Henry Roberts  


Bikers by Henry Roberts

August 2019 - Bikers

August 2019 - Henry Roberts

Original

About the Image(s)

How I did it: I was in South Dakota (Rapid City, Deadwood, and Sturgis) recently during the time of the Sturgis Harley Davidson annual rally. Thousands of bikers from all over the country converged on South Dakota to enjoy riding and fellowship. In Deadwood I photographed street activities. This image was a hand-held shot with my Canon EOS 5D Mark III and a 14mm wide angle lens. I post processed in PS Camera raw working the sliders to get a good image. Then I used the Topaz Simplify filter to make things more dramatic. Finally, in PS I used the Liquify>bloat filter to slightly enlarge the foreground bike and riders as a center of interest. As usual I wanted something that was abstracted and more dramatic than a straight photo.

What do you think and what would you do differently?


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




Brad Becker   Brad Becker
Henry, Nicely done. I believe you've achieved your goal. This is a dramatic and interesting image with beautiful color.   Posted: 08/10/2019 11:09:44
Henry Roberts   Henry Roberts
(Group 40)
Thanks Brad, Henry   Posted: 08/10/2019 11:11:22



 
I really like what you've done here Henry!
Super job using Topaz Simplify and the bloat tool!

My only suggestion (really just an artistic preference) is to go back and mask out the effect in two places... one place is the background rider who is lost in the blue blob. He can use more detail.
Second is the sun star on the parked motorcycle.. It's so pretty that it's a shame to lose the detail on that one.   Posted: 08/10/2019 12:14:55



Henry Roberts   Henry Roberts
(Group 40)
Hi Kathy, those are good comments. As I examine this again, I probably should have masked out the white sky in the top center.   Posted: 08/12/2019 11:17:37
 
Funny, the white sky doesn't jump out at me. Looks fine!   Posted: 08/13/2019 23:26:20



Lisa Cuchara   Lisa Cuchara
I love the colors and graphic appeal and how the Topaz simplified a complex scene but left it so interesting.

The sky is the only thing that you might paly with, everything else is so smooth, and the sky has so much texture, I want to stay on the bikes, but the sky pulls me away. Well done!   Posted: 08/14/2019 00:57:23



Andrew Hersom   Andrew Hersom
(Group 40)
I think the treatment here makes for striking image which works well. I agree with Kathy about the background rider who has almost disappeared - it would be nice to be able to see more of him. Andrew (Group 40)   Posted: 08/18/2019 09:19:31



 
Hi Henry, I really like this painterly rendering of your original and I'm not always a fan of painterly images. But this rendering is perfect for the subject. It's clean, fun and colorful. The skewed road and buildings add even more whimsy. The white sky doesn't bother me since lighter horizons are a natural progression into deeper blue skies.Nicely done!   Posted: 08/20/2019 00:36:37
Henry Roberts   Henry Roberts
(Group 40)
Thanks Jan,

Henry   Posted: 08/20/2019 14:45:17