Our Christmas lights on the outside of our house. The icicles are from the crazy snow storm we've been having. I hope this is centered enough for the voters.
Shot in RAW with our crazy new zoom lens!!
Adjusted white balance and exposure
PS:
Crop (minimal)
Curves
Brightness/Contrast
Selective color (bumped up the blacks)
dodge on snow in the background
burn on the concrete
dodge/burn on the centered light
sponge tool on the lights
spot healed and blurred a couple bright spots
NI
Resize
Sharpen
Save for web
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The only thing I would suggest changing about this photo is changing the POV slightly. Try moving your camera a little further down, mor to the level of the lightbulb. Otherwise, this is a neat, very beautiful photo! I like it.
First Off I want to say WOW!, this is a great shot.
Colour;
As I look into this image, I light grays, darks grays and blues. The blue is very well used, it is the strongest colour here and brings you right to the center.
The grays I believe are very evenly balanced and creates a large amount of depth to the image. Which to me is a good thing.
DOF/Focus;
You have strong focus here on the center light. It breaks away from the background without looking placed. I really enjoy the narrow dof with this image. As you see the edge/corner it creates your environment and gives more connectivity to the image for the viewers.
Post;
It seems you have a firm grasp of editing. No areas of the image are overly 'shopped' and without knowing better, this image could pass for straight from the camera.
Off Items;
For me personally, as I look at this image, I do have a strong since of center, however, the other blue lights make me feel like there is something on the corner of my eye. For me they seem to be a slight distraction. I understand it is a string of lights, and not really a shot you can set up, But, you might play with angles to get a less obtrusive feeling.
Also, the slush/ice in the lower left corner of the image is also a slight distraction. If you were able maybe brushing it off or to the side would have evened that area more so. Because it is on the back end of your narrow dof, it stands out a bit more.
Other;
Being 'centered composition' challenge, it makes me curious as to other compositions you may come up with. This is a very dramatic find and excellently executed.
I love this color combination (blue, black, grey). Good eye to see this and capture it for the challenge. This probably has some stock value as well. Didn't it drive you nuts to leave that extra space up top to center this? :D
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