I'm not a big selective color guy, but I thought it worked really well for this shot. When I got to the site, I immediately knew I wanted to do a LE to capture the interesting water and cloud movement. It took a few shots to figure out the shutter speed, but I finally settled on 13 seconds. I was happy. However. when I got home the picture looked too busy because the swirls where supposed to be supplemental interest, but they were making it difficult to focus on the Red Mill. I tried a few things before going with selective color. What do you guys think about the shot and the use of SC in general? The Red Mill by Gary, on Flickr
I really like the LE shot overall...and salute your technical skills in capturing / creating such a mood. But, replying to your request, I'll be honest and say the red selective color doesn't do it for me...gives it almost a cartoon look as its so out of place in an otherwise nice old mill scene. Maybe a darker, duller, weathered red might fit better...but that's just my view.
I agree. Normally it looks cheesy, but I like the look here. My one suggestion. There is a bit of random red on the wheel. Go in and get rid of these and you would have a winner.
Hm. I guess SC is just outside of my appreciation zone, Gary. But that's just my shortcoming, and I really like what you did otherwise with the LE and processing.
Thanks Dave. That red on the wheel is not random. It is rust that happens to be a very similar shade to the Mill. I debated it in or out, but went with leaving it in because then the wheel gets lost and what's a Mill without a wheel? @roundball - I know what you mean about the bright red, but I didn't change the color, I just selected it. It pops more against the B&W. That said, your suggestion to mute it a bit is interesting. @WoodWorks - I understand what you are saying, I have only used selective color a couple of times I believe. In both cases, I would have discarded the image otherwise. Below is the other Travel by Gary, on Flickr
Like this shot Gary, but on my monitor it almost looks pink. I'd go with an old barn red. I know, what's old barn red? I used to see it on picnic benches a lot. Or old barns out on the prairie that have weathered the last 50+ years or so.
Not a big selective color fan either, but it seems to work OK here. I would darken the red - more "barn red" as AlwaysOnAuto put it, and take it out of the wheel. I understand why you wanted it in, but to me it is different enough (a secondary color) that it is another distraction. All just my personal preferences though. It is technically a great shot.
I love your photography, but this doesn't do it for me. So many other interesting things, the clouds, the swirling water, the composition. The red distracts from that. In the taxi photo, the yellow is well done because it helps tell the story. The blurry cars would be much harder to identify as taxis without the color. Love that shot. JMHO.
I like it. I really like it. It works for me. I enjoy looking at the image. I have no suggested improvements. In fact when you print one for me, please do not change anything.
Not a big fan of SC generally speaking but I find the idea really interesting here, although I also must admit that the red looks too pinky/salmonish to my eyes. Agree, a more darker red or brown orange with some dodge an burn would work, just to reduce the distracting effect of the color and keep some of the overall photo mood.
I like the composition. As others stated, how the color comes across is an issue, especially us w/o dialed in monitors. It's salmon like on mine. If the red was the rust patina color, it would tie together better, as it's two different shades of red now. Darker, de-oxygenated blood red would work well for an American Gothic feel, bring up the creep factor. I think SC has its place and can yield creative images. The taxis in front of Penn Station, that's excellent.
Thanks all for the comments. I was more curious to find out if you guys agreed there were times when SC was appropriate vs it has no place. It seems most here don't really like it. Like I said, I have only gone to it a couple of times, but I think it can be used effectively with the right subject. As for the color of the Mill, I didn't change the color in post mainly because I have never changed color in post unless it was a byproduct of white balance or a filter. That said, because so many people mentioned it, I'm inclined to mess with the color. Note: I do calibrate all my monitors monthly with spyder 5 and it looks red to me, not pink. It isn't barn red, but it surely doesn't look pink. I looked at it on my wife's uncalibrated monitor and it looks a does have a different look. Not only are her colors wrong, but the monitor is also too bright which washes out the color. I don't want to change the topic, but do you guys calibrate your colors and brightness?
I have tweaked my display a bit, but not spent the money for a spyder or the like though I think I should now and then. I usually talk myself out of it by considering that few if any of the people I know is going to have a calibrated display, I am not a professional selling images, and to my detriment I seldom print images. So how much of a difference will it really make? Yes, faulty thinking, but you asked so there it is, posted online for all the world to see. For what it's worth, the barn still looks red and not pink to me. It's just not a barn red. If I looked at it on a laptop or phone, or even another monitor, it could well look different.
Selective colour is not usually by cup of tea but I like this. The colour did draw my attention into the mill. That water flow though is spot on with the little whirlpools.
I agree with the others: SC is not my cup of tea but on the 2nd photo (taxi) it works quite well! On the first photo not so much. Otherwise its a great photo However, I saw one of Serge's Remelli recent videos where he played with a selective color photo and it turned out great - I guess what I'm trying to say is that SC depends on the photo for me
I love this shot. Fabulous job with the composition and getting the mood and swirling effect. Like the others, I'm not sure that the selective color quite does it for me here, although I appreciate what you were trying to achieve. I do think it works with some subjects, although I only rarely have seen situations where I like it. I agree with roundball that perhaps a more muted color might work. It might draw the viewers eye just enough, so that the mill remains the center of attention and the swirls don't overpower the image. Worth a shot to see what you think. By the way, where did you shoot this?
I love this shot, The RED really makes it POP and draws the eye to the mill first, allowing the rest of the impressive details to slowly creep into view.
