Notes on Assignment 1 - Seasonal Colour Changes

I sent my first assignment to my tutor last week, and was pleased to receive useful feedback just two days after posting it! I don't intend to write about my assignments in detail in this blog, as there are already written notes on my thought processes and methods in the assignment paperwork itself - however, I would like to use my blog to respond to some of the feedback given.

The project brief was to take four photographs depicting the current season - in this case, summer - and manipulate the images to create versions depicting each of the other three seasons. Here are my four sets of images - in each case, they are arranged in the same order - spring in the top left, summer (the original images) top right, autumn bottom left and winter bottom right:

Set 1: Ilfracombe beach, Devon

Feedback for this set: My tutor agreed that the original image looked suitably summery and that the autumn image worked well, but felt that the spring image looked a bit too vivid. This is a fair criticism - I tend to get carried away when playing with the vibrance and colour balance sliders! He also commented that the fog, which I had created using the clone stamp and selective blur, did not look wholly realistic, as fog is actually much brighter due to light reflection from water molecules. As I studied meteorology as part of my Geography degree, I should have known this, so am a bit cross with myself for missing it!

I looked back at some 'foggy' shots that I have taken in the past, and saw that this was indeed the case - here is a shot that I took from a railway platform:

When measured using the eyedropper tool in Photoshop, the brightness level is actually 98%.

Set 2: Dunster Castle, Somerset

My tutor felt that my manipulations were fairly convincing when printed at a small size - however, if viewed larger, they would become much more apparent. I agree with this assessment. He also commented that the changes to the foliage were too uniform, particularly in the autumn image. Having since looked at other autumnal images, such as this one on Flickr, I can see that the tonal range and colours of each tree vary, rather than being solid blocks of colour.

By my own admission, I could see mistakes in my winter image too. Some of the trees are snow-covered, whereas I could not work out how to make others look convincingly covered. The saturation of the castle is also too strong. The feedback suggested that I try replacing the sky with either a grey or plainer blue version, which would be more suited to a snowy landscape. In response, I have experimented with a few variations. I took the skies from two of my own snowy images (please click on the images to view them at a slightly larger size):

... and used them to replace the sky above the castle:

Some cloning out of background elements was necessary. I also tried using the sky from the summer Ilfracombe image, from set 1:

The blending of the tree line and sky is far from perfect, as I was just trying this as a quick experiment, but I actually feel that the last of the three replacements - the bright blue Ilfracombe sky - works the best. The grey sky makes the image look almost 'storybook'-like in appearance, perhaps because I have increased the contrast too much.

Set 3: Sycamore leaf

This was my favourite of the four sets. I wasn't completely happy with the winter leaf, as a real dead leaf would be curled at the edges, but other than that, I was pleased with the set.

My tutor commented that the manipulations were simple and effective, but that the summer and spring images may be better if switched over. On reflection, I can see that this should be the case - the spring leaf should look brighter and fresher than the summer version.

He also commented on my chosen background, as it looks like a kitchen worktop, which is not the best setting for a leaf. It is actually a paving stone in my back garden, but this has got me thinking about how photographs are open to interpretation, and about how I should take more care over such details in the future. Placing the leaf on bare ground may have been a better option.

I've had a bit of fun playing with different arrangements of this set, and I think it looks best in a square format, such as either of these versions:

Set 4: Strawberry kiosk

 My tutor and I agreed that this was not my strongest set. The autumn and summer images are acceptable, but the other two are not convincing. The winter image in particular is weak, and just looks to me like a less saturated version of the original. With hindsight, I feel that this was a bad choice of image, as the composition is not strong. The dramatic sky means that it works fairly well as a summer image, but is not easy to manipulate into the colour palletes of other seasons.

Summary

This project, and the resulting feedback, have been very useful. It has definitely given me food for thought, and made me consider ways in which I can improve my future work. I found this to be an enjoyable exercise, and although the outcome wasn't perfect, I am satisfied that I tried my best and have learnt many new skills as a result.