Preparation

[madshutterbug]

Today's entry is preparation work for next month's Camera Club competition. I'm embarking on another experiment here, to provide you folks with time to kick me some on whether the image works or not. Camera Club allows me to enter a total of six photos into the critique/competition: 2 in Colour, 2 in Monochrome, and 2 in Creative (Non-photo-realistic). The theme for next month is 'Mirror', looking to get both the reflecting surface and the subject reflected into the photograph.

Comments

[barry-king.livejournal.com]

Nice overall image, very good use of texture and light. Pretty broad midtonal range, though. Can you compensate for levels, or is that verboten for this competition?

[madshutterbug.livejournal.com]

Not verboten, and I will most likely take a look at that. Thanks.

[jeliza]

Ditto. I would either adjust the overall contrast or do some localized dodging and burning to really lead the eye around where you want it to go; right now I *see* the pond and the ball, but then I go back to the really dark place under those big spikey grasses and stay there.

If you are really going to do some post-processing, and want the gazing ball to be the focus, I'd work with lens blur to create a version of this image with much less d-o-f.

Alternately, I'd crop the left half out.

(sorry, I guess I'm just chatty today.)

[madshutterbug.livejournal.com]

Which direction to adjust contrast? This one is already bumped a bit to the plus side.

[jeliza]

Increase, yes, but possibly by compressing the midtones and expanding the shadows and highlights.
What technique are you using to increase your contrast?

[madshutterbug.livejournal.com]

Contrast & Brightness, increase contrast (+11 IIRC), no change on brightness.