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Posted on 20/04/23 11:36:31 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3007 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 951: Red Lion Square
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Posted on 20/04/23 2:59:42 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5564 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 951: Red Lion Square
I'm rather baffled by the background rebuild, especially the trees, in Chaplin ......... but I like the idea of another famous umbrella. The umbrella statue snuck into the background in the Lion is a neat touch. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 20/04/23 6:16:49 PM |
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michael sinclair
Off-Topic Opportunist Posts: 1853 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 951: Red Lion Square
Michael this has to be one of the very best entries you have ever done, and I certainly can't improve on it; anyway, I love it, I love it, and I love it. It's also very clever! The Triple Gold Star for you!  |
Posted on 21/04/23 02:39:19 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3007 Reply |
Re: Challenge 951: Red Lion Square
Except for the sky silhouettes it was not easy extracting those branches. I tried a few extraction techniques but none of them worked very well. Finally I had to resort to the paint brush for some of them. The rest were replaced with some branches of my own. This all took a lot of time and was not competely successful. I am glad you liked some of it. |
Posted on 21/04/23 02:41:49 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3007 Reply |
Re: Challenge 951: Red Lion Square
I am glad you liked it Michael. I see your own work is improving lately, especially when you stick to the plot. |
Posted on 21/04/23 08:23:25 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6997 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 951: Red Lion Square
First to build statuary this week was lwc, with a glorious umbrella man that set the bar really high. Beautifully composed, the birds are excellent, and I see you’ve incorporated Mariner’s suggestion of making the people breathe. The evening shot is very attractive, but I question your view of the sun. I still think it would be white when staring straight at it at this angle, but above all the glow should show in front of the statue, not behind it – look at how it appears in front of the trees in the original photograph. That’s how our eyes deal with very bright objects: 
The rainy moonlight scene is an outstanding piece of work – always difficult to gauge how to work with an indistinct subject, but this has achieved it perfectly. The occasional lightning bolt really makes it. And the old photogaph shot is done with great skill. Not just the scratches, but the slight vignette effect at the edges. Immaculate. An “uninspired” DavidMac has produced a beautifully lit scene. Having seen where you got the statue, I see why you had to make the plinth absurdly high. It was interesting to see Michael Sinclair’s take on the plinth, although I agree with David that it is turned away from the light too much to catch it that brightly, although his second attempt does come a lot closer. There is something rather charming about the mezzotint version, and I think it’s largely down to the pose and expression of Mr Hanway. Because of edits and revisions I saw Michael Sinclair’s edit to your brolly folly at the same time as the image itself. Michael, we’ve discussed your fondness for HDR crispness before, and I repeat what I said then: if everything is screaming for attention, nothing can stand out. (I think your mea culpa most apposite.) David, you’ve clearly put a vast amount of effort into this image, and very pretty it is too. Was it inspired by the umbrella-shaped roof? An extraordinary edifice to have to build from scratch. The Gene Kelly version is a real hoot – fabulous! An entertaining animation from GKB, with a really good soundtrack. The sliding doors and construction noises are particularly good. I’m not entirely convinced that chopping the passers-by off at the knees quite equates to making them walk, although I’ll be generous and assume they’re both on skateboards. The revealed statue is a real treat, although I would like to have seen the umbrella made of marble as well. And couldn’t you find an animated dog? Your one must be suffering from cramp. Very cute. Good to see michael sinclair’s own entry to be on topic this week, with a veritable Wordsworthian host of daffs. I like the animation (which is, in itself, curious for a statue), but not entirely sure about the lighting, particularly on the face. Since his nose projects, that would inevitably hide this side of it from the sunlight, surely? The perspective of the statue itself works fine, as you’d expect it to be raised up above eye level. But we should surely be able to see the upper side of the plinth, which would then cause tricky issues with the feet. This is all perfectly explained in DavidMac's reply, with the correct perspective shown in the gravestone. I think his moved daffodils technique is the ideal cheat. A fine entry from Frank, using the same statue image as DavidMac. The high plinth was necessary here as well, but somehow it seems more in proportion. Something is bothering me about the top of the plinth, though. I think it needs to slope down to the left to make the perspective work: 
What looks like an Indian deity from tooquilos, complete with its own personal rain cloud. And a very open square now! That’s the way to deal with shadows. I like how it rains in the animated version, with the cloud sliding over the new umbrella man. Of course, Charlie Chaplin! The man with the umbrella. An ingenious approach from Mariner. But the statue isn’t the real focus here: the real work has gone into moving the sun. Not a task I would attempt lightly, but perfect for Mariner’s love of rebuilding. I can’t imagine the amount of effort you’ve had to put in here, Michael. But I’m so glad you did. I agree, the red lion is a much more appropriate monument, but I’m pleased to see you’ve added Mr Hanway at the back. Some entertaining back and forth this week. Keep it up. |
Posted on 21/04/23 09:34:23 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3007 Reply |
Re: Challenge 951: Red Lion Square
Thanks for a very good critique Steve. You were the only one to notice that the sun is now shining from the north. Your original picture is taken close to sunset and I wondered who else would spot my impossible solar realignment. Of course Mr Hanway had to be in the picture, otherwise I could have been accused of not folloing the plot!
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Posted on 21/04/23 10:55:49 AM |
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Frank
Eager Beaver Posts: 1733 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 951: Red Lion Square
Thanks Steve, yes I played with that top and finally aligned it more with the horizon than the perspective line. A mistake. |
Posted on 21/04/23 11:16:08 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5564 Reply |
Re: Challenge 951: Red Lion Square
Thanks Steve. I started of feeling "This is really dull what on earth am I going to do with it?". But once I got going I found the extreme perspective and backlight provided exactly the kind of challenge I like. The notion of an umbrella pavilion came completely out of my head, so I then set out to find one. The only one's I could find where far two steeply domed to work so I built one. The main structure is from Brighton pier (I think) the shallow roof is from elsewhere and distorted to be umbrella shaped. Plinth and railings constructed in 3D. Far too much work for the rather pathetic "Brolly Folly" gag. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 21/04/23 11:18:46 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6997 Reply |
Re: Challenge 951: Red Lion Square
Look at the head height of the man walking past in the background, on the left. There’s your horizon line. |
Posted on 21/04/23 1:19:37 PM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3130 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 951: Red Lion Square
Absolutely, I wish that I had noticed it on my original... 
Thanks for your most generous critiques... I had a lot of fun with this challenge.  |
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