Walk Softly
I did two versions. One with blue water, and this one with a duckweed overlay. The gator was darkened to make it more ominous. Unconstrained crop (thanks to Diane, I am getting over my fear of crop presets:)) I will post comments on others photos tomorrow. Have been busy with family stuff!
I like the overlay and the way it's composed. Especially because you were going for ominous (very fitting title, by the way), I wonder how it'd look with the texture masked off its eye . . .
Jackie,
Greetings. I particularly like how the texture sets off the water, the perfect s-curve, and the great title ;-). Thanks for posting.
Cheers,
-Michael-
Thanks for the comments, Dennis there wasn't too much detail in the eye in the original where you can see the slit in the eye. Maybe it was the way the light was hitting the eye. Not sure. Pretty much masked off all the detail.
Here's what I was thinking, Jackie. I partially masked (70% black) the eye off the original post. With the original layer below that one, I moved it to place the iris forward and upward so the eye seemed more menacing. Then, I painted over the catchlight to emphasize it a bit.
Yes, much more menacing, thanks Dennis. I appreciate you taking the time. I like it a lot more.
Evil-looking thing! Your treatment was great! I can see enough of the eye to look good to me in the OP.
I like how the gator comes out from the top right corner, anything dark looks really ominous...good effect, thanks for sharing
The gator is placed perfectly in the frame. I like your texture and the ripples/movement in the water. Well done!
Yikes! I can feel the menace! Amazingly powerful image. The alligator seems to be coming straight for me. The green on green is perfect. I prefer the OP to Dennis' version, though something in between might work best. In Dennis' version, the eye is too different from the rest of the image, and distracts me from the alligator as a whole. Interesting how photographers have different preferences.
What do you mean by " I am getting over my fear of crop presets:))."
Hi, Jackie, down here in Florida gators and duckweed go great together. I like the crop and maybe the eye somewhere between the OP and repost.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly" - The Little Prince
http://tuscawillaphotographycherylslechta.zenfolio.com/
What do you mean by " I am getting over my fear of crop presets:))."[/QUOTE] I should have said a crop of unconstrained proportions Anita. I always think a crop should be a preset that corresponds to a printed photo sheet. Easier for framing. Practical in one sense for framing, but I think unconstrained would be a photo for sale on its' own. (w/o framing)
Definitely not bad to try the presets first. (Do all of them correspond to precut mat window sizes?) Then if one of those doesn't work well, do your own custom ratio according to what fits the image best.
I almost always cut my own and usually use the metal section frames where you can get the vertical and horizontal pair in 1" increments. But then if it isn't a standard size you have to have glass cut to match, so I usually try to keep the outside (frame) dimensions standard when I can.
Thanks for explanation, Jackie. I almost never use preset crops. I tried to do so for a while, but, I much prefer to crop to fit the needs of the image. This does, however, cause problems with framing.
Like Diane, I cut my own mats and frame with metal section frames. I order mine from framingsupplies.com. They will cut them to size. I used to have a woman who cut glass to size for me, but, she died. I'm not looking for a source of glass.
Another approach I sometimes use is to change the proportions of the image before printing. For example, I just matted and framed 12 6"x9" images. Some of the images were not cropped to 6x9. One, for example, was 6x9.1. I just changed the 9.1 to 9. This can even work if the difference is a bit larger. It just depends on the image.
Thanks Diane and Anita. It sounds like both of you cut your own mats. What do you use. I bought something and could never get an even beveled edge.
I have the Logan Simplex Plus Model 750 mat cutter: http://www.framingsupplies.com/Logan...lex%20Plus.htmOriginally Posted by Jackie Schuknecht
I like it a lot.
Been reading all these comments and learning so much re cropping, etc. Re the gator, very menacing as stated, especially with it coming toward the camera (thus, me, if I am photographer). Like Dennis' suggestion re opening the eye...gives the "evil eye" feeling.
Re cropping: I usually try the presets first but if that doesn't give me what "speaks to me" I go with freehand crop.
Also, just wondering, Anita etc Do you sell photos at shows, through shops, etc?
I enter photos--matted and framed--in some local shows. The only ones that sell are the small ones, and not many of those. I also submit matted prints to my camera club photo competition.
I also have the Logan -- I got the 760 so I can cut full-sized boards (32 x 40") into smaller pieces for the odd-sized stuff like panoramas. I have it fastened to one of those folding-leg tables you can get at the office supply stores, with heavy C-clamps. It really needs to be stable. I have two side-by-side self-healing cutting mats that neatly fill the rectangular space in front of it, for a work surface. (You'll find a lot of them online and some at the larger office or art supply stores.)
Hi, I'm late to this thread but I use a Logan Simplex also, not as big as Diane's but it does a great job.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly" - The Little Prince
http://tuscawillaphotographycherylslechta.zenfolio.com/
I am able to cut the large 32 x 40 mats on my smaller Logan. Mine is on a plywood work table that my husband built for me. I like that the table is high, so I don't have to bend over to work, which was hard on my back.
I will have to check out the Simplex, we are so limited compared to what you can get in the States. Especially in DIY frames. I learned a lot from this thread. Thanks gals!
Posting Permissions
