Scouting The Workshop on the Gitche Gumee
August 18, 2009 by Alec
Filed under Landscapes
click image
I’m still digesting the amazing workshop week we all experienced. I have to send out a BIG THANK YOU to all the participants, including Marek, Amy, Mark, Sharon, Chet, and Travis, who assisted and contributed to the wonderful vibe of the group.
I went out Sunday afternoon before the workshop to scout a trail in Gooseberry State Park. I decided to just shoot “long” regardless, forcing myself to see differently and in hard light. This image was near the end of the Gitche Gumee trail on the bluff overlooking the mouth of the Gooseberry River. I’ve used some selective focus technique that has become a little popular in some circles and I’m curious to know you’re reaction to both the image and the post production technique.
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AJ! I have been enjoying your images from the north shore (as well as Amy's). I am still not certain how I feel about this particular image. It gives me a feeling of viewing a miniature model made my an architect firm. The selective focus is unexpected and causes me to view the scene from afar. I don't feel as connected to it. How do you feel about it?
KG
Cool image, Alec. But personally, I find the blur of the lighter portion of the image a bit distracting. Maybe it's just me, but I can't really tell if there are blurred trees in the background or an out-of-focus branch six feet from the camera in the foreground. I know what you're trying to accomplish (drawing the viewers attention to the focused area of the image), and that frequently works well. I'm just not sure about this particular image. I'll be curious to see what other feedback you get. Again, it could be just me.
I like these “miniature” scenes generally. I thought this was a golf course at first, with the reflected person near the right side looking like the flag on the green. A good name for this mythical course would be Pebble Beach, I guess. But no, it's not a course, it is an actual pebble beach. I'm not sure the composition works 100% for me, but I'm not sure why. The point at the top of the frame is at a weird angle, or maybe it just looks out of place compared to the nearer, more naturally shaped (?) points, and I might agree with Kevin that the upper right vegetation looks weird. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
As far as post-prod goes, I first thought, what's involved, this is a lensbaby shot, but then I notice 2 distinct areas of focus, far apart in distance, which is unusual. Then there was your comment about shooting long, which must mean a telephoto, with the blur added in post. The effect is good, creating some questions which are fun to try to answer in my head. I like the mystery of it.
My memory of effects like this (using a tilt-shift) usually involve color pics, with the color or contrast hyped a bit to add a bit more unreality to the scene. Depending on what colors the people are wearing, this might add to the pic. If this was a golf course, the greens would be nice to see with plaid-wearing people strolling around. It could be that seeing it in B&W further confuses my expectations.
Overall, I like the shot, the effects, the disconnection from reality. I'd like to see the shot before editing to really know about the post-prod work. Adding blur after the fact is tougher than it looks, isn't it?
This is a fun image. A few years ago (well, more than a few) I was taking photos of miniature trains, and attempting to make them look real and full size. It was a fun project……I never thought to do the exact opposite. Well done.
Chet
Hi Gang,
First, THANK YOU for sharing your comments and I'm thrilled that you're willing to…this is how we all get a better sense of what we like and dislike in our photography. It takes courage to ask people what they think, it takes EVEN MORE to tell that person. This is the truth, as I've come to know it.
Let me first specifically address the post production piece. IN PHOTOSHOP (for you Jeff and Chet
) I duplicated the background layer. To that new layer I applied 20 points of gaussian blur…Kevin and Jeff, your comments led me to think that was just too much blurring. Then I applied a layer mask to the blurred layer and painted with black at 15% opacity to bring back in areas of sharpness.
Jeff, folks will use the tilt shift to accomplish this affect, though its affect is a little different than the appearance here.
I've seen a fair bit of this around and generally haven't appreciated the look or process. Honestly, I consider it a little gimmicky for my tastes, but I'm always willing to experiment and play.
Same is true with this particular capture. I was scouting, it was hard light (which immediately gets me thinking black and white) and I was quite a ways from this scene, shooting at 200mm. So, I knew it was a difficult composition and if I had taken the time I'm sure I could have found several others I might have liked better.
So, to Kim's question, How do I feel about? I took the first composition I had, shot it, and used a gimmick try to turn lemons into lemonade. I also really enjoy the entire image and feel, but not so much that I wanted to just post it. I was quite on the fence with this one. I had enough intangible apprehension about the image to specifically ask for a response to it and see if we could all gain a little insight by exploring this one.
So, my question to all of you if you're still reading at this point; What insight have you gained about your OWN process by looking at this image?
Alec, I can identify with your efforts. I like to experiment with shots that have some potential, but don't quite do it for me. You had the guts to just put it out there and ask for comments. Admirable. I think my take on this whole endeavor is that, when part of an image is realistic, it's unsettling for another part to be changed so much as to be unrealistic. Finding that balance point between realism and lack thereof is the trick.