yeah, it is a mirror. It’s a Nikon D3400, it was a package that came with 2 different lenses. It’s a model from 2018. I know it’s kind of entry level. And you’re probably right that it is the mirror @Matt_Payne . I watched a video where they have you open up the mirror part facing downward and you kind of shake it out. It seemed to move some things and I think it got rid of some dust but not everything and not the big piece which I thought that would have been the easiest one to fall out! I know it’s my fault because I was changing out my lenses a lot last year and the year before, and in windy conditions, not good. :frowning: Do you have any other suggestions for what to try to do?

Have you tried using a Giottos Blower on it?

I’ll have to try getting one! That was what they said is kind of a last resort I think. Thanks for the pointers @Matt_Payne !

An outstanding image, and I especially like the black and white version because it has more of a dreamy quality to it. If it were mine, I would consider cloning out that dark spot (OOF grass head?) in the upper right corner.

1 Like

Thank you, @Tom_Nevesely, for your feedback! It seems pretty unanimous to get rid of the clump of grass in the upper right corner! I think I like the black and white best too for the reasons you and others have mentioned. Appreciate you looking and comments!

Thanks, so much, @Lon_Overacker ! I agree, I don’t like the cropped either, I think it takes away from the movement. I’ll be sure to get rid of the blob! :slight_smile: But thanks for pointing out what Igor had done with the first one as I didn’t really catch what he did! But I like it too.