"Enjoying the View"

July Image

How I did it -

This image was taken on 4th of July at the fireworks display in Meadows of Dan, Virginia. Shooting this was also a new experience for me. I particularly liked this one image because it is not your typical fireworks image. I wanted to see what you all thought of it. I am also attaching the original because I would have liked to have used more of the image instead of cropping it, however, the bottom part of the fireworks display was burned out and I do not know how to correct that or if it can be corrected. If it can I would appreciate advice on how to do this. I tried cloning but it would not match up. Thank you all for your input each month it is greatly appreciated.

I used a Nikon D80 with a 18-200mm Quataray lens. I used the nighttime setting to shoot this image. In photo shop I used Auto Contrast and Auto Color. I then went to Adjust Color> Color Variations> Increase Red in Midtones, Shadows, and Highlights by 2 clicks> Darkened Saturation 1 click. Then I went to Adjust Color> Adjust Color Curves > Increase Contrast. I also used burn tool to darken a few distracting white areas. I then cropped the image.

COMMENTS:
 

Shelby Acton
Dean Hellinger	I like what you have done with this. Indeed, not the usual fireworks shot, the "fire" behind the house is great, and the way it even lights up the windows, much more effective than the usual color in the sky.
Eleanor Helper	A great photo, one that, as you say, is not your conventional 4th of July image. I especially like the fiery sky seen through the windows, an effect less obvious in the smaller version. I like both versions and would have a hard time choosing between them, except for the windows. The "hotspot" is small enough in proportion to the rest of the composition that it doesn’t bother me much. I would have tried dodging but that is unlikely to have much effect. I also would have tried Shadows/highlight but I never can predict the effect in my own work, much less yours. I would not have bothered with the ‘auto" controls—I find they either have minimal effect that does not correct the flaw, or worse, yielding an undesirable effect.
Burt Hesselson	I think the image is stronger with less cropping on the bottom. I also think it plays better flipped. Last of all, I do not want important elements in the image to merge with the border, so I cropped a tiny bit off the top of the fireworks. Now, it is a very strong picture.
Donn Miertl	The strong point of this shot is the use of the house and hill to add some perspective to this shot. I do not think that the part at the bottom would add anything to your shot, but if you wanted to use it the bright launch area is something that is expected at fireworks and, I don’t think it would ruin the shot from the shot, however I think your cropping was correct. One suggestion if you wanted to use it would be to build a mask of the hot spot and feather it out. You could then use some of the smoke to the right of the launch path to fill in the all white area.
Michael Rosenbaum	What a nice image with which to remember your celebration of the 4th ! The color is excellent and the fireworks are interesting. It’s too bad you were not able to shoot from another angle where the fireworks and the house would have been closer, giving you a bit less empty space in the photo.
Larry Beller	Your simplification of what could have been a complicated image works well. One way to change and match the bright area is to use the Eyedropper Tool to pick a color to your liking; this can be modified by clicking on the foreground color in the tool box and moving the selection to whatever you want. Then use the Brush Tool set very soft in the Airbrush Mode to paint out what you want. This will let you increase the exposure to bring out a little more than silhouette on the hill, and unify the composition, rather than having a divided one, as in your original. I like it flipped, as in the thumbnail, and with a border (against the black background.)

Member Bio

Shelby Acton - Photographic Biography I am a relative newcomer to photography.  My interest in taking photographs began on a trip to Alaska in June, 2007 with a friend of mine who has been a photographer for many years.  I have since joined the Patrick Henry Photography  Club in Critz, Virginia and the PSA in December, 2007. My first photographs were taken with a Kodak  digital camera.  However, I have now graduated to a Nikon D80 digital camera which I am continuing to learn how to use.  I use Photoshop Elements 5.0 to enhance my photographs but still have a lot to learn about this program also. My main interests are nature and landscapes.  My secondary interests are still life and architectural buildings.  I have a lot to learn and will appreciate all critiques of my photographs.  Thank you for inviting me to your group.  I look forward to participating.