25 replies to this topic

[DiverPam]

Hey guys - I really would like to enter a picture in the annual Aggressor Photo contest. I am having a hard time deciding which one would really fit the contest best and stand out more. You are only allowed one picture per Aggresor Trip you take per year in this contest. I am telling you which contest becuase I think that plays a factor in what I am looking at choosing for my entry.

I have narrowed my selections down to 3 manta shots with a skiff in the background - from our Palau trip this June on the Aggressor. I would really like to get your thoughts on this before I send in my entry. I will send a clean copy of my entry without the copyright in the middle to the contest. I had some others I really liked from the trip, but I tried to remember all the trips from others on here about how judges might think and I hope that this might fit the bill. Feedback appreciated.








Thanks - DiverPam

[scubamarli]

I prefer the top one, as the bubbles detract from the others IMO.
They are all rather purple in the highlight areas, perhaps from converting them to sRGB for the web. This may be a bit better; a bit more contrast.
Good luck with your entry.

Cheers,
Marli

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[philsokol]

I agree, the first one is the best shot overall IMHO. I think it's important to know all the parameters of the contest to try and determine what the judges are "looking for" or what will resonate with them. In this case, I can only assume that Aggressor will want to use the photo for promotion, and the first photo seems to say, "That's our boat up there, come with us and see mantas" (or something like that). And it's a mighty fine pic to boot!

Good luck!

Phil

[Bentoni]

I like the first shot the best. It is a much quicker "read" than the other two, although I like them for other reasons. I took out some of the red to make the manta's color a bit more natural. Beautiful shots! Good luck in the competition.

[Steve Williams]

I'm loving the first one too Pam and it does have a touch of red that you could fix, at least on my screen.

Good luck!

[Grayscale]

I also agree with the others. The first one is THE one. The two others are nice as well, but the bubbles (like mentioned) distracts, as well as the missing part of the wing in pic3, and the anchor/mooring line being partly covered by the manta.

Regarding the red cast... Try to remove it in small steps. And compare between them a lot. Bentoni's version looks too green (on my screen), so somewhere in the middle would work for me.

[Autopsea]

I agree too for the first one, BUT i would be carefull with the dark aura on the top of the manta. If any of the juge doesn't like post-production, ...

[DiverPam]

Thanks guys for the feedback so far. I see the color cast you are talking about and will see what I can do with it. I will post a picture later tonight when I get home and can work with it some.

Have a great day and talk with the group soon - DiverPam

[bmyates]

I agree on the first one being best. The angle of the manta is better, and the others seem like both the manta and skiff are "jammed" into the frame, so not as pleasing to the eye. Great job, though, and good luck on the contest!

[rodriguezfelix]

First one

[Scubamoose]

Do I even need to say: "the first one!"??
Great shot and good luck Pam!

Cheers
Karel

[DiverPam]

Okay guys..I have worked a little on that pink cast you mentioned. How about this?



Thanks again for the help - DiverPam

[Autopsea]

It's better !

What about the croping? how is it croped? I would have left more space right and up, but don't know if you can.

[DiverPam]

It's better !

What about the croping? how is it croped? I would have left more space right and up, but don't know if you can.

It is not cropped. I was shooting for all I was worth with it coming straight at me. This was my first manta encounter. I was overjoyed when I looked at the shots afterward to find that the skiff and line were even situated in the picture that well. Thanks for asking.

And I am going to us the first one - especially siince all of you agree. Was afraid my personal preference had gotten in the way of my decision. Will let the group know what happens (will not until 2011 before I hear the answer since it is their annul photo contest)

Happ diving guys - DiverPam

[Undertow]

indeed the first one. you say its not cropped, but the ratio is close to square and your signature says you shoot with a d90 which shoots in 2x3 ratio?

i personally still see a bit much magenta in the 2nd edit, primarily in the manta's body and within snells window at the top. perhaps try adjusting magenta in the highlights with the colour balance tool in PS so as not to unbalance the rest of the photo. could just be my monitor though.

also as one person mentioned there's still a bit of that 'dark aura' on top of the manta, its not as bad, but perhaps a bit much on the clarity slider in adobe raw?

awesome photo. cheers,

chris

[DiverPam]

indeed the first one. you say its not cropped, but the ratio is close to square and your signature says you shoot with a d90 which shoots in 2x3 ratio?

i personally still see a bit much magenta in the 2nd edit, primarily in the manta's body and within snells window at the top. perhaps try adjusting magenta in the highlights with the colour balance tool in PS so as not to unbalance the rest of the photo. could just be my monitor though.

also as one person mentioned there's still a bit of that 'dark aura' on top of the manta, its not as bad, but perhaps a bit much on the clarity slider in adobe raw?

awesome photo. cheers,

chris

Thanks for the notes. When I looked to other day, I opened in develop and hit the crop button and it did not show any area outside what you see. I will look again later about this (on my laptop now). I am not seeing the magenta on my monitor (but will play with it and see what happens). Post production is a weak area for me - much to learn.

I do not use Adobe Raw. I convert my raw pic to DNG upon import to LR. Does importing this way change the information in any way coming in?

Thanks - DiverPam

[DiverPam]

Okay...went back and started over with the original RAW file. With all the suggestions in mind, I thought I would see what happened when I tried working with iit fresh again. As I mentioned in my last post - post production is a weakness for me and I am trying to learn about this piece of the process.

Autospea - I did have it cropped after all. Not sure why now. I looked at a PSD file when I replied before.

Here is my fresh look at things with everyone's thoughts rolling around in my head and thinking about what I saw when I took the shot.

DiverPam

[meister]

Great shot! What's being offered as prize for top photo?

[DiverPam]

Great shot! What's being offered as prize for top photo?

A week on any aggressor boat of your choice!

[yahsemtough]

Late to the game but I concur that the first one is the best and the adjustments look good.

Good luck in the competition.

Cheers

Todd