Crooked Boat

[ZannieGirl49]

I took this shot and almost deleted it right afterward. There was something that told me to keep it and take a look once I finished downloading for the day. I only 'kind of' like it the way it is and am not sure how to make it better.

Should I crop out the shadows at the bottom along with the bit of pier? I like the crookedness but should I try it straightened? Should I have just deleted it in the camera? Please feel free to edit the shot and share the results if you'd like.

[Preacherman]

Hi Suzanne. I don't think you can get away with having a sloping sea level. For me no cropping is needed. just get the sea perfectly horizontal and you have a good image. PAUL

[ZannieGirl49]

Thanks Paul. How's this?

[sk66]

That's better. Here's my quicky attempt.
Because of the overall look of the boat I went for something of a "battened down for the approaching storm" idea.
Mostly curves and shadow/highlight adjustments. I do think it's a bit overdone in the HDR feel...

[ZannieGirl49]

Originally Posted by sk66

That's better. Here's my quicky attempt.
Because of the overall look of the boat I went for something of a "battened down for the approaching storm" idea.
Mostly curves and shadow/highlight adjustments. I do think it's a bit overdone in the HDR feel...

Thanks for your help, I like your changes. Because of the tilt of the boat, it's clear that the wind is blowing but your edits make the scene look much more foreboding. Now I've just got to learn some real editing software. I've got the beta version of Lightroom 3 and am going to start the hunt for tutorials tonight.

[sk66]

Originally Posted by ZannieGirl49

Thanks for your help, I like your changes. Because of the tilt of the boat, it's clear that the wind is blowing but your edits make the scene look much more foreboding. Now I've just got to learn some real editing software. I've got the beta version of Lightroom 3 and am going to start the hunt for tutorials tonight.

For real editing lightroom is too difficult/limited.
I use Photoshop, but If it were my money I'd probably use GIMP.

[CaptainNH]

Hi Suzanne,

It's generally possible to come up with something interesting out of most shots, so I have instigated a policy of not deleting anything unless it's out of focus (actually, wildly out of focus is called artistic, so I sometimes keep those too ).

You've chosen an interesting subject, the worn out fishing (I assume) boat has tons of character, a bit of rust here and there, some peeling paint and that rather wonky looking derrick jib thing.

Personally, I think that's where the interest lies with this scene. I might have considered shooting close-ups of the weathering boat. Alternatively, shooting much wider and including more of the jetty (assuming that there is one there) would have given the boat some more context.

From a colour perspective, I think this shot lends itself to b&w, mainly as a result of the mixture of bright colours on the ship itself (reds, greens, blues and yellow). If there's a real mixture of clashing colours, I often think in b&w so they don't distract from the shot. (The blue tarpaulins really grab my eye and they shouldn't, they aren't the most interesting thing on the boat). B&w will also disguise the muddy brown of the water.

The colours have a slightly cool feel to them so I thought I might continue this in my take on your shot - choosing a cooltone look for the shot.



What did I do in a couple of minutes in photoshop?

- Fixed up the horizon (I'll have what you were drinking )
- Crop
- New adjustment layer - Hue/Saturation
- Tick colorize box
- Set hue 220
- Set Saturation 15
- New adjustment layer - Curves
- Apply "Increase Contrast" preset.

If I had the time, I'd do a bit of dodging and burning to improve the tonal range.

I'm glad you didn't delete the shot - you've inspired me to head down to the fish markets here in Sydney to grab some shots of the trawlers unloading their catch. Oooh, and thanks for posting in critique rather than SYS

[ZannieGirl49]

Originally Posted by CaptainNH

You've chosen an interesting subject, the worn out fishing (I assume) boat has tons of character, a bit of rust here and there, some peeling paint and that rather wonky looking derrick jib thing.

Personally, I think that's where the interest lies with this scene. I might have considered shooting close-ups of the weathering boat. Alternatively, shooting much wider and including more of the jetty (assuming that there is one there) would have given the boat some more context.

I actually did shoot a few close ups of the boat because there were some interesting reflections. I'll take another pass at those and see if I can make something out of them. Because of the logistics of the area, the only wide shot that I got included mainly landscape.

Originally Posted by CaptainNH

From a colour perspective, I think this shot lends itself to b&w, mainly as a result of the mixture of bright colours on the ship itself (reds, greens, blues and yellow).

The colours have a slightly cool feel to them so I thought I might continue this in my take on your shot - choosing a cooltone look for the shot.

Thanks for the tip about B&W. For some odd reason I shy away from it a bit. I’m going to force myself to experiment with it more because I like this shot MUCH more in B&W and that may be the case for other shots…I won’t know until I try it.

Originally Posted by CaptainNH

What did I do in a couple of minutes in photoshop?

- Fixed up the horizon (I'll have what you were drinking )
- Crop
- New adjustment layer - Hue/Saturation
- Tick colorize box
- Set hue 220
- Set Saturation 15
- New adjustment layer - Curves
- Apply "Increase Contrast" preset.

If I had the time, I'd do a bit of dodging and burning to improve the tonal range.

Thanks for telling me exactly what you changed. I wish I could try and replicate it but I don’t have Photoshop! I’ll be experimenting with GIMP and am thinking about taking a Photoshop class at the local community college. If I do that I can get the student version of Photoshop for an awesome price.

Originally Posted by CaptainNH

I'm glad you didn't delete the shot - you've inspired me to head down to the fish markets here in Sydney to grab some shots of the trawlers unloading their catch. Oooh, and thanks for posting in critique rather than SYS

Thanks for taking a look and making me glad I didn’t delete it too! The input that I’ve gotten in this thread is great and I’m definitely much more comfortable with posting in the Critiques section.