Very happy with this, but...

[abhivg]

From my recent trip to Ranthambore, Rajasthan, India



Some background on how it was taken:
I was in a canter (open top vehicle fitting 20 ppl for wildlife safaris). Tried to recompose to remove the out of focus leaves from the frame but was standing up between 2 rows of seats so not much room to move. Was taken in the morning with sun at the back of the tree.

Post processing: Adjusted the colour curves to bring out a golden feel and darken the outline of the tree.

This is one of my best shots till now and I am very happy with it. But still I would like to know how I can improve it
Any help would be appreciated.

TIA,
Abhi

[Daisho]

There is a nice technique to use leaves in the fore ground to frame a picture and lead to the subject, but unfortunately you did not manage it quite well. Thus the stuff is just distracting me from a nice, well lit subject. Check somewhere on the main page they are talking about this... but don't ask me where

[S_Sanyal]

First up, I envy you greatly for your trip to Ranthambore. went in 2005 and loved it.

I will refrain from "what you could have done" back at the location as I'm guessing you've already returned from there and it will be some time before you go back. So as in your previous post, I'll concentrate on salvage. Because there are some issues with the picture you've posted.

I understand that you're mobility was limited in the canter. But your foreground framing using leaves glaringly misses some semblance of completeness, especially the out-of-focus bunch, camera left is peeking into the picture without really framing, which would really be complete only if there was something either at the top or bottom and it was in continuum with leaves at the sides(there is a patch on top and bottom but they're just patches without much definition). One option is to crop it as you see fit. I wont say anything specific, you're the artist.

Something about the lighting seems oversaturated. It needs to go back a bit. Desaturate by say about 10%.

Your best shot at improving this picture is to use curves again (where you have concentrated on the colour), this time to give more definition and contrast through levels adjustment. Composition wise your main tree is bang in the centre and doesnt have enough presence in the frame,

If you chose not to fill the frame and keep about 50% of it hazy and unclear as is the case here, you will need a very very strong composition(i'm trying to say even stronger than this, though its evident you love THIS image ) . See the image below ( a much senior member here who I look up to a lot, Lee, walked me through this a few months back to help achieve what you see, i.e. the PP and hazy effect with my original composition)

Third, you have to know exactly what you mean to convey through this image, whether its an emotion, a feeling of loneliness, darkness, foreboding etc. etc. It sounds very artsy fartsy i know, but since you're on DPS, I'm guessing you intend to go beyond what you would have achieved otherwise



I hope I've been able to adequately illustrate all the rambling above through an image (sorry to subject you to such a long post, but its friday evening and i'm in weekend mood, hehe)

[Krusty79]

I usually like shots that are framed by some leaves or branches on the side, but for some reason, I also find them distracting in this shot. Can't put my finger on why. Also, I would not recommend composing the shot to put your subject right in the middle of it. See how S_Sanyal has his subject off to the side in his example? It gives the shot a more dynamic feel.

[Michael_2010]

Yep, without a doubt the gnarled tree sitting in the mist is the dominant subject of this shot and the stuff around the frame only serve to distract the viewer. Clean it up a little and I think you will have a great photo!

[dandellion]

I love it!
The only problem with blurred leaves in the foreground is that there is not more of it.

[sk66]

Agree with the others...and to me it's a bit flat....probably due to the mist/fog?

Anyways it's easily fixable..here's my take on it.

[abhivg]

Originally Posted by Daisho

There is a nice technique to use leaves in the fore ground to frame a picture and lead to the subject, but unfortunately you did not manage it quite well. Thus the stuff is just distracting me from a nice, well lit subject. Check somewhere on the main page they are talking about this... but don't ask me where

Yes, I know, I could have done a lot better. But it was very difficult as we were in a vehicle (as i mentioned on a safari ride) and the driver had stopped the vehicle for a couple of minutes and I tried to get the shot, standing cross legged and all

[abhivg]

Originally Posted by S_Sanyal

First up, I envy you greatly for your trip to Ranthambore. went in 2005 and loved it.

I will refrain from "what you could have done" back at the location as I'm guessing you've already returned from there and it will be some time before you go back. So as in your previous post, I'll concentrate on salvage. Because there are some issues with the picture you've posted.

I understand that you're mobility was limited in the canter. But your foreground framing using leaves glaringly misses some semblance of completeness, especially the out-of-focus bunch, camera left is peeking into the picture without really framing, which would really be complete only if there was something either at the top or bottom and it was in continuum with leaves at the sides(there is a patch on top and bottom but they're just patches without much definition). One option is to crop it as you see fit. I wont say anything specific, you're the artist.

Something about the lighting seems oversaturated. It needs to go back a bit. Desaturate by say about 10%.

Your best shot at improving this picture is to use curves again (where you have concentrated on the colour), this time to give more definition and contrast through levels adjustment. Composition wise your main tree is bang in the centre and doesnt have enough presence in the frame,

If you chose not to fill the frame and keep about 50% of it hazy and unclear as is the case here, you will need a very very strong composition(i'm trying to say even stronger than this, though its evident you love THIS image ) . See the image below ( a much senior member here who I look up to a lot, Lee, walked me through this a few months back to help achieve what you see, i.e. the PP and hazy effect with my original composition)

Third, you have to know exactly what you mean to convey through this image, whether its an emotion, a feeling of loneliness, darkness, foreboding etc. etc. It sounds very artsy fartsy i know, but since you're on DPS, I'm guessing you intend to go beyond what you would have achieved otherwise



I hope I've been able to adequately illustrate all the rambling above through an image (sorry to subject you to such a long post, but its friday evening and i'm in weekend mood, hehe)

So did you see any tigers on your trip? I didnt

Actually I really didnt try much to frame it. The driver didnt stop the vehicle for too long there and I was just happy that I could spot the tree and started taking shots of it. Could manage 2, the other in landscape with same viewpoint.

So, the question really is what PP I can do to make it better. As you rightly said, a crop will help. I did a bit of curves adjustment, the original was even more bland. But when you point out the saturation, it might help to try it out. I do like this image primarily because of the amazing light and the outline of the tree against it. I think I should try out different crops though. Also maybe remove the intruding leaves in some way...

BTW, thats a very nice pic youve got there. Overall I found DPS to be a very helpful community and thats one of the reasons I decided to join it. It is nice to see the experienced ppl helping out us lesser mortals to achieve our goals. Thanks everyone!!

[abhivg]

@Krusty

Yes I tend to bring my subjexts in the middle, need to be more aware while framing the shots. Going back to take the shot is not possible rite now, but a crop can rescue it I think.
Thanks for your tips