I entered this challenge to get helpful feedback about my first serious PS attempt. Took the shot at an animal reserve (safari style) out of our car that was rolling along in a long queue of cars. Was lucky enough to get these bisons locking horns as we approached. Only had time for half a dozen shots while trying to avoid getting other cars in the picture. Put my Sony to manual and tried at 1/4s and 1/2s. Experimented with PS on basic techniques to push its limits without breaking the basic editing rules (at least I don't think I did but my PS is in French and so translating back and forth is not easy). Anyway, this is what I did, going back on certain adjustments and spent a seriously long time trying out different results:
adjusted levels, saturation and desaturation, curves, added noise, blur, saved to web and USM. Still haven't figured out how to do layers. The objective was to achieve a somewhat dreamlike motion of the bisons like it was a cross between whiffs from the spirit world and impressions of native Indian art (if that makes sense). : )
Don't really think it will score well and hesitated about entering it altogether. But then figured that if I want to learn, can't be too hung up about scores. ; ) So would sure appreciate some really useful comments and tips from DPC PS veterans.
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Place: 256 out of 296 Avg (all users): 4.2008 Avg (commenters): 3.6000 Avg (participants): 4.0805 Avg (non-participants): 4.2599 Views since voting: 1091 Views during voting: 361 Votes: 264 Comments: 9 Favorites: 0
Eileen, I thought this was great! I would've scored it a little higher if the one bison wasn't cutoff. This used the challenge to portray something other than just motion.
These animal are strong and powerful, you definately showed the violence and the shaking of the earth tha occurs when these two beasts butt heads. I also think that ghosting of the bison is a good metaphor for the spirituality of the bison to Native American lore. Also doubles as a great metaphor for their dissapearance from the American plains.
I wish I could capture that kind of meaning, and not just what's in front of me, in my photos. Well done and you definately undersold yourself in your comments.
I didn't vote/comment on this challenge, but I imagine there will have been lots of standard DPC 'perfectionist' photos entered, so no doubt compared to these yours didn't fit in.
For me, if you take a bit of time to look at your image (admittedly not something I always do when voting), the motion blur really adds to the atmosphere, almost as if you can feel the ground shaking because of the strength of the bison. I quite like the processing you've done too - very bold especially if you've not done much editting before. I'm not so keen on the whiteness of the ground as I think it's a bit distracting, buit maybe you couldn't do much about this.
As you said in the comments, it was never going to score particularly highly, but I'd be proud of this if I'd produced it.
Hi, Eileen. It is hard (but not impossible) to get great shots from a moving car. In another setting (such as Yellowstone - which is where I thought this photo came from) using a tripod, setting your shutterspeed slow - and waiting for the "action" allows you to get the background sharp and your participants blurred. Or in reverse, setting your shutterspeed high and panning (following the subject with the camera and taking a sequence of shots) allows a nicely blurred background and your subjects sharp.
In terms of levels, at the menu bar on the top - there is a pulldown called layers. It is much easier to work and image and make changes when you do things like levels, curves, saturation, and selective color in layers. so you go to the layers pull down, where it says adjustment layer -choose levels or curves . . . . this will create a layer and allow that adjustment. Then you go to the window pulldown - and choose Layers. There is a little eye that you can click on and it will take away that layer so you can see the difference. You can also go back and make further adjustments to a given layer without regard to the order that you worked them. If you have more questions - feel free to PM me.
This is a nice action shot with the buffalos butting heads - but I wish that the backgorund was not blurred and that the buffalos were the only thing motion blurred.
I know what you were after, but part of this shutter speed challenge is to have some crispness, at least, athe very least in your subjects eyes, or face. This is WAY too blurry. Try to take more than one pix next time and experiment with your shutter.
color ok, a bit bright, blacks good, whites need work, texture ok, comp needs work,lighting can't tell
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