Mervyn Hurwitz
July 2024 - Douro Valley
About the Image(s)
The Douro Valley is one of the most picturesque areas of Portugal.
Sony A7IV 60mm, ISO 250, f16, 1/100secs. Aperture priority. Hand held.
In PS I darkened the horizontal road which was quite bright, darkened the sky and added a light vignette.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
8 comments posted
Hi Mervyn, what a lovely palette of greens and play of light and shadow! The zigzag line formed by the roads and the outlines of the terrain lead one deep into the image, and the diagonals crossing the frame add to the three-dimensional feeling. I love the bright sunlit foreground against the colder tones further back. Posted: 07/11/2024 06:52:37
A very nice landscape, with several layers created by different shapes and colors. The house at the bottom provides for a good sense of scale. The winding road leads the viewer to the center of the image and the mountains in the background. But I find that the horizontal road cuts the image in two, even after being darkened. There is not much you can do about it, since it was there. Posted: 07/12/2024 02:33:26
Hi Mervyn,
A very nice image, although I find the horizontal road somewhat distracting and indeed cutting the view in half, as Jose mentioned. Not much you can do about it though, maybe would have tried to take the image above the horizontal road, but you would have lost the house then.. difficult choice. Posted: 07/15/2024 08:18:56
A very nice image, although I find the horizontal road somewhat distracting and indeed cutting the view in half, as Jose mentioned. Not much you can do about it though, maybe would have tried to take the image above the horizontal road, but you would have lost the house then.. difficult choice. Posted: 07/15/2024 08:18:56
As others have said, the bottom portion is the most important, but at the same time, cropping the top just takes away the feeling of the the scene being a mountainous area (and you lose the contrast of tones). I like the contrast and colors. I do agree with Jose that the bottom bright road does tend to act as a blocker.
If you did not care about being true to the image, you could "move" the house to above the road. Posted: 07/15/2024 14:29:43
If you did not care about being true to the image, you could "move" the house to above the road. Posted: 07/15/2024 14:29:43
That's a good suggestion. I will try it. Posted: 07/15/2024 20:35:47
Following Bob's suggestion, I have reworked this picture.
I moved the house up, eliminated the horizontal road and re cropped. Any comments on this version? Posted: 07/17/2024 17:20:14
I moved the house up, eliminated the horizontal road and re cropped. Any comments on this version? Posted: 07/17/2024 17:20:14
I concur with Tony. This a big improvement Posted: 07/21/2024 17:44:03
Hi Mervyn, I think your revised version has made a lot of difference from the original image. By eliminating the horizontal road, it looks more appealing and unified. I like the yellow colored plants in the foreground and the variations of green in the mid ground and background. Posted: 07/21/2024 07:33:26