Judith Lesnaw  


Untitled by Judith Lesnaw

January 2018 - Untitled

About the Image(s)

In late October 2017, 4:30pm, I spied several frogs in a fountain outside our Osher classroom building. It was about 4:30pm and the sun produced an interesting reflection of one of the frog’s eyes. I focused on the eye and took the shot with a Canon 80D with a Tamron 16-300 lens set to 300mm. My settings were: Aperture priority, 1/640 sec/ at f/6.3/ISO1600. I did minimal cropping, and adjusted the highlights, shadows, and vibrancy in Lightroom.


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




 
That fun reflection caught my attention immediately. The catch light in both eyes is strong, the colors of the image are pretty. PSA rules demand that we do not change what is captured, and in this group we each have our own opinions about it. If competing you cannot remove; however in this group you can. Having said that I suggest using the spot healing brush to remove all the debris from the water so that my focus is solely on the frog. I do like that one big water droplet to the right of the frog and would leave that.   Posted: 01/08/2018 17:20:49
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Judith Lesnaw   Judith Lesnaw
Thanks Lisa. I will try cleaning up the water although I always hate doing that. My photos are for me both a record of what I actually saw at a site and art. I will see what happens when I try to have it both ways and generate two versions.
  Posted: 01/09/2018 09:09:06



Mike Cohen   Mike Cohen
I love it. I am anything but a purist and join Lisa in her suggestion to clean up the water. Especially the bright little spots. I might also do a bit of dodging and burning around the eye reflection. It almost looks a bit unreal so I would probably lighten it or otherwise attempt to make it look more natural (although I assume it is - it just doesn't look it to me) I like the composition and the angle of the frog, eye contact and the combination of green and orange. Nice job.   Posted: 01/08/2018 18:35:55
Judith Lesnaw   Judith Lesnaw
Thanks Mike. I am a purist at heart. After 45 years of publishing biochemical data the concept of altering a photo is very difficult to accept. BUT considering your and Lisa's comments prompted a thought: I will produce both a record of exactly what I saw, AND an artistic version. This will be a fine pursuit for this new year. I will attempt to clean up the water. I have never done this so it will be good to learn. I use both Lightroom and Photoshop CC. What tool would you suggest? I did not alter the eye reflection. It did indeed look so strange that at first I thought it might be an oil droplet, but it really is a reflection of the eye in the water. Its very strangeness is what drew me to the scene.   Posted: 01/09/2018 09:25:12
 
I did a quick job using the PS spot healing brush although Mike may suggest something different. As I said, each of us has a different opinion of science/art. You should be true to yourself even if we make other suggestions. I like the idea of both - one for documentation and the other for art.
Nonetheless I like this image. Bullfrogs are fun to photograph.   Posted: 01/09/2018 09:40:48
Judith Lesnaw   Judith Lesnaw
Lisa, I LOVE what you did! The frog and eye really pop now. I will begin studying that spot brush. Many thanks.   Posted: 01/09/2018 09:51:30
Mike Cohen   Mike Cohen
There are several ways to skin a cat in PS, and LR adds another. When I have any significant editing to do, I do it in PS. If it's just a couple of spots, I use LR's spot tool. If you hit "A" in LR, it changes a black and white that helps see where the spots are. Hit "A" again to toggle back. In PS, for small things I use the spot healing brush. For larger areas I use the clone stamp. Sometimes I use quick mask to create a selection then use content aware fill. Quick masks (shortcut letter "Q") are naturally feathered for a nice seamless (usually) transition.

For dodging and burning I have an action that makes a blank layer, fills it with 50% grey and changes the blend mode to either overlay on the dodge layer and softlight on the burn layer. If you paint with black on the burn layer it darkens and white on the dodge layer it lightens. Use a low opacity brush. The great thing with this method is that it is totally non-destructive. If this sounds too technical, PS has a burn and dodge brush. Use it on a duplicate layer in case you mess up.   Posted: 01/10/2018 16:16:09
Judith Lesnaw   Judith Lesnaw
Thank you so very much! I will try all these techniques. I am learning a great deal from my participation in this group and am very grateful.
  Posted: 01/10/2018 16:41:44



Carol Sheppard   Carol Sheppard
(Group 95)
Judith, the eye truly gives great impact, due to the shape of the reflection of it. The question of removing small imperfections is always difficult, but I do find the various specks on the water a major distraction. The water is so smooth and thick-looking, that I agree that they should be removed (except for that bubble on the right). This will emphasize your great capture of the frog better. My only other suggestion is that you do a subtle brightening of the shadows on his legs. It must be very slight so as not to be too obvious, but I think I might try it just to compare??   Posted: 01/09/2018 14:22:59
Judith Lesnaw   Judith Lesnaw
Carol, thanks! What Lightroom or Photoshop tool would you use to selectively lighten the legs? I will give it a try.   Posted: 01/09/2018 14:26:12
Carol Sheppard   Carol Sheppard
(Group 95)
I think I would use a brush in lightroom, and using very minor increments, brush over the legs, then a slight adjustment to either shadows or exposure, then repeat to taste.
  Posted: 01/09/2018 19:52:06



John Roach   John Roach
(Group 64)
I see in this group as well as in another that I facility reference to the PSA rules and how an image can be presented for PSA competition or exhibition. I don't care for that even thought I like the study groups. I get really crazed about the PSA rules. I think we create images for ourselves and many other reasons that go far beyond the tight bias of PSA rules. Ok, enough said. I do though really like this image because it has so much potential that so many non-PSA viewers thrill in. Nature is beautiful in so many ways and this image captures a very unique moment that can be enhanced as you see fit or left along. My only suggestion, is clean up the water. Get rid of all that other "stuff" so we can focus on the story! It is cool.   Posted: 01/09/2018 19:43:08



Judith Lesnaw   Judith Lesnaw
I have followed your suggestions and tried to remove most of the flotsam from the water. This is my very first attempt to use the Lightroom Healing tool. Thanks to all for encouraging me to learn new techniques.
  Posted: 01/19/2018 20:13:09
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Sharon Prislipsky   Sharon Prislipsky
I try not to read the comments others have made until after I have made my own, but I must confess that seeing your edit right above the comment box, I knew you had gotten some good suggestions, so I broke my rule. I think your edit is beautiful and artistic. I never enter the nature competitions because I think their rules are way restrictive. If this was my image I would be very proud of it. The eye is so sharp I feel like it is directed right on me. The colors are lovely abd the frog just pops out.   Posted: 01/21/2018 12:38:40
Judith Lesnaw   Judith Lesnaw
Many Thanks Sharon!!!!   Posted: 01/21/2018 18:06:33



 
Like the frog a lot. You did a great job in your edited version of removing the distracting spots and managing the water colors. It really pops wonderfully.   Posted: 01/24/2018 14:59:19
Judith Lesnaw   Judith Lesnaw
Thanks Tom!

  Posted: 01/24/2018 15:21:46