Mary Ann Carrasco  


Ranch Road by Mary Ann Carrasco

January 2021 - Ranch Road

January 2021 - Mary Ann Carrasco

Original 2

January 2021 - Mary Ann Carrasco

Original

About the Image(s)

I took this photo at Brushy Peak Regional Preserve in Livermore, CA. It is significant to me because this land was last owned by my great great grandparents before becoming a preserve. It is still used as a cattle ranch. I wanted to practice a bit with black and white so I am submitting this version for comment. I also edited to a color version that I like but am wondering if this works in black and white as well.

Camera Settings: Nikon D500 and tamron 18-400 lens; 1/500; f/8; 18mm; ISO 100


This round’s discussion is now closed!
10 comments posted




Ruth Sprain   Ruth Sprain
Mary Ann, the gently curving trail leads my eye into your image. The simplicity of the scene and the horizontal lines of the landscape provide a calming feeling. As far as the black and white version, I suggest more contrast. You could perhaps crop the sky so the horizon isn't so much in the center. I've included a sample so you can picture what a bit of dodging and burning would do. I can see why this lovely preserve is so special to you.   Posted: 01/16/2021 18:10:27
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Kieu-Hanh Vu   Kieu-Hanh Vu
This image is beautiful with strong highlights/shadows. The winding road guides the viewers' eyes to travel from the foreground to the further distance. The cloudy sky on a sunny day is also a big + to the scene.
For my personal taste, I'd prefer to see only the lone tree with its shadow in the middle of the hills than having some other trees on the right side that could compete with each other. I hope that you had another version of it, captured in vertical.
For the B&W version, I agree with Ruth that more contrast is needed.   Posted: 01/16/2021 23:15:06
Mary Ann Carrasco   Mary Ann Carrasco
Thank you. Yes, I agree with more contrast. I did look through the photos of that day and I do have some vertical shots of the lone tree but they do not include much of the path so really don't work. Next time I visit the site I will give it a try.   Posted: 01/18/2021 18:50:32
Mary Ann Carrasco   Mary Ann Carrasco
Ruth, thank you. Yes, I do like your edits adding more contrast.   Posted: 01/18/2021 18:48:46



LuAnn Thatcher   LuAnn Thatcher
Hi Mary Ann,

Fun image of the cowboys (maybe just walkers) on a hill; it would be cool if they would have been on horses and you captured that silhouette! The image has lots of details in the sky and the histogram has a broad range of tonal values so you should be able to make a fine black and white from the original file.

I think your idea for black and white with this image is excellent. Kieu-Hanh has an interesting idea of removing the clump of trees on the right and making the image a vertical. I tried it, but the wonderful driveway prevents this option from working. But, if you really liked that idea, you could crop (and unlock the aspect ratio paddle lock) and get the driveway to work. Or you could make the image a square crop.

My edit I did in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2. I selected a preset, then used the Ilford Delta 100 Pro film type and made other adjustments. I also quickly (not accurately) took out the tree clump; it can be done easily enough. I am not sure if it makes the image any better. Removing the trees now eliminates part of the balance of the image (the trees balance the road) from the right side. I see the image sparse of details so removing any elements seems counter intuitive.

I am curious what you think of this edit. It is not a master piece just an idea.

Best regards,
LT   Posted: 01/17/2021 10:10:06
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Mary Ann Carrasco   Mary Ann Carrasco
Thank you, LuAnn. I did have some vertical shots of the lone tree but nothing of note. I think I like the clump of trees included...just my personal taste. I agree that it adds balance to the photo and a sense of the place.   Posted: 01/18/2021 18:53:25



Michael Hrankowski   Michael Hrankowski
Hi Mary Ann. How special it must be to see the land owned by your g, g, grandparents preserved! What a sense of family history. It is a beautiful image of the countryside. A couple of comments: I like the leading line of the dirt path but it takes my eye to the space between the lone tree on the left and the grove on the right, so I'm torn between focusing on the grove or the tree. I'm finding the lone tree more interesting than the grove....but the clouds over the grove are spectacular. It would be interesting if, on your next excursion, you would walk up to the bend in the road where the other people are and capture the lone tree and insert the clouds in post processing. Due to the fact there is not a lot of color variation in the scene, for me the B&W version does work better. I brought your color image into one of my HDR apps and rendered that in B&W. Do you like the effect?   Posted: 01/17/2021 13:12:10
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Mary Ann Carrasco   Mary Ann Carrasco
Michael, thank you for your idea. Your edit is very creative!   Posted: 01/18/2021 18:56:38



 
All of you are just great on how you can change an image and add so much to the story of the photo. Each suggestion is great on its own.   Posted: 01/22/2021 10:35:57



Lisa Cirincione   Lisa Cirincione
(Group 85)
Great emotional story, I drive by my grandparents old land every now and then, and I know those emotions. It does need a bit of contrast in the black and white. I like the color version also... and I thought maybe a bit of a crop into the photo might be nice... bring the viewer in closer. Nice job.   Posted: 01/30/2021 20:53:04
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