Bill Peake  

Japanese Garden by Bill Peake

May 2022 - Japanese Garden

May 2022 - Bill Peake

Original

About the Image(s)

Here is an image I took in June, 2018, while visiting the Japanese Garden in Van Nuys, California. This was taken in early afternoon. It was taken with a Nikon D7200 with a Nikkor 18-140mm lens at 18mm. The aperture was f/22 and shutter speed was 1/80. The ISO was set to 200. Post processing was done in Photoshop. A camera raw filter was added to bring up the shadows and overall exposure. An unsharp filter layer was used to bring out additional detail in foreground trees and path. Two brightness/contrast layers were added to control one for the sky and the other for the ground. A vibrance layer was used to increase saturation slightly. The image was then cropped to eliminate a large void area in the sky and a bright area of paving stones. The original image is included for reference.

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

Michael Jack   Michael Jack
I think this image captures the gardens. I like you cropped out much of the sky. The blue sky is well reflected in the water which adds a lot of color to the image. The house does not appear to be level. For me, I would consider cropping a bit from the left to eliminate the bright beach and white fountain in the lake but that is a personal choice to do that versus including the framing branches.   Posted: 05/10/2022 16:10:26
Larry Treadwell   Larry Treadwell
I feel you have ended up with an excellent shot of the gardens. However, as long as you are cropping so much of the image I'd go even further. My first suggestion is about the overall composition. We have so many rules of photography ingrained into our heads they we feel the need to use them. In this case, framing (the over hanging branch) leading lines (the beach in the lower right) and foreground (water plants) that we lose sight of what we are really ta ing a photo of. I'd suggest before shooting ask yourself exactly what drew you to this scene? What are you really taking a picture of? In this case, it is the gardens. So use your zoom lens to capture what you are really trying to photograph and get that shot of the gardens. I don't feel you need all that sky or water in the front. I've included an option to bring out the garden for your consideration. But the finalchoice is yours--it is your picture.   Posted: 05/11/2022 09:31:29
Comment Image
Barbara Gore   Barbara Gore
When I first looked at the image I saw beautiful gardens on a perfect sunny day but my eyes immediately went to the branches at the top and left. The blue sky and nice color in the water makes it very soothing. The rocks, greenery, and house holds my interest. The image would be more compelling to me without the branches and bright beach. Also agree with Michael about leveling. I do like Larry's crop but at the end of the day it's your vision. Very nice image.   Posted: 05/11/2022 15:10:55
Bill Peake   Bill Peake
Thanks for the comments, guys. They are very helpful. Most of the images I got that day were not the best. I need to get back there and try again.   Posted: 05/16/2022 23:06:48
Arne Skinlo   Arne Skinlo
A great improvement from the original. This picture could be used in the marketing the place. I can agree on removing the branches at the top, but the ones at the left I think works as a framing of the picture together with those to the right.   Posted: 05/17/2022 01:15:35