Alec Chester
July 2024 - Water Tower
Original
About the Image(s)
Attached is my image for July. I like urban views and have always been fascinated by New York City water towers. It strikes me as funny that modern building can supply water using the ancient system that’s, basically, a large cedar barrel. I liked this particular scene because of the multiple shapes and multiple colors.
I took the photo with a Canon EOS 5 D Mark IV at 1/320 sec, f/7.1, at 105 mm with an ISO of 100.
In Lightroom I enhanced it with changes in saturation, contrast and clarity. Then, in Topaz studio, I added a filter called “simplified overpainting” that removes some detail and gives it a look of a painting, somewhat.
Included is the original image without the filter.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
7 comments posted
Yes indeed, it is a painting and well done! I like Topaz Studio for these effects. This is a thing of beauty and it comes at a good time, when our consortium of camera clubs is considering revising competition rules to address Generative AI. We have many arguments and Topaz is in the middle of many of them, as you can imagine! Posted: 07/10/2024 00:26:10
Zina, I can see both sides of the argument about using filters, AI, changing the sky, etc. But, FYI: I recently had a show of my photos and the average person much preferred the ones that were manipulated in Topaz studio. Posted: 07/10/2024 12:50:51
For sure, my preference is the same. I am such a beginner in all things photography that I admit to not fully understanding the "pure" perspective. But I do know what I like, and I like your work, edited or not! Posted: 07/10/2024 12:54:21
I really like this image. The fact that there is writing on the building adds to it. Photography is ART. It is up to interpretation. You could have it judged by 10 different PSA judges, and you would have 10 different opinions. Thank you for sharing your image with us. Posted: 07/17/2024 17:19:59
I thought this image was wonderful. The original had good composition but is just not very exciting. It's so fun to play with images that have good shapes and textures. Using Topaz really brought out the colors and emphasized the water tower. Don't know if you did that or if Topaz did, but it was good. The colors and painterly effect really make this a super image. Even the intensity of the color of the sky is reflected in the windows. Not sure if I'd change anything. Posted: 07/17/2024 21:13:46
Alec,
This is a very eye-catching image. I am personally of mixed mind when it comes to using the painterly-type filters (I think some folks can over-rely on them), but there are certainly some images that benefit quite a bit from it. I think yours is one of those: your painterly version has a lot more visual impact than the original, and I'm not sure more conventional editing techniques would have worked as well.
As for composition, I like the layering effect you achieved here, and you have done a nice job making the water tower (cedar barrel that it may be...lol) stand out. Nice job. Posted: 07/17/2024 21:28:20
This is a very eye-catching image. I am personally of mixed mind when it comes to using the painterly-type filters (I think some folks can over-rely on them), but there are certainly some images that benefit quite a bit from it. I think yours is one of those: your painterly version has a lot more visual impact than the original, and I'm not sure more conventional editing techniques would have worked as well.
As for composition, I like the layering effect you achieved here, and you have done a nice job making the water tower (cedar barrel that it may be...lol) stand out. Nice job. Posted: 07/17/2024 21:28:20
This is a very striking image. The composition is well framed with the round water tower in the upper middle of the square and rectangular buildings. The filter adds "punch" to the image. I love the saturation and the blue in the sky that is missing in the original image. Additionally,the lighting on the water tower is just wonderful. Posted: 07/28/2024 15:05:56