Retouch: Parent and child in the rapids (Kvarnbyn)

[jansandahl]

I continue to work on the images I shot in a place called Kvarnbyn (Mölndal/Gotheburg in Sweden). I added a twist to this one, where an added text says something like "But darling. I´v e told you a thousand times to keep track of your toys when we´re here."

There´s also a link here to a HUGE version of the retouch (960x1440) with a before/after on mouseover.

I was trying Picturenaut free HDR software, but the alignment wasn´t 100% unfortunately (handheld bracketed shots). But it´s good enough for this image - and purpose anyway. :-)

Hope you enjoy it!

Feedback could be about if it´s a successful blend of retouch and humour et c. And the image in general of course.

/Jan

[girlsfather]

Hi Jan,
I like the location and the idea!
The colors are fantastic.
What I see is the shade of the adult is too soft in relation to the distance. (Have a look at the shadows on the brickstonewall above).
The background could be simpler - there is a lot happening in the picture and simplifying would make it stronger and even less "real". (For example sky instead of the cafe)

About the text:
I think it works.
Although I find the picture strong enough not to need any text at all.

That is only my personal opinion ;-)

Michael

[Southbay]

The ducks and polar bear are hilarious! Well done.

[girlsfather]

and one more thing:
the sharpening is too much in my eyes.
I would recommend to let the buildings a bit softer.

[jansandahl]

Originally Posted by girlsfather

Hi Jan,
What I see is the shade of the adult is too soft in relation to the distance. (Have a look at the shadows on the brickstonewall above).

The background could be simpler - there is a lot happening in the picture and simplifying would make it stronger and even less "real". (For example sky instead of the cafe)
Michael

- Thanks for caring!

I would rather compare the shadow with the shadow cast by the buliding in the rapids (sunlight is parallell, so the difference in distance is neglectable). Maybe the adult´s shadow could be sligtly altered, but I think it´s quite on par with the other shadows in the water. But the edges could be should be more distorted (even on that short distance the edges would be dispersed by the water), as should the reflection of his legs.

Yes, the image is quite busy, but I like it.

[jansandahl]

Originally Posted by girlsfather

and one more thing:
the sharpening is too much in my eyes.
I would recommend to let the buildings a bit softer.

I have heard this from others as well. From a photographers pov the sharpeing is way out of line. But in this case I wanted to try it out as a part of the image style. There are more serious flaws that would need retouch, such as artefacts due to picturenaut´s failing alignment of the three source images. I´ll give it some thought, if the image is worth the hassle.

Thanks again!

[jansandahl]

Originally Posted by Southbay

The ducks and polar bear are hilarious! Well done.

- Now, that´s the reaction I was aiming for.

[W.Smith]

Originally Posted by jansandahl

[...] There´s also a link here to a HUGE version of the retouch (960x1440) with a before/after on mouseover. [...]

How is a 960x1440 (1.4 megapixel) picture file "HUGE", Jan...? In print (at true photo quality 300 dpi) that would make for a 3.5x5 inch print. That's not my idea of a "HUGE" file.

[jansandahl]

No, it´s not. :-)

I was thinking that it´s huge for some monitors to get full view of the image. Sorry for my misleading labelling.