Meytre's Grist Mill

[Dennis Bishop]

This grist mill, originally built in 1906, was restored in the early 1980s when the site became a city park in Valdese, North Carolina. It was another find thanks to a Hampton Inn. According to the waterfalls guidebook I was using, the falls there wasn't worth a stop. However, there were two photos of the mill in the Hampton, and that led to a detour in our travels. The falls was slightly behind and to the right. The tripod and I were low to the ground and nearly in the water. The shot from the top of the falls has some merit but it features the building rather than the wheel.

Nikon D3S, ISO 200, f/22, nine-exposure HDR at 1 EV intervals, zoom at 28 mm

processing highlights (The file size is a bit over 1 GB.)

• cropped substantially from the right, less from the bottom
• skewed and stretched in an attempt to correct distortion resulting from the camera angle
• It looked like water may be directed into the sluice on special occasions. I added some from Widow's Creek Falls via Photoshop.
• Topaz Simplify -- Watercolor II preset, masked to reduce webbing
• Nik Color Efex -- Contrast Color Range
• Nik Color Efex -- Darken/Lighten Center, masked from wheel and supports
• Nik Viveza -- some darkening of replaced siding in the upper left of the building, masked from wheel and supports (so Contrast Color Range effect showed)
• Flypaper Textures -- two at Hard Light blend mode
• copy of base image -- masked to reveal wheel and supports, reduced opacity, Darken blend mode to bring back some of the texture lost during Simplify application
• Flypaper Textures -- one masked to sky, Subtract blend mode
• Fractalius -- three B&W layers at Multiply blend mode (one used only for a uniform gradient vignette)
• Alien Skin Snap Art -- Stylize Line Art, B&W layer, Multiply blend mode

[Hazel Grant]

Great perspective on the comp. The "normal" is just a landscape of the scene. Here you have gone through the wheel, emphasizing that element. Always amazed at your skilled use of textures, etc. to develop your final effects. Did you use a fish eye? I'm asking because I notice that the trees overhead seem to follow the line of the wheel's curve....so I'm guessing either fish eye, or good coincidence of nature.

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . Did you use a fish eye? I'm asking because I notice that the trees overhead seem to follow the line of the wheel's curve....so I'm guessing either fish eye, or good coincidence of nature.

Thanks for your nice comments, Hazel. It was a 17-35 mm zoom at 28 mm. There was a lot of distortion because I was relatively close, low, and at a crazy camera angle in order to get the building within the wheel. This shot from a different HDR series shows what I think is the same tree.

[John Ippolito]

Dennis, this a real polished piece. The perspective of looking up and through the wheel makes for a potent composition. Wonderful geometry in the image. Your attention to detail is very impressive, and I recognize your distinct "style" - something that many of us hope we will find someday.


"Mighty is geometry, joined with art, resistless" Euripides

[Janet Heintz]

Dennis,
This is really nice. It actually doesn't even look like it was ever a photo. Just looks like a beautiful painting.
Great Job! Love the colors.
Janet

[Indranil Sircar]

Dennis, I love the perspective and the composition... looks like you have to get into the water! The framing is just outstanding as is your thoughtful processing. The effects certainly accentuates the image to a different level. Excellent work!

[Kerry Perkins]

This is a wonderful image Dennis, so many strong elements. I love the mood and the judicious use of light to bring the eye into the center of wheel. Strong geometric shapes and lines add to the interest. Very nice work.

[Anita Bower]

The low point of view and the wide angle lens create a dramatic image! I like how the trees on either side bend inward to frame the wheel. Framing the mill building within the wheel was brilliant. Good skew and stretch work. The composition is excellent.
As always, your processing is beautiful, bringing out the best in the image. Using HDR allowed you to get highlights and shadows.
If I understand your description, you added the water. Amazing job. Though, the water was the only part of the image that bothered me a bit.
The simplification and artistic software you used work really well--you have mastered them. (Do you use actions you have created, or do you do it differently each time?)
I like the subdued colors and the overall tone.
Excellent.

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . the water was the only part of the image that bothered me a bit.
. . . Do you use actions you have created, or do you do it differently each time? . . .

Thank you, Anita.

I always appreciate your comments. What was it about the water that bothered you?

I've occasionally -- something very little beyond once-in-a-lifetime -- used actions created by others, and I've never created any, myself. There are steps I take in every image, so I could use actions. However, I don't want to mechanize things I enjoy. (When I was baking bread every weekend, I always kneaded by hand.) There are other things I do to images very infrequently, like adding snow or rain. I used an action for snow once or twice but realized I wasn't learning anything about Photoshop that way. It made more sense to do it manually and know what was happening.

[Anita Bower]

Thank you, Anita.

I always appreciate your comments. What was it about the water that bothered you?

I've occasionally -- something very little beyond once-in-a-lifetime -- used actions created by others, and I've never created any, myself. There are steps I take in every image, so I could use actions. However, I don't want to mechanize things I enjoy. (When I was baking bread every weekend, I always kneaded by hand.) There are other things I do to images very infrequently, like adding snow or rain. I used an action for snow once or twice but realized I wasn't learning anything about Photoshop that way. It made more sense to do it manually and know what was happening.

Not sure what about the water seemed off--maybe it was too straight, or the color. But, this is a very minor thing.

Thanks for answering about actions. I, too, seldom use them--usually only for portraits, which I'm not very good at.

[Nancy Bell]

WOW! Very striking. Everyone above beat me to all the compliments I was going to make.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Dennis, I'm very late to the show and everything has been said but let me just say that this is very, very nice I especially like how the trees frame the wheel and how well the filters work for the image.

[Paul Lagasi]

I love the perspective, very nice eye...well done