Diana Magor, MPSA, APSA  


Bikes in the snow by Diana Magor, MPSA, APSA

March 2019 - Bikes in the snow

March 2019 - Diana Magor, MPSA, APSA

Original

About the Image(s)

This was taken on the one morning when I abandoned Brian for an hour walking round the town as it was so beautifully sunny, although very cold. This was at the lakeside Winter fun park, but I do feel that the bikes were not going anywhere! It was taken at 1/320 F9 at ISO 250. Some of the photos I took were given a one or two stop aperture increase and some I just let the camera decide. I know the increase is designed to allow correct exposure of the bright snow but sometimes I think it gets it wrong.
All I've done is crop the top, and then put a 1 stop neutral density filter over the top in Nik to make that area darker. I like the starkness of the bikes against the snow. Does it work? Would it do anything in competitions or is it too boring?


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




Jennifer Doerrie   Jennifer Doerrie
No doubt you needed a bit of a break from the medical facility now and then. My family and I are convinced that few things make one as tired as sitting in hospitals, even though it doesn't seem that sitting should be so exhausting. I hope Brian is continuing to have a speedy recovery.

Just looking at this image makes me cold! The conversion to black and white and your cropping helped minimize the strong shadows and other distracting elements in the original image (although I found the pattern on the wall interesting). You are correct about exposure situations like this one being particularly challenging. The blacks in the monochrome conversion look very good on my monitor, but it is showing the highlight areas of the whites as still being a bit too bright to hold the details. If you do decide to use this for competition, you may want to try a detail extractor or otherwise adjust the highlight brightness a little more if possible. Of course, the challenge then becomes to keep from losing too much contrast. Ironically, I have a photo of bikes covered in snow that I took at a train station in central Sweden several years ago. Although I like it, the image never did get score very well in the few competitions in which I entered it. I never tried a conversion to monochrome, though, so I cannot say whether that would have been any more effective.

On a side note, the exhibition my PSA Council sponsors is closing in not quite two weeks, on March 16. Entry information is at www.sjvccc.org under the SJV Inter. Ex. 2019 link on the upper right. Unfortunately, we don't have a monochrome division yet (although I am lobbying hard for one to be added), but I would love to see some entries from our group if anyone is so inclined.   Posted: 03/05/2019 00:01:54
Diana Magor   Diana Magor
Yes, I thought the snow came up too white. I tried the high structure but it made the rest too detailed. perhaps I need to do some careful masking to keep the rest smoother. The wall at the back was made of snow bricks. The builders had done a good job of creating a sledge area, a long distance ice skating path across the lake which was lethal and had big warning signs, a kiddies skating area, and a sitting area with deckchairs beside several BBQ sites. They were also offering hot chocolate for those brave enough to sit in the cold.
perhaps the answer to entering competitions is to choose places which don't get snow because then it is unusual!
I shall try to enter your salon.   Posted: 03/05/2019 05:03:31
Jennifer Doerrie   Jennifer Doerrie
I see you are on the confirmation list. Thanks so much for the entries. I'm scrambling trying to get the files put away and the office ready for the judging this weekend. Good luck in the exhibition.
  Posted: 03/20/2019 00:32:31



Tom McCreary   Tom McCreary
Interesting image, and it might do okay in a salon in an area that does not get a lot of snow. You did a very good job of converting to B&W. I am sure that it was a good break for you to get out of the hospital.   Posted: 03/11/2019 09:11:23



Stephen Levitas   Stephen Levitas
Your cropping, as usual, is just right. The original has a nice dark tone in the shadows. How about this slight adjustment, for example. I tried to tone down the lights, and darken the shadows a bit. I would like the composition better if the snow has been without human trampling.   Posted: 03/18/2019 22:50:24
Comment Image
Diana Magor   Diana Magor
I tried darkening the wall at the back and thought it was too dark for what was a high key snow image. I wanted the effect to be white snow and the bikes to be all important. With the darker background, the bikes lost some of their impact I felt?   Posted: 03/19/2019 09:27:36
Stephen Levitas   Stephen Levitas
I see, yes, I think you are right about that.   Posted: 03/19/2019 18:45:47



 
Converting to mono was the best choice here. I agree that darkening the back wall did cause some loss of focus on the bicycles. It seems that my snow images show and score better here in Florida than up north. My guess is that no one wants to be reminded of the mess and work it causes.   Posted: 03/27/2019 07:27:06