• Members 537 posts
    May 23, 2024, 6:33 a.m.

    I agree. The darker shadows and the well-lit dark greens give this a real mystery, and definitely enhances the original.
    Yes the brand new Lightroom remove tool works very well, as proved here and also on mine! (I used it to remove a couple sitting on the steps, whose top half was obscured by the bridge.) These new software toys give us the feeling of a child at Christmas and also give the chance to trawl through the catalogue on a rainy day, rescuing little treasures, which remained as Almosts until rescued by the new feature.

    Pete

  • Members 696 posts
    May 25, 2024, 5:27 p.m.

    Waterlili.jpg

    Waterlili.jpg

    JPG, 2.5 MB, uploaded by Sagittarius on May 25, 2024.

  • Members 1330 posts
    May 25, 2024, 5:30 p.m.

    That lily is very bright and wonderful against green leaves. Well captured.

  • Members 1648 posts
    May 26, 2024, 2:28 a.m.

    What a marvelous shot! The angle you chose with the murderer brandishing his weapon set against the sun is perfect. The body of the victim is wrapped and surrounded appropriately in red. The shapes and enigmas created by the shadows are captivating. More than good.

  • Members 1648 posts
    May 26, 2024, 2:35 a.m.

    You've made a lovely mix of an architectural image and geometric abstract. It takes a second look to decipher what this is and that's always a sign of a compelling image. The geometry dominates with the fretwork of chair bottoms pointing the way inward and upward to locate the soaring arches and the circular elements they support. Very nice image.

  • Members 1648 posts
    May 26, 2024, 2:41 a.m.

    Poignant reminder that history is often cruel, and we must wrangle with the ugly parts to avoid repeating it. The 8 little figures beneath the bridal parties seem rather innocuous until you explain what they represent. Brilliant catch

  • Members 1648 posts
    May 26, 2024, 2:46 a.m.

    Commanding use of color and form The smooth sharp lines of the cylinder offer additional emphasis especially contrasted against the rich blues of the background.

  • Members 1517 posts
    May 26, 2024, 10:47 a.m.

    Immediacy plus. No proscenium arch. No artistic lights. No close up editing. We are not even spectators, we are part of the circle so there is probably a dagger in one of our hands.
    Et Tu Roel?
    The costume designers may have been responsible for the attention grabbing red costume of Caesar but it was the photographer who framed the action beneath the outstretched arm and dagger. It was the photographer who turned the sun into a spotlight on power.
    Yet again, I note your use of cobblestone lines to control eye movement.
    If you had the opportunity to set this up it would be masterly. You caught it on the fly.

  • Members 1648 posts
    May 26, 2024, 1:30 p.m.

    It is a serene scene, capturing the movement into spring, with trees still bare (I think they are still winter-bare, not dead), and their peaceful reflections in the standing water beneath them. I do think I might get rid of the beige trash can or drain that is kind of an eye magnet. It takes eye-power away from the humble little bridge. Nice find.

  • Members 1648 posts
    May 26, 2024, 1:35 p.m.

    What a beauty! Rich color, fine detail. It would be a fine subject for a painting or pastel, too.

  • Members 1517 posts
    May 27, 2024, 8:33 a.m.

    An image where I would have been lost without Pete's notes. Even lokking at the shot at the larges magnification I can get, I wouldn't have grasped the significance of the eight figures and I wouldn't have understood the location. I'd have gussed from the angle chosen by the photographer on the bridge that behind me and to the right there ws something that makes an effective background.
    With the text it becomes a completely different image. There's a nice irony in the location's choice as a wedding locale.
    I think it is an image that needs to be grouped with other images that help bring out the history.

  • Members 1517 posts
    May 27, 2024, 8:39 a.m.

    An emphatic punctuation mark. Simple, concise and making its point.
    Can this file still be adjusted digitally? Can the white highlight to the right be toned down? I feel that it distracts from the simple boldness of the rest of the shot.

  • May 27, 2024, 8:56 a.m.

    I think the lighter area to the right gives context and makes the picture more interesting than it would be without it.

    David

  • Members 760 posts
    May 27, 2024, 3:08 p.m.

    Thanks for the comments, everyone.

    I was getting gas at a station attached to a grimy oil depot in an industrial area of Anaheim, CA, early 1980s. The morning fog was breaking up into large patches of bright but somewhat hazy sun. There was a curved line of bollards protecting an oil tank from the large tanker trucks that periodically filled it and the smaller distribution trucks that fed from it. The bollards had recently been painted, probably by one of the depot workers, who wasn't much concerned with neatness. He was probably satisfied the red paint did its job to signal the presence of the posts.

    The way they were spread out, I couldn't make a composition of more than a single bollard.

    I usually used Kodachrome 25, but had the "high speed" ASA (ISO) 64 stuff in my Olympus OM-1 35mm SLR. The Kodachrome didn't disappoint. The paint was dry, but that wonderful film makes it look like it's wet enough to drip right off the steel tube.

    Rich

  • Members 1517 posts
    May 27, 2024, 10:12 p.m.

    That's the way I see it too. Lots of horizontal lines plus a horizontal repetition of the stark trees shape and we have an image that is ideal for panorama format. The pinkish touch and enclosing curve of the foreground adds plenty of interest as well.

  • Members 1517 posts
    May 28, 2024, 8:21 a.m.

    I'm super impressed too. It's a feature I haven't tried as yet.
    With little blurring of the intersection of the wall and the floor, bottom left, we would be convincingly out of the museum and into Ichabod Crane country.

  • Members 1517 posts
    May 28, 2024, 8:27 a.m.

    It leaps to life when viewed large. First, the color contrast takes us there and then the sharpness of the petals and stamens concentrates our interest on the centre. The second bud adds a story as it waits to burst open and we know how it will then appear.

  • Members 1517 posts
    May 28, 2024, 9:03 a.m.