NikonGear'23
Images => Critique => Topic started by: Olivier on October 30, 2015, 21:01:26
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Nikon 1 V1 IR (720nm), 10-30mm lens, 33 shots handheld.
I am still debating about the contrast. It could be increased, but I like it this way.
Any critique is welcome.
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Auvers sur Oise, i recognize the chateau in the distant back
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I have returned to this photo several times. It has an appeal that grows on you and perhaps the detailed rendition of the foliage and other minute components contributes towards this end. Thus it is suited for a rewarding image exploration over time.
Usually digital IR tends to be on the dull side unless one enhances local and overall contrast. You apparently are aware of this. My recommendation would be to give the picture a work-over in contrast.
The perceived slightly "fisheye"-like curving of lines is perhaps an inevitable consequence of the stitching?
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I'm not completely clear how you got here, but I really like the result.
Plus there are aspects that remind me of Portugese Man O'War jellyfish hanging in the water :)
Here's an example (not taken by me - just to illustrates some of the spiralling shapes)
(http://40.media.tumblr.com/6ad7d5260baaf958ebb8c80ee818ca5e/tumblr_npdcqdCwQw1riijaro1_1280.jpg)
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Fons, it is Méry sur Oise, the city just on the other side of the Oise river. The two castles are just 1km apart! I have shown many pictures of this one indeed.
Bjørn: thank you. I enjoy those trees very much. The endless and crooked branches never cease to enchant me...
The original shot is quite dull as you can imagine, and I have already increased contrast and "structure" (micro contrast in Nik's tools) a fair amount, maybe not enough yet. I am always worried that I overdo it so will wait and play with that tomorrow and may post something if I am happy with it.
The tree curvature is purely artificial indeed. It had to compromize on something to get the ground more or less flat. There may be a better way to stitch and keep everything straight but I didn't find it!
The angle of view is probably near 180° horizontally and vertically.
Colin: thank you, it is so nice to read you again. I was just standing underneath the tree and shot in all directions... Obviously some people though I was more than strange...
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Olivier, this is amazing! How did you combine 33 shots? Focus stacking and panorama stitching? The fisheye-like distortion effect works to me.
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Colin, that Portugese Man O'War i fantastic!
Oliver, I side with Bjørn that the big sycamore could benefit from a moderate increase in contrast.
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Very interesting and oddly captivating. This image seems to have one foot in realty and the other in fantasy.
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Olivier, again?
Don't change anything to the image I love it as is!
So many shades of grey, it's unbelievable. By increasing contrast I am afraid the subtleties would be lost.
Colin, that image is great. Tell us more about how you captured it, please :)
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I have to agree with Jakov about the contrast. Sometimes can can spoil an image by trying too hard. I think this is one of those images that will look really nice printed on good paper - big.
Colin - very interesting image!
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Colin, for some reason your image did not show up yesterday. It is fantastic indeed! I could spend hours watching the transparency of the aerial part, almost acting as a lens, and the starry and mysterious world under the water. Gary's comment is spot on.
Akira: nothing special, no focus stacking here. The DOF you get with the V1 is enough actually. I just shot the 33 pictures, worked them in PhotoNinja and threw the TIFs in Autopano. The hard part is then to find acceptable settings to avoid too much distorsion.
Elsa: I entertain the idea that some day I will acquire a printer, just for B&W.
Thanks everyone!
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Here is the picture with more contrast
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the different tones on the leaves are fascinating, beautiful results
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I prefer the first posted image. The second one becomes too busy for me and the feeling/mood in the image is lost. IMHO
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I agree that there is an overload of detail in the background with the increased contrast. Perhaps contrast enhancement could applied locally only to the foliage on the tree-trunk?
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Very interesting and oddly captivating. This image seems to have one foot in realty and the other in fantasy.
+1
What a wonderful image. As Elsa, I much prefer the first one.
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Olivier, thanks for the disclosure of the technical background. I would also prefer the original version. The trunk and the branches are good accent in the image, and they stand out better in the original one.
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Here is the picture with more contrast
I'll be the odd man out and give my preference to the second. A beautiful piece!
Eb
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What a beautifully characterful tree!
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Thanks again!
I guess it is difficult to debate about contrast and details on a image reduced for web posting, and since I don't print much (yet), it may remain a moot point.
Anyway, here is a very similar view, same place, same castle, same tree, just from the other side of the trunk. 7 images pano.
the other image is a wide view, from far behind the tree just to show the whole beast in the park.
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Thanks for the extra images Olivier, they set the context nicely and I'm impressed with the girth of the trunk.
....since I don't print much (yet)
My feeling is that the first/second image you posted would be very pleasing as a printed image. I get a lot of enjoyment from seeing my images at (say) A3 or A2 size, and also having them round the house for other people to see.
Though I still own an Epson A3 colour printer, I haven't used it for years and get mine done from an online supplier. I'm sure I could tease some extra quality by a DIY approach (and this may be more relevant for B&W prints), but I'm pretty happy with the results so far.
Jellyfish
For those that asked about my first post here, it wasn't my image - just included it to explain my comment.
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Thanks again!
I guess it is difficult to debate about contrast and details on a image reduced for web posting, and since I don't print much (yet), it may remain a moot point.
Anyway, here is a very similar view, same place, same castle, same tree, just from the other side of the trunk. 7 images pano.
the other image is a wide view, from far behind the tree just to show the whole beast in the park.
Yes, it is impossible to know exactly what viewers see on their equipment! However, contrast rendering is very important in a subject such as this with so much reliance on fine detail.
Thanks for posting the sequel shots which are just as impressive.
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Thanks!
Colin, do you print online because it is cheaper or simpler?
The decent printing companies I have found in France really hammered me so far, so I tend to limit the amount of prints to almost nothing...
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A mixture really Olivier.
The price seems fair and I'm happy with the quality. Also my home A3 printer hasn't been used in years and was getting less reliable in its last few months.
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I like the first version and, even if ment to be explanatory only, the last one posted.
There is a huge, nearly overwhelming amount of (leave) detail unveiled in the fine contrast gradation in the first pic.
Contrast has just the right balance not to make the branches and limbs stand out too prominent.
Looking at the pic the gaze soon starts moving through the details.
The shiny translucent light gives it a certain unrealness.
The fisheye bend of the main branch helps earthing the gaze at the house in the background where the eye comes to a rest.
At least for some time, there is no real steadiness here.
Very interesting but not a pic that calms my sensory neurons.
The last one does.
It is a sensory relief.
Nice, simple story: reduced number of elements, illumination by the clouds light dome,
easy to focus on the house in the background which is the only man made object in a lot of nature,
spectators view goes from shadow to light,
2 gatekeeper trees just allow fo the view, the asymetry is following the pointing limb.
Dimished overall lighting and contrast are providing a disimpassioned impression.
A documentary with a story, something I can fall for easily.
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Hi Thomas
Thank you for the detailed comment, it is helpful and very interesting to understand what people see in my pictures.
The unrealness mostly comes from the IR effect on leaves for me, and from the overwhelming entanglement of branches. I actually like running throught the image, following the lines...
Just for fun I printed the first version of the picture at work, on an A3 laser printer... It was actually quite decent, surprisingly so given the printer/paper combination.
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Mongo very much likes the first posted image as is. The last two are not too shabby either ! nice work
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I like the fisheye-bending and the IR-style. It is a classic landscape scene with a strone foreground. thank you.
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Same place, in winter. The castle and the gardens were crowded yesterday as the municipality had organized a book fair, quite successfully so.
V1IR, many shots...
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Wonderful ir images
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Olivier, your post-processing is amazing (apart from everything else which is great too).
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Olivier, your IR images with the converted V1 never cease to amaze me.
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Well, thank you Fons, Jakov and Akira.
It is interesting for to see how confident I get with the IR camera, more than with any other camera...
Jakov, the post-processing part is probably more luck here, it is IR in itself that you like (and you master it so well btw)!
Edit: I changed my last sentence which did not make any sense...