Stone cross.

This rather grabbed my attention - I'm not even sure it's a good photo to be honest, part of me likes it, part of me thinks it's too cluttered - even though a cluttered, overgrown feel was what I was *trying* to acheive.

It was on the side of a road on our walk yesterday (and the lighting was abismal - so that won't have helped).

Anyway - opinions more than welcome and edits of course. I can't help but feel it's lacking some drama.



x

Try a crop to just above the cross and then get rid of the tiny bit of what looks like black pipe, think you may be more pleased then.

You always seem undecided about your work and I think if you feel like that then that is the one you should take into Photoshop and try working on, the very best thing about Photoshop is that it is non destructive and you can always start again unlike the darkroom days when if you bug*ered the job you had wasted the paper and had to start again.

Think you could tone down the green a bit and perhaps lighten a tad, do you understand tad said it to some one yesterday and they had no idea what I meant, lucky for them I did not resort to my native cockney.

EDIT: to say I like the shot, would have taken it myself because one wonders why it is there.

Thanks Jackie! Very helpful as always - the black pipe thing is actually a root - and that doesn't come accross, which is a shame, as I thought it added to the picture (as I saw it when taking it) however, I see that it doesn't quite show what I was after. I will try the things you mentioned above, and see how it goes

And yes, I do understand tad! we're special!

xx

ETA - people always think I should tone down the greens - and I do agree, they look almost neon - but honestly, you'll not believe me when I say they aer actually that colour!!

I love it, I love finding weird things lik ethis, I think it needs more moodiness, two quick edits, I really hope you don't mind, I just find it easier to show, rather than describe





Just some cropping, desaturating, and upping contrat on the first.

Second Mono conversion, tweaked a bit and a vignette.

I love both, the second especially brings the cross out! I never think in mono - I do try to, but I just don't so I would never have thought of a mono conversion - and it really does work! Well done Suzi!

ETA - you know, I think my biggest problem is actually photoshop Aside from the fact that I'm not brilliant at getting certain things right in camera (the above btw is practically straight out of camera) - I just don't have a clue about editing!

xx

I like Moonies last edit - I was gonna suggest mono too

Photoshop is just practice I never used it till last year, these were done in Lightroom, just a few tweaks here and there

The way I learnt was to just to sit down and playand you soon learn what you like and what works.

I have the opposite problem. I see a lot of stuff in black and white, or see things as if I have all ready processed it before I have taken the shot (I have a weird mind) xxx

I think Gravestones, crosses, always work in a good strong Mono,

In this case I like the mono, think I would have removed the stone block on the left as well to give the cross more impact.

Have lived in N. Ireland and confirm that is the correct colour it is just that sometimes the green that should be just background, or foreground, takes over the whole image because it is so very vibrant. You could turn down the colour settings in your camera and then tweak them up a bit in the dreaded Photoshop if you think it needs it.

May be if you bought a book on basic PS you would become as hooked as Suzi and I, and see the taking of the shot as only part of the finished image. This does not happen all the time, in fact most the time even with RAW all I do is crop but there are times that when you see what you want to shoot you know just how you will finish it before you click the shutter.

Thanks Jackie - good idea about removing the block too - I thought it needed that. I do have a PS book, but it's in Wales still - I've not been able to retrieve it since we moved. Hopefully not too long though!

xx

That is interesting Z, why did you think the block was needed, did you think the cross would not stand on it's own.