Old path with dreamy effect

[flavio]

Sadly, we had to pay a visit to the cemetery in Atlit (10 Km south from Haifa, quite far away from home). The place is pastoral surrounded by the sea, water enclosures and a salt factory. We got there too early for the burial so I decided to take a walk with my camera and kill some time.
I took this perspective picture, converted it to grayscale, lowered clarity (for the dreamy fuzzy effect) corrected exposure, brightness and contrast. Then I colored the highlights and the shadows with tones of blue.
Did I get carried away?
How is the tratment technique and quality wise?
What about the composition?
Which are the elemets to watch for when taking this shots?
Thanks in advance.




EXIF data:

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX100 IS
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 22.4 mm
ISO Speed: 80
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[dcclark]

This is just my personal feelings, but I really like the result. The color and softness lend a certain coolness and distantness to the image, if that makes sense -- a good feeling.

There is one annoying thing though -- that pole's reflection on the left. I don't think it adds much, and just sort of bothers me. Overall, however, well done!

[vsa]

I think the blueness is a bit too much and it lacks that punch. I'd mask out the blueness in the highlights (you can load a channel and use that as a mask). Then some more contrast. Given that it won't be as dreamy anymore but that could make it look slightly better.

Also the coast is just so slightly tilted that it distracts me. I'd straighten it. The pole didn't bother me before dcclark mentioned it but now it kinda does. >.< ...same with the crane (?) behind the building.

Loving the pier though.

[Trader]

I also think the processing is over done. The composition is very good and the lines work very well but I don't like the blur. It gives me the impression that the picture is out of focus.

[flavio]

Trader, vsa, and dcclark,

Thank you for taking the time to look at this picture and share with me some of your ideas about it. I'll play around with the original following your suggestions. If I get something interesting I'll re-post. Otherwise, I'll keep shooting, getting wiser a shot at a time.

[flavio]

Still trying to learn something from this exercise.
I followed some of the suggestions given above.
Changed the tones of the highliths and shadows from blue to brown. So far so good!
I enhanced the clarity and reduced the fuzziness in the foreground. Bye bye to the dreamy effect, but nice result.
I removed the distractive crane in the middle. I guess the owners will not be happy about that.
How is it now?
Any further comments are appreciated.



EXIF data:

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX100 IS
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 22.4 mm
ISO Speed: 80
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[vsa]

I like this new version much better. Small yet significant changes.
I'd go for more subtle sepia tone but still loads better than the blue.

[flavio]

Thanks for taking the teaching time

[Trader]

Yes, I agree. I think you did a good job with the changes you made. I do like this version much better.

[flavio]

Thank you all for your help, I enjoyed the exercise and I think I learned a couple of things.