February Week 3

Here is my third entry for this months One Four Challenge. I didn’t quite wait a week between this edit and my last one but I did wait enough to not be distracted by what I did with my last edit. For this one I decided to take more of a natural look approach with trying to pull out a lot of details. I don’t remember exactly what I did but I did do quite a bit of processing within LR then moved it to Nik Color Efex Pro and added a couple of layers to bring out a lot of the detail. I also cropped it from all sides in order to remove any additional distracting points. For week 1 I only cropped to straighten but found the top left corner to still be a bit of a distraction. So for Weeks 2 and 3 one of my main goals has been to remove that part of the frame through cropping. I almost wanted to leave more of the bottom of the frame but it didn’t really seem to balance out very well like that so I cropped it up until it looked balanced. Now the real challenge will be Week 4 which I will have that post scheduled ahead of time as next weekend I plan on being on the hospital with my wife and new son.

For reference I have also included the original RAW and previous weeks photos below.

RAW

Week 1

February Week 2

Week 2

 

ONE FOUR CHALLENGE – February WEEK 3

/ Justin Avery / 19 Comments

19 thoughts on “ONE FOUR CHALLENGE – February WEEK 3”

    • Thanks Sarah! I really wish I would have paid more attention when composing to get a better frame but then again that’s something we always try to work on as photographers. You have more time to think behind the monitor than you do behind the camera.

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      • Absolutely we do, which I think is why every photographer should try film! I think it gave me a good grounding in framing images. It’s so easy to get lazy though!! Always better if you include more in the original shot instead of overcropping. I really like this one as it is though! The lines and angles draw you right in. That’s something you always do so well in your compositions!

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        • I used to take a lot of photos with different compositions or focal points. I found that I have a higher chance of not wanting to go through the photos if there are multiples sitting there waiting because I don’t want to choose which one to keep. So now I limit myself to one or two photos of a subject most of the time. I find myself taking more time looking over the scene to think about the shot I want more. I also use my tripod a lot more too which makes me think a little more about the composition. I also find myself looking through the lens quite often and think to myself, “Would this make a nice photo?” and if the answer is no then I never push the shutter.

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          • I think that’s a great way to get the best out of landscape photography 🙂 It’s certainly a traditional approach that seems to work for the best of the best! It’s nice to be able to visit the location on previous days to prepare for a shoot if you can. Of course weather can be ephemeral and sometimes you have to take the shot quickly but prep is best!

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    • Thanks! Yes the blue does give it more of an appeal to me as well. The ice in the lower left of the frame keeps bothering me though. I did try to clear it out as much as possible but without the proper tools it was hard to get a perfect scene.

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  6. Yes I like this a lot, I like the clear frozen ice and how you can see all the defects and inclusions in it nicely, great job Justin 🙂

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    • Thanks Sari! I will say that it is much easier to create completely different looking photos from the same one when starting from scratch each time. I have learned that it becomes more difficult to get that final one done for the month. I’m happy it’s not the One Five Challenge or I’d rarely get to the 5th version. But I’ve got the 4th one complete now and I don’t think it will disappoint. 🙂

      I am looking forward to getting some photos at the hospital. When my last child was born I didn’t have my camera and didn’t know much of anything about photography so this will be a huge difference.

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