THEME IMAGE: Pre-Monsoon Ready To Rumble

[LinzRiverBalmer]

HI To ALL.. Long time no talk, and I have missed everyone terribly.

Long story short.... sick, surgery, bad computer, bad camera, bad timing, bad signal, bad camera, bad computer.... no signal, no computer..... yadda yadda.

I hope to be back in the swing of things and really participating at the end of June.

I was just going to post this picture as a Hi, how is everyone, what do you think of this... but it does to me fit into the Theme just by chance.

I am house sitting for friends in the middle of nowhere near Galisteo, NM.... It is Monsoon season so we get a big storm rolling in every afternoon producing terrific light if not actual rain.

The horses are all slicked off in their summer gleaming coats and enjoying the cool breeze after 2 days of 98 degrees.

This was taken in color, about 90% full frame.

All PP done on laptop in LR4.... Exposure Fix, Crop, Sharpen Selective, Turned to Black and White.... Added an aged photo filter.

Then went in and brushed the horses and added some tonality and clarity and brought back some highlights, I really wanted the white horse to look white, since he is, a Leopard Appaloosa, and the Bay horse, a mustang is so dark that he lost his musculature when I went black and white, adding clarity brought that back for me.

The rest of the photo I really wasn't too impressed with until I did everything else, then I realized I loved the composition and the fencing and foliage.

My family loves it, so I'm curious to see what you all think or what you'd do differently.

[Anita Bower]

Excellent composition. My eye goes from the horses up to the arch and skull, down to the fence and back to the horses. I like the tones you used and the harsh contrast. The only thing I find distracting is your name and copyright--maybe smaller and in the same colors as the image?
Great work! Look forward to having you back. Seems you have been through a rough time. Hope things improve.

[LinzRiverBalmer]

Thanks Anita..... My copyright is annoying, I can never get it right through Lightroom so gave up.... I only use one on the web, on prints I sign them.

[Anita Bower]

Thanks Anita..... My copyright is annoying, I can never get it right through Lightroom so gave up.... I only use one on the web, on prints I sign them.
Makes sense. I haven't tried doing a copyright for web.

[Diane Miller]

Welcome back, Linz!! We've missed you! Hope everything stays in working order now, starting with you!

This is wonderful! You have a really nice triangle between the horses, the skull and the fence and foliage in the LR. And wonderful processing!!

[Hazel Grant]

yes, nice comp. The horses, of course, are the focal point, but the rest gives them a context and that's good. The browntones, according to you, worked best for the horses' colors, but also, I think, they give that "authentic" old west feel.

[Nancy Bell]

Welcome back! This image works very well with your processing. I am quite familiar with that unique light before a storm rolls over. It makes everything stand out as in 3D and yet gives an eerie feeling to the atmosphere. You really captured that feeling and I felt that even before I read your text. Love the compositional flow from the sparring horses, up that diagonal pole and over to the skull on the curved arch, and down that farthest pole. P.S. I love the look of a leopard appaloosa! Maybe you'll have a chance to get more images of him.

[LinzRiverBalmer]

Thanks to all.... Like I said I should be fully back by the end of June, I'm still having communication issues.... Sometimes I can't stand the constant phone calls to get what you need via Internet, and phone service.... Ugh.

really appreciate the input from everyone!

the light before storms out here is always unreal as Nancy said, it's like true life 3D HDR. I took this during an extremely rare tornado warning, so everything was a steel gray green color with the light of early sundown.

yes I got other photos of the appy and he's unlike any I've seen before, his ears are solid red/chestnut.

he is also 23 years old, so over the whole "get my picture taken" thing, but I got a couple, will post when I can.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Love the toning and comp. Lindsay. My eye follows the same path horse, diagonal log and then the skull. Has a somewhat ominous feel to me, because of the toning and the skull, and the horses playing(?) Glad you dropped in. Hope you are able to participate more.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Linz, great to see you posting again! I hope things continue to improve for you; I understand health issues as they have both me and my wife for some time now. I really like the image. The tone is just right and the composition is very compelling. Nice job, hope to see more of your work!

[Arthur Morris]

Somewhat surprisingly, I really like the look. The light, the horses, the wooden archway, and the skull all rock. Your signature needs to be much smaller, more subdued, and not purple :).

The basic image design but so far everyone has--as far as I am concerned missed the boat on one major element of the image: I find the fence and the dark bushes in the lower right to be a big distraction. That areas does not seem to fall within the depth-of-field and it is very dark.

Obviously I do not know this location; was moving well to your right an option?

[Anita Bower]

A well deserved win.