Nancy Rich
November 2020 - Watermelon Slices
About the Image(s)
Over the past several years, I have greatly enjoyed taking macro images of fruits and vegetables. They have wonderful colors, textures, and shapes and can be arranged in an infinite number of ways. The image of this watermelon was particularly interesting to capture because of its fleshy, wet surface (and it's a challenge to find a watermelon with seeds anymore!)
This image was taken at ISO 200, at a focal length of 8mm, and at 1/20th of a second. I used a Canon 100mm macro lens. The watermelon slice is on top of a piece of black velvet. My Canon 77D camera is on a document stand positioned above the watermelon.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
9 comments posted
(Group 63)
This image certainly captures the luscious nature of these subjects. I love the simplicity of the setting and colors that are contained within. The seeds do definitely adds to the story and to the image as a whole, so ensuring their presence was a good choice.
I do find though the foremost subject does tend to blend into the subject behind it. I am not sure how to address it since there is a defined edge between the tow. Perhaps if one darkens slightly the foremost subject just a bit more and/or lighten the background might aid in the separation of these elements. I also am enjoying the lighter seeds on the tabletop, but they do appear to be somewhat blown-out, so their impact is lessened some. Perhaps adding a bit of texture back (by cloning over these with some of the dark seeds and reducing the opacity of the cloned layer) might help. I tried this in my version of the image (provided solely to illustrate my ideas) but only with marginal success.
My personal bent with these types of shots is to add a bit more micro-contrast to the entire image to bring out more so the watermelon texture contained within the slices. I would also darken and/or add some contract to the white areas of the rind to emphasize the color transitions between the pink, white and green hues. Food or thought (if you pardon the pun). I have included an example of this image where I made some of these changes to illustrate my thoughts more fully.
See what you think...
Posted: 11/12/2020 13:03:50
I do find though the foremost subject does tend to blend into the subject behind it. I am not sure how to address it since there is a defined edge between the tow. Perhaps if one darkens slightly the foremost subject just a bit more and/or lighten the background might aid in the separation of these elements. I also am enjoying the lighter seeds on the tabletop, but they do appear to be somewhat blown-out, so their impact is lessened some. Perhaps adding a bit of texture back (by cloning over these with some of the dark seeds and reducing the opacity of the cloned layer) might help. I tried this in my version of the image (provided solely to illustrate my ideas) but only with marginal success.
My personal bent with these types of shots is to add a bit more micro-contrast to the entire image to bring out more so the watermelon texture contained within the slices. I would also darken and/or add some contract to the white areas of the rind to emphasize the color transitions between the pink, white and green hues. Food or thought (if you pardon the pun). I have included an example of this image where I made some of these changes to illustrate my thoughts more fully.
See what you think...
Posted: 11/12/2020 13:03:50
Thank you for your comments, Charlie. I particularly like what you did with the shading. I agree that it helps distinguish between the top and bottom pieces of watermelon. Posted: 11/17/2020 12:44:18
(Groups 20 & 79)
Nancy,
Charlie has made some valid points. In addition, to my eye rind in the back image looks a tad soft. I took the liberty of playing and think that if you showed a smaller portion of the image, we would see more of the lines and structure of the melon. Prior to cropping I increased the PPI to 250, so there would be more pixels to work with. After cropping I did a 6x enlargement in Topaz Gigapixel, added some saturation and random film grain, adjusted the color grading. Posted: 11/13/2020 16:08:21
Charlie has made some valid points. In addition, to my eye rind in the back image looks a tad soft. I took the liberty of playing and think that if you showed a smaller portion of the image, we would see more of the lines and structure of the melon. Prior to cropping I increased the PPI to 250, so there would be more pixels to work with. After cropping I did a 6x enlargement in Topaz Gigapixel, added some saturation and random film grain, adjusted the color grading. Posted: 11/13/2020 16:08:21
Hi Peter,
You have done some interesting things with the photo. I am intrigued by the Gigapixel program. I recently purchased it to use, but haven't gotten "into it" yet. I can see where it will be very useful, especially when significantly cropping an image. The "grain" in the watermelon is highlighted in your version, and I like how that looks.
Nancy Posted: 11/17/2020 12:50:36
You have done some interesting things with the photo. I am intrigued by the Gigapixel program. I recently purchased it to use, but haven't gotten "into it" yet. I can see where it will be very useful, especially when significantly cropping an image. The "grain" in the watermelon is highlighted in your version, and I like how that looks.
Nancy Posted: 11/17/2020 12:50:36
Hi Nancy and welcome! Love watermelon, as do my dogs - eating it isn't very peaceful unless I share. This is a nice image and I agree that finding one with seeds is a challenge lately.
As suggested, I agree darkening the rind would show more of a color transition. Maybe darkening the back slice would increase delineation of the two sections a little more clearly, but then I'm big on darkening backgrounds.
Personally I find any kind of food difficult to shoot in any meaningful way. I've tried shooting watermelon - i was much more successful eating it than photographing it. Aside from the various suggestions, your colors are well saturated and you've captured the feel of a juicy fresh watermelon Posted: 11/15/2020 07:40:56
As suggested, I agree darkening the rind would show more of a color transition. Maybe darkening the back slice would increase delineation of the two sections a little more clearly, but then I'm big on darkening backgrounds.
Personally I find any kind of food difficult to shoot in any meaningful way. I've tried shooting watermelon - i was much more successful eating it than photographing it. Aside from the various suggestions, your colors are well saturated and you've captured the feel of a juicy fresh watermelon Posted: 11/15/2020 07:40:56
Hi Lynne,
Thanks for your welcome and for your notes. I like the idea, as noted by others, of creating more differentiation between the two pieces of watermelon. If I were to take this photo again, I would block some of the light landing between the two pieces in the center and on the rind.
Nancy Posted: 11/17/2020 12:54:37
Thanks for your welcome and for your notes. I like the idea, as noted by others, of creating more differentiation between the two pieces of watermelon. If I were to take this photo again, I would block some of the light landing between the two pieces in the center and on the rind.
Nancy Posted: 11/17/2020 12:54:37
Hi Nancy, welcome to the group.
What a delicious choice.
The other friends had made some good suggestion and I would only want to say my two cents about cutting right under the skin at the top.
There is nothing wrong about cutting a piece off but I would suggest to cut off a big chunk or to include the whole edge.
Let your viewer know that it is not an accident and you really mean the cut. In portraiture we frequently say that it is best to either include the whole head or really amputate.
Really enjoy the texture of the juicy fruit. Posted: 11/16/2020 14:00:12
What a delicious choice.
The other friends had made some good suggestion and I would only want to say my two cents about cutting right under the skin at the top.
There is nothing wrong about cutting a piece off but I would suggest to cut off a big chunk or to include the whole edge.
Let your viewer know that it is not an accident and you really mean the cut. In portraiture we frequently say that it is best to either include the whole head or really amputate.
Really enjoy the texture of the juicy fruit. Posted: 11/16/2020 14:00:12
Hi Angela,
Thanks, too, for your welcome and notes. I agree with you about the cut at the top of the image. The cut should be made in a more "bold" way so that it doesn't look like a mistake.
Nancy Posted: 11/17/2020 13:04:11
Thanks, too, for your welcome and notes. I agree with you about the cut at the top of the image. The cut should be made in a more "bold" way so that it doesn't look like a mistake.
Nancy Posted: 11/17/2020 13:04:11
I really like the wet texture of the watermelons and the sharp focus, especially in the front piece. I go along with some of the other comments and would emphasize to either include the top of the rind in the back piece or cut more of it off. Right now it looks like a mistake rather than something done on purpose. As Charles said, the white seeds in the front do look blown out and I would try to bring down the highlights and give them some more texture. Posted: 11/26/2020 12:10:22