Karen Botvin  


San Gimignano by Karen Botvin

December 2021 - San Gimignano

December 2021 - Karen Botvin

Original

About the Image(s)

This image was taken in 2019 during a trip to the Tuscany region of Italy. I have been revisiting some of these photos in hopes of re-editing them to the beauty that I saw when there. This image was made with my Nikon D850 and Sigma 70-200mm lens at 70mm, ISO 320, f/20 at 1/80 sec. Not sure why I had the shutter speed so low. I had only been shooting about 2 years at this point so I was fairly happy with it. I originally edited it in Lightroom by adjusting the exposure, whites and blacks a bit. Recently my edits have included cropping in LR adjusting the shadows then taking it into Photoshop to remove the fence and white tops in the lower right. I used a combination of content aware and the stamp tools. Then off to Topaz Sharpen and then into Nik ColorEfex to apply the Darken/Lighten filter and the Brilliance Warm filter. I adjusted both of those filters so not to be at full strength. Your feedback on my edits are much appreciated as I’m trying to move into the landscape realm.


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




Shirley Pohlman   Shirley Pohlman
Such beautiful country, and I feel you have captured the mood of the scene very well. Since you have Nik, I would suggest using Viveza to isolate certain areas to get more contrast for dimension by just changing the exposure and color a little. Also Lightroom's clarity and/or dehaze tools on the far hills to sharpen. My eye is drawn to the thin tree about 1/3 way across. I feel if you could possibly clone that out, it would result in a nice curve at the bottom.   Posted: 12/04/2021 13:13:26
Karen Botvin   Karen Botvin
Thanks so much, Shirley, for your feedback. I added a bit of Clarity & Dehaze in LR, used a filter in Viveza to give it more depth and removed most of the tree that extended into the mid-ground. I also cropped it a bit to fit a 16x9 landscape format. I really loved this vista and I feel this image is depicting what I saw while there. Thanks again for your comments.   Posted: 12/07/2021 11:03:32
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Shirley Pohlman   Shirley Pohlman
I feel you have accomplished more depth in this edit!   Posted: 12/07/2021 16:19:13



Jaqueline Whalen   Jaqueline Whalen
I really like the middle ground of the image. The topography of the fields make a fascinating contrast to each other. I would concentrate on cropping to emphasize the middle ground. Possibly removing the tall tree in the foreground just to the left of center. I kept feeling like that was blocking my view! Not sure that can be done but might be worth a try. I also might try cropping the hills and sky a bit. I found the shadows on the hills in the background distracting to what I found most interesting in the landscape.   Posted: 12/07/2021 06:25:37
Karen Botvin   Karen Botvin
Thanks for you comments, Jaqueline. Although I agree that the captivating part of this image is the mid-ground, I feel that in cropping away the background hillside, changes the entire image and the expanse of what I felt while standing there is gone. In addition, since I've been studying a fair amount of landscape images and reading that a good landscape should have a fore-ground, mid-ground, and background. I've attached a cropped version to show the difference.   Posted: 12/07/2021 11:24:45
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Piers Blackett   Piers Blackett
Fascinating composition with an oasis effect of the foreground farmstead. I think if you did Jacqueline's crop there would be an effective panorama. Thanks for tips on Nik.   Posted: 12/07/2021 11:02:15
Karen Botvin   Karen Botvin
Thanks, Piers. I've attached a crop version in my response to Jaqueline. I prefer my original image's crop as to keep the expansive feel of the vista. Nik is great software. In their many difference sections, one can always find something that just adds that special something!   Posted: 12/07/2021 11:29:03



Jim Wulpi   Jim Wulpi
Karen, Since becoming more versed in Lightroom, I've been adding a touch of Texture, Clarity and (usually) very light Dehaze to most all of my images.
I love this scene and wish I could have been there with you to see it, and capture it first hand. The latest crop in response to Jaquelines comments re: middle ground took my breath away with three VERY distinct horizontal layers of texture. That make it really POP!
Love it!   Posted: 12/22/2021 16:21:56



 
The picture is beautiful,and sharp.   Posted: 12/24/2021 13:58:59



 
The picture is beautiful,and sharp.   Posted: 12/24/2021 13:59:00