Taken out at my favorite park on a gloomy day. This appeals to me because it tells a story ... maybe several, depending on how imaginative I get. The crows were making a raucous racket as they moved through the woods, which is what attracted my attention to the scene. The man in the background stands out but at the same time is part of his own little scene in the light, while the crows head back into the dark of the woods after briefly taking over his path. All of the elements together work for me ... though there isn't a focussed focal point ... I think it's the overall mood that I like.
Is it fine art? I dunno'. I like images that tell stories and/or have a mood, and those I can enjoy exploring repeatedly. It's something I would like to accomplish more often in my images.
PP - slight crop, white balance, levels, tonemap in qtpfsgui to get a little more texture on the trees (pregamma 0.697, mantiuk method, contrast mapping 0.1, saturation factor 1.049, detail factor 1, erased path and man and merged at 30% transparency), copied as another layer (Gaussian blur, merged in multiply mode at 20% transparency), burnt puddle, dark gradient filter on right side, decreased saturation, desaturated path, increased contrast, resized, sharpened, added border.
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Post-challenge: OMG! I can't believe I got a ribbon in a Fine Arts challenge. THANK YOU :-))) Guess I should get out of my box more often!
Statistics
Place: 3 out of 193 Avg (all users): 6.7300 Avg (commenters): 8.3600 Avg (participants): 6.6939 Avg (non-participants): 6.7647 Views since voting: 7274 Views during voting: 431 Votes: 200 Comments: 54 Favorites: 16 (view)
Mary,As an artist myself I truly admire your work and am very interested in a print of Winter Wonderland Symphony. If that is possible, please contact me.
Well, I'm honestly not that good at commenting on this stuff but I did give it an 8 and have to say I guess that put it somewhere in my Top 15-20 and I really didn't have number 1 pick in this Challenge. Simply said, it's a really beautiful scene and that rested quite well with me. Cheers on the Ribbon...super, well deserved.
Love it! (even without the title). Nice job bringing out the woodwinds.
Maybe the conductor could be just a little closer so we could see him (okay that's a joke). Even the branches could be like the strings on the violins playing way up high over everybody else. Now let's see.... which symphony did you say they were playing? Great job (did I say that part yet).
8 - I do really like this - the feel of being there, the feel within the scene but, and I know you might not get this, the distant figure's clothing, including color/style, detracts, for me. Up to 8 from 7 as it does appeal - but mostly everything but the figure. Had they been in different clothes/the tones changed, who knows - but either way, just sharing my thoughts and vote with you.
This photo has a nice mood to it. It definitely has an artistic feel to it. The birds and the person in the background are a nice touch, and the post-processing is perfect IMO... 7
Slightly over-sharpened but I really do like the scene; a slightly softer re-edit with different colour handling and this would be magnificent I think.
Some technical aspects detract, for me: the sharpening method used; the shadow/highlight (or other hdr) fix. Compositionally interesting but not outstanding. I love places like this, though, so it's nice from that perspective, personally.
Beautiful composition. The reed jacket in the background is perfect. This is one of those shots I see and wish I took it. Because of my jealousy I scored you 2 points lower than I really should have. Just kidding.
There is No Doubt! "10" from me! Potentially Top-10 for the challenge! Truly Unique Quality!
The Wide Top & Bottom Frame gives the impression of a wide-screen movie momentarily paused, which was possibly your intent. The movie could be titled, Homeward Bound III: Avian Migration. ;)
Winter Woodland Symphony
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