POTM [10/07] Coldplay

Coldplay
Playtime has gotten cold. Time to get inside for hot cocoa and video games.

Scroll down for larger preview if you have the screen resolution for it


Capturing:
Canon EOS 350D Digital
Aperture f/5.6
Shutter 1/60
Focal Length 53mm
ISO 200

Post-processing:
Saturation 1.24
Brightness -0.13
Contrast 0.12
Red levels (Black/Grey/White) 0.04/0.52/1.00
Green levels: 0.08/0.56/1.00

 

The saturation seems a bit overdone. Some of the details have been blown out by color.

I like the subject.

 

Thanks! Yeah I know about the colors... I'll redo the PP in Photoshop I think. Aperture is doing something awful to it when I convert it to JPG. The original is really good looking in Aperture, but the PP and jpg screws up...

EDIT: Uploaded it to Imageshack instead of picasa which gave instant improvement. The yellow seats are a bit overexposed, but to fix that I'll have to see if I get the chance to take the shot again.

 

I love the saturation - finally we have some COLOUR in the pictures. It's meant to be largely saturated to highly the huge contrast in toy colours. It really depends what monitor you view it on - my two viewsonics give two different pictures.

My only concern is the big gap of space in the bottom left hand side.

 

Very nice, that is alot of toys!!

If I was 17 (i'm 22) years younger I'd be in heaven!

 

I get where this shot is going, and I like the idea. Unfortunately, I think the bright green grass just kills any sense of cold. To me, this photo says "some kids got tired of the summer heat and went inside for a glass of lemonade."

I think some de-saturation might better convey a cold mood.

-monkey

 

Wow thanks for all the comments
The grass is too green compared to IRL and I think the colors are generally a tad too burning... but I've tried to toy with desaturation ever so slightly and that just kills the energy. I've tried all sorts of adjustments but the colors and surfaces (especially those on the toys with rain on them) are very easily ruined.
By the way: What marks the changing seasons here is among other things that the grass is still rich green, but the wind is now cool and it rains and the leaves have begun falling. So maybe I'll keep the grass vibrant...

The image wasn't even set up. I came upon it outside the block when coming home from a long walk with the dog. The toys belong to the kids living in our block. My neighbor saw me shooting and told me he took a picture the other day of seven (7!!) baby carriages parked on a row there on the grass

Concerning the composition I too want to crop it or something, but the long span of grass does a lot to the DoF and unfortunately the composition sort of collapses if I crop the bottom.

I'll try meddling a bit more with the photo and see if I can keep it vibrant without over-saturation and cold without loosing the warmth But I'll wait until tonight some time so the previous colors aren't sticking in my mind.
Does re-processing break the POTM rules? If so I shall not edit it anymore.

 

Try keeping the toys as saturated as they are, but knock back the grass's saturation a notch or two.

 

Finally! Success! Found out how to handle Apertures export settings to include my color profile. Please let me know how it looks on y'alls monitors.

New is at the top.
Old:

 

Much nicer.

 

Yeah, I like the new. The colors in it are great. Nice shot.

 

I rather prefer the more saturated green on the first one, but they're both nice. On the second one the grass seems to be a deeper and darker green towards the bottom of the frame - I could swear it looks a touch radioactive towards the very top. Maybe it's my own monitor calibration though.

Anyways, I like the shot quite a bit. The focus bugs me slightly though. I'd say either open up further and focus on a specific toy (maybe the tipped one) with stronger bokeh, or stop down another notch or two and get the very top of the frame in focus as well.

 

Again thanks for all the comments and critique! Really. Thank you

I was holding my dogs leash (and dog) in one hand while shooting with the other. The dog was really excited to say hi to the downstairs neigbour and I didn't really give the shot all the time I could have. I had two shots to choose from and the other was blurred.. so go figure
Had I taken more care when shooting, I would have aimed for better exposure, compositional balance and especially focus(dof).

I hope this doesn't ruin the pleasure of looking at the picture. But hey sometimes the quick coincidences in life end up with great results... I saw the motif, shot it and moved on

I sometimes rather like the innocence of capturing what first caught my eye and not try to "re-portray" it so it looks "even better"... if you know what I mean.

.....I like this POTM thing. It really makes me think.

@firehed: The radioactive green at the top doesn't show on any of my monitors or even on my TV

 

Ehh radioactive was the wrong word, but it doesn't look quite natural either. Maybe I just need to get outside more often.

 

Yes go outside! It looks quite natural here And pick up a monitor calibration tool while you're out there anyways

 

I really like the first one better - the saturation on the grass still leaves me feeling cold, but the whole image carries a bit darker and richer appearance. I love the concept and felt exactly what you were trying to convey from the first shot The second one feels to bright.

 

Nice picture, but you should try more simplicity. I would try taking a picture with only the middle/top bike in it.
You should try, i would like to see it like that
Greetz

 

I prefer the second one, looks brighter and the colours stand out alot more, nice attempt

 

I like them both, but the grass looks far far nicer in the original shot.

 

ehm... I know it may be confusing, but the dark one is the second one On my screen the original is the dark one. The reason the light green version is there is because I made the jpg with the wrong color profile.

I actually like the fact that some of you like the bright and some the dark as I think it may be very individual.

I will not be submitting other versions for potm, but if opportunity lets me I'll arrange a shot with just a single toy.

Thanks for your feedback and suggestions.