industrial sunset - open for critique

[ptk86]

I was tempted to expose this one for open critique so here it is.
the situation at hand was that it was impossible to get an angle without the powerline cables unless ..if I had an airplane at my disposal
the reason for not "landscaping" this cityscape was letting out some elements that didn't belong in the shot such as powerline poles , nearby houses and that the lower part of the shot just seemed perfect to me

here is the shot of wich honestly I'm proud of and believe that with a little of your opinion could become even better :

1.I've tried digitally removing the cables ..it wasn't a solution , or I don't know a good plugin or software that will help me more than photoshop cs3. if any , you could point one out for me
2. cropping it just draws your eyes more to the cables and i believe it will not do anything good for the shot . what do you think ?
3. any other tip or trick or critique is welcome.

Exif data
Camera Canon EOS 400D Digital
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture f/13.0
Focal Length 55 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias -4/3 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire
no tripod , no polariser , no PP besides iso removal with noiseninja

[Krusty79]

You already know what I'm going to say....

Yes, the power lines are distracting. I don't find any other parts of the cityscape distracting. Other than choosing a different angle where the lines do not appear, I don't know what else you could have done. There are too many to clone out, unfortunately. That's too bad, because that is a nice sunset.

Also, I think this may have been better shot in landscape mode instead of portrait because I don't think the sky in the top half of the shot is nearly as interesting as the bottom half.

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[SwissJon]

I don't agree.. Powerlines are the easiest thing in the world to clone out, especially against a sunset.. I'd spend the time doing that, I think it's worth the effort.

An hour or so with PS and you've got a nice photo. Zoom in real close, and I mean 400% or more and clone only the width of the lines.. It'll take some time, but I think it's worth it.

PS5 has "content aware" heal, which is incredibly good, and would take 10 mins to get rid of them.

Once you've got rid, I would crop this square.. the top half of the photo adds nothing.

As far as "Off Topic" goes.. Go to your User CP (Top Left near the words "Digital Photography School")... In there, on the left hand side, click "Edit Signature"

[mwanafunzi]

I really like the colors on your photo. I will counter Krusty and say that it should not be a pano.

Regarding the lines, as well as what has been suggested, you could also clone them out while in lab mode. In photoshop it is simply a matter of going into lab mode.

If you are using gimp then you will have to decompose as LAB then recompose as LAB.

The authority on this is Dan Margulis. If you want an explanation as to why this works then I would suggest that you that you look for some of his tutorials, or tutorials use his methods.

[mwanafunzi]

lab-compose.jpg

A quick edit in gimp. There are two lines that are partially cloned while in LAB mode.

[Krusty79]

You guys can clone out all those wires? I admit I'm not strong in PP. I'll have to look up that LAB mode, as I have never heard of it. It would take me forever to clone out all those wires and the clouds probably wouldn't look natural.

I wasn't trying to suggest a pano, just shooting this in landscape mode because the top half is not adding to the shot.

[mwanafunzi]

Appologies, my second post would make more sense if you could see the attachment.

[SwissJon]

Originally Posted by Krusty79

You guys can clone out all those wires? I admit I'm not strong in PP. I'll have to look up that LAB mode, as I have never heard of it. It would take me forever to clone out all those wires and the clouds probably wouldn't look natural.

I wasn't trying to suggest a pano, just shooting this in landscape mode because the top half is not adding to the shot.

I have to admit to spending 6 hours cloning out power lines on a photo of the Siemens building in Bangkok pixel by pixel, not for any other reason than I was on a 14 hour plane journey home, my laptop had power, and it made the journey go faster.. But it was a great lesson and improved my cloning skills no end.. The thing is Krusty, power lines are very easy to clone.. They're thin and their shape is very predictable.. I'd suggest you take your favourite photo editing tool and give it a go.. Select a clone area very close to the lines and go carefully.. Unless you try, your skills can't improve..

Removing Powerlines | Photo Editing

[mwanafunzi]

Yes, cloning is a very usefull skill to have.

At the very least, you can get rid of all those dust spots that one sometimes gets.

[ptk86]

Originally Posted by SwissJon

I have to admit to spending 6 hours cloning out power lines on a photo of the Siemens building in Bangkok pixel by pixel, not for any other reason than I was on a 14 hour plane journey home, my laptop had power, and it made the journey go faster.. But it was a great lesson and improved my cloning skills no end.. The thing is Krusty, power lines are very easy to clone.. They're thin and their shape is very predictable.. I'd suggest you take your favourite photo editing tool and give it a go.. Select a clone area very close to the lines and go carefully.. Unless you try, your skills can't improve..

Removing Powerlines | Photo Editing

I agree power lines as the name implies are just lines .almost straight lines and are easy to clone out in a PREDICTABLE background like a building or a simple skyline, but this photo's clouds and skyline are not so easy to predict , example the gradual red to orange and not to mention the smoke from the power plant , I've tried it zooming in till I see every pixel before I uploaded it here , but when I zoomed out the clouds had lost their "red-lining" near the sun ..
but now I have to give it another try , since all you guys are pointing out cloning so much