Thanks. I burned the plant down as much as I could. I tried to clone but it didn’t look natural so I left it as best I could. You can see the shadow of the wings on the plant. Thanks for showing interest.
Gil: I can’t recall anyone posting a B&W dragonfly in a long time if ever. I very much like the graphic nature of the image and don’t mind the highlights at all. Nicely conceived, composed, captured and presented. >=))>
Thanks. I was lucky to get this image. He was flying and landed and I zoomed in and focus and prayed I had everything else close. Huge cropping in edit. I like the wings and reflection of the wings on the plant. Thanks for showing interest.
I understand how it seems a bit harsh. I’m pretty much a B&W photographer. I love contrast and lines and old school photography. Perfection is not the goal but create from a different vibe. Show another way. Thanks for showing interest. . Peace to the Planet.
Gil, I too don’t recall a dragonfly image in B&W before. Interesting take on it. I started out in B&W back in the 70’s so I do appreciate it. Your post is 5000 pixel on the long end and it is recommended to keep it 2000 or below I believe. When I brought it up in large view it wasn’t looking the good quality that I am sure you would like. Hard to see the details in it. Glad you are keeping B&W alive.
Thanks for showing interest. I was lucky to get what I got. He landed and I zoomed in and focus so fast. He was a long way away. I never see photography as perfect. Just a capture in time. A small image for my Photobook/Journal. Just to share my experience on the NPN is way to cool for an old man like myself.
I don’t really understand pixels … Like most images the larger you make them the less sharpness… For my 8x10 book I hope it will be good enough. Thanks for showing interest and the info.
Gill – a scoop! A pixel doesn’t have a size! (And that’s not even quantum mechanics.) When you export a JPEG from your mater file you can tell it how many pixels on a side, and it will either shrink the information or expand it. Usually it does a pretty good job so nothing to worry about. But the recommended 200 (about) is what fits on most monitors. When someone has posted a bigger image you can click on it twice and see a much more magnified version – like here. If they created the JPEG properly it will be true to their master file and it may show flaws you won’t see in a smaller size.
I see those flaws here, even in the smaller size that first comes up – which are probably from your processing. For me, this sort of thing is artifacts which should have been minimized either in capture or processing. That’s different from film grain or contrast, which is an artistic choice.
The granularity around the body is due to issues with noise reduction (NR). In LR there is a built-in process which is generally good – it’s called Denoise – in the Detail section. Not sure where it is in ACR. That balanced with the Shadows and Highlights sliders are probably most of what you need. Forget sharpening. It’s mostly snake oil. That’s what the camera and lens are for.
Keep asking stuff – none of us was born knowing this.
Here is my story … Shirley Freeman brought to my attention on my Dragonfly image how there was a better way. Diane Miller also began telling me that i should look at this image and re edit . We then began exchanging ideas and she really brought to my attention ,things i could do to improve my image. Highlight and Shadow Faders were brought to my attention. Didn’t know they existed. Sharpening tools and less contrast and just over all improvements. She really gave me her time and knowledge about shooting and editing… I learned a lot from Diane. That is what the NPN is all about to me. We are all learning. We all love photography… Thanks to Diane and everyone here at the NPN.
You’re very welcome, Gill – it’s wonderful to be able to share my knowledge – all of which was stolen from someone else!!!
I think this new version is a huge improvement. Even with the higher level of craft, you can still do your take on the art end! For me, art builds on craft and is greatly diminished without craft, which allows intention into the picture. (You probably will forever practice your music…)
