Large fountain at Baltimore's Inner Harbor

[ACDavis85]

This is a large fountain at the Inner Harbor, Baltimore. The shot is desaturated, except for the blue in the 'pool' areas. I can post the original version if requested.

Please tell me your opinions on the long exposure effect on the spraying water. I like the foggy-ness that you get from that, but can I improve that technique to achieve a greater effect? I've heard people say it looks like ice...which isn't the effect I was looking for.

Exif Data:
Aperture: f22
Exposure: 1/2sec
Focal Length: 60mm
Flash: No
ISO: 100

Thanks!

[Krusty79]

What effect are you trying to achieve then? I can't tell if your subject is the different shapes and textures, the water or the blue areas. I don't get the connection between the selective coloring and the "foggy-ness" of the fountain?!? Was the selective coloring supposed to enhance that effect?

Go Raiders!!!

[ACDavis85]

Originally Posted by Krusty79

What effect are you trying to achieve? I can't tell if your subject is the different shapes and textures, the water or the blue areas. I don't get the connection between the selective coloring and the "foggy-ness" of the fountain?!? Was the selective coloring supposed to enhance that effect?

Go Raiders!!!

I think the water is the main subject here. The spraying/falling portions to be precise.

The effect I was trying to achieve IS the foggyness. There's no real 'connection' between that and the isolation of color...I did that only because I didn't like the colors of the fountain as they were. However the blue, I thought, popped a bit. I liked having that color in there as it was a nice blue where as the rest of the fountain is a dull red-ish brick. But I don't think the effect is enhanced by the desaturation. If I'm being perfectly honest, being new to photography, and post-processing, I was playing with the color selection in GIMP, and this combination struck me more than the original.

Also, Go Colts!

[Krusty79]

Oh yeah, I should have read your post more carefully. Well, I'm no expert on water shots, but the longer your exposure, the smoother the water is going to look. I don't know if that equates to "foggy-ness," though. I guess it would enhance that effect if you could enhance the mist around the water. I'm not sure how to do that, though. Maybe playing around with a Curves adjustment?

Usually when people use selective coloring, they do it because they want to draw attention to the colored part(s), so that is usually the subject of the shot. I would try not to overuse that effect.

[ACDavis85]

Originally Posted by Krusty79

Oh yeah, I should have read your post more carefully. Well, I'm no expert on water shots, but the longer your exposure, the smoother the water is going to look. I don't know if that equates to "foggy-ness," though. I guess it would enhance that effect if you could enhance the mist around the water. I'm not sure how to do that, though. Maybe playing around with a Curves adjustment?

No worries, I apologize if it wasn't clear. I've read about the longer exposures on falling water to create that smokey/foggy 'texture', which is why I took the longer exposure shot here. I imagine you're correct though...if the spray was finer, it may increase that effect.

Originally Posted by Krusty79

Usually when people use selective coloring, they do it because they want to draw attention to the colored part(s), so that is usually the subject of the shot. I would try not to overuse that effect.

Good advice, I'm sure. I will keep that in mind. Although, I guess you could say that I did intend to bring more attention to the blue, as it tends to go hand-in-hand with water. I did do another shot, where I used selective coloring. It's of a pink door in a room at an abandoned hospital. The door is crooked in the door way (behind it) and was most certainly the subject of that picture. So understanding what you mean there, I'll certainly keep that in mind. Thanks.

[EOBeav]

Yeah, I'm not going for the selective coloring here.

[shruggy63]

I think there's potential in the shot. If you were to go back to the original & crop it very carefully (making sure the strong vertical lines were vertical). Then used a more subtle removal of colour that brings out the slightly brutal architecture without the 'toilet cleanser' blue, that might work?
The contrast between the harsh, blocky concrete & the classy looking shop in the background is nice.