Posted by John Freeman on August 23, 2014 at 11:25 AM
A little off topic for this group but I appreciate this groups critiques. Would appreciate comments. High res viewer is available at http://www.abbascreationsphotography.com/Morine_Lake_Panotour/Morine_Lake_tour.html
The original un-cropped version of this panorama consists of 320 individual frames 22.5 megapixel images shot with Canon 5Diii using 70-200mm lens @ 95mm f/11.0 with bracketed mode, five brackets. This is an HDR processed image and finished size is:
605 Megapixels
15561 x 38908 pixels
52" x 130" 300 ppi
HDR processing was done with Olono PhotoEngine's batch processing and then stitched using Kolor Autopano Giga 3.6
Posted by Howard Cihak on August 23, 2014 at 12:58 PM
John, this is a beautiful pre-dawn scene. The reflection appears flawless. However, I believe the visual element in the lower left corner is a distraction that adds nothing to the scene. I would also suggest you try an application of a very gentle Curve adjustment to add some life to a not very contrasty shadowed area in the scene.
Finally, the inclusion of your copyright in the lower left corner is acceptable while the large overprint of it in the sky detracts from the viewer's ability to visually appreciate the image. Moreover, there is nothing easier to remove from an image than a copyright on a featureless section of blue sky.
Posted by John Freeman on August 23, 2014 at 3:32 PM
Howard, thanks for the critique. By visual element in lower left I assume you are referring to the triangular reflection of the mountain. I would say removing it would be altering the image too much. Only way I can think of to remove it would be to crop off the left hand side of image. Would that be your suggestion? This version has actually been cropped on left side some already. Originally there was an out of focus nearby tree at the left edge.
I recognize large overprint of copyright is fairly easy to remove. I often use these small jpg files on facebook etc. Figure if someone is going to try to steal the image I will at least make them work for it a little.
Posted by Howard Cihak on August 24, 2014 at 4:06 AM
John, I meant the small rock outcropping on the lower RIGHT corner. Pardon my confusion. As for large overprint of copyright, I suggest you consider what your motive is for posting your images in the first place. I presume it's to garner some attention and recognition for your photographic skills. If so, then the large overprint is self-defeating.
Secondly, you might want to investigate the history of court decisions in favor of photographers winning copyright claim jumping cases. To begin with, prosecuting them in federal courts is extremely costly, and the financial rewards are comparatively negligible. Bottom line, expect anything you post on the internet will be stolen and just accept that as the price of inexpensive self-promotion.
Posted by Jack Brauer on August 26, 2014 at 1:54 PM
Hi John, this is a nice scene. The comp isn't that great, though, in my opinion - specifically, most of the light action and interesting lines are in those distant mountains towards the right, while the big dark mass of mountain on the whole left side isn't really doing much for the image. Additionally, it's slightly frustrating to see the nice reflection of the more interesting mountains cut off. Overall, I feel like I want to put my mouse on the lower right portion of the image and drag that whole area up into the frame more, perhaps even including some more of the foreground you might have had there. One thing that might help would be to go even more HDR to work in more brightness and contrast into the shadowy area on the left, to enhance the nice triangular lines created by the talus fields, which might help balance the image more.
Posted by Stan Rose on August 27, 2014 at 12:15 PM
I agree with Jack for the most part. Personally, I like the dark feel, the shadows are peaceful to me. But from a buyer's perspective, there is just too much shadow, it's dominant. Depends on what you want to do with the print (I assume it will be printed, otherwise there's no point in a gazillion pixels). If it's for you, then it doesn't matter what Jack or I think. The one thing I would do is add a little strip of pseudo sky on top; the top of the peak is just too close to the top edge.
Posted by John Freeman on August 28, 2014 at 9:51 AM
So Jack and Stan, what I am taking away as input is to crop the left 25%-33% of the photo off. I agree that this portion of the image is dark. Especially in the jpg versions that got downloaded. I still have not been able to quit figure out why most of the images I download to this site seem to be significantly darker than the originals in Photoshop. Would be curious if you viewed the high resolution view on my web site? That version is significantly lighter. I agree with you Stan that "I like the dark feel", it captures the moments and feel of those few minutes just before the sun settles below the horizon. Thanks for your feedback.
Discussion
6 repliesThe original un-cropped version of this panorama consists of 320 individual frames 22.5 megapixel images shot with Canon 5Diii using 70-200mm lens @ 95mm f/11.0 with bracketed mode, five brackets. This is an HDR processed image and finished size is:
605 Megapixels
15561 x 38908 pixels
52" x 130" 300 ppi
HDR processing was done with Olono PhotoEngine's batch processing and then stitched using Kolor Autopano Giga 3.6
Finally, the inclusion of your copyright in the lower left corner is acceptable while the large overprint of it in the sky detracts from the viewer's ability to visually appreciate the image. Moreover, there is nothing easier to remove from an image than a copyright on a featureless section of blue sky.
I recognize large overprint of copyright is fairly easy to remove. I often use these small jpg files on facebook etc. Figure if someone is going to try to steal the image I will at least make them work for it a little.
Secondly, you might want to investigate the history of court decisions in favor of photographers winning copyright claim jumping cases. To begin with, prosecuting them in federal courts is extremely costly, and the financial rewards are comparatively negligible. Bottom line, expect anything you post on the internet will be stolen and just accept that as the price of inexpensive self-promotion.