Study Group 14, Larry Beller

Study Group 14
Larry Beller

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"Los Arcos Amarillos"

August

Photographer's Comments -

This is a monument in Guadalajara, Mexico. It stands maybe fifty feet tall near a boulevard, and is bright yellow, hence the name of the image. I was taken originally with the colors, yellow against deep blue sky, but like this monochrome version better.

It was taken with a D80, using a Nikor 18-200 mm VR zoom lens at 32 mm. The exposure was 1/640 @ f/13.0, with matrix metering at ISO 500, and auto exposure, focus, and white balance, in RAW mode. Processing in Photoshop was at 16-bit depth. I used the Selective Color command to darken the blue sky a little, increased the saturation, and then used the B&W command to convert; with this command, I adjusted the proportion of reds until I got the sky tones I wanted, and then dialed the yellows until I got the whites I wanted. the final touch was to darken the lower right corner to emphasize the ascending nature of the arches and tower.

COMMENTS:

Stuart Caine It’s different. It’s hard to tell if the top is a dark sky or just “painted” black. The form and the shadows on the inside of each arch and going from a gray to white is excellent.

Dean Hellinger A stark presentation, interesting lines.

Eleanor Helper
Wonderful photo. Right on with composition, focus and lighting. I cannot imagine it in yellow, even with blue sky, which I usually favor. No suggestions, other than I wish I could see it.

Burt Hesselson I think the rolling columns are excellent and the B&W really stands out. However, "Mr. Flip-it" has to cry out to just do that, so much better.

Donn Miertl

Tim Christoffersen The image for me is simple and strong. I like the contrast between the upright element on the right side and the three curving elements to its left. The black background is quite effective as part of the simple, strong image. I don’t see much that I could offer as suggested improvements. I like it.

Larry Beller

Member Biography

Larry Beller - Photographic Biography

My primary photographic interests have always been pictorial and landscape photography, interests that are abetted by living in retirement on the banks of the Snake River in the mountains of eastern Idaho, an hour from the Tetons and two from Yellowstone. I am gradually renewing my interest from long ago in informal portraits of people and in architectural photography

I compete in PSA-recognized exhibitions in digital projected color and monochrome, and in both color and monochrome prints. I have one star in PPD monochrome print competition from a long time ago....1968, three recent stars in EID color and two in monochrome. Such competition helps make up for the lack of any PSA member camera clubs in eastern Idaho. This Study Group is a big help, as well.

I use a Nikon D80 DSLR with a variety of lenses, the most important being an 18-200 VR (stabilized) Nikor. I use an Epson 4490 scanner for digitizing slides and prints, an Epson 2200 printer, and a Dell Optiplex 745 computer with 4 GB of RAM and 3 TB of disk space, and a ViewSonic 19-inch LCD monitor. My software includes Adobe CS4 and Lightroom 2.

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