Ring A Ring O' Roses

[Tom]

This is one from last weekends outing and I would appreciate your comments. I would like to know how you feel about the signage in the top rh corner and if you think it hurts the image. I have made it as discreet as possible. I tried cloning it out but left well enough alone as I was making a total mess of it.
Many thanks,

[Patrick]

Re: Ring A Ring O' Roses

This is one from last weekends outing and I would appreciate your comments. I would like to know how you feel about the signage in the top rh corner and if you think it hurts the image. I have made it as discreet as possible. I tried cloning it out but left well enough alone as I was making a total mess of it.
Many thanks,

Yes Tom it is distracting, but it can be sorted.
I have quickly dealt with your problem, given time it could be done better.
I made no attempt to clone, personally I only clone small blemishes and items out. To do this using the lasso I selected an area of bricks as large as possible from the left of the picture and copied it. Next I pasted it into the picture on a layer and put the selection over the offending sign. the size of the bricks were too large and the whole thing too light in tone.
With this layer selected I darkened just the layer until its tonal values were acceptable. Again with the layer selected I went to transform and chose scale and adjusted this until the size of bricks looked to be similar to the surrounding ones. Finally with the layer still selected I added a small amount of blur to match the rest of the bricks and tidied up with the eraser.
Not perfect by any means but enough to satisfy all but the most observant and critical.
As I said more time and TLC an almost totally undetectable job could be done.

Its worth remembering that extra shots can be taken at the time to provide material for such manipulation if at the time problems are anticipated.

Patrick

[Stephen]

Re: Ring A Ring O' Roses

I think I find the signage less obtrusive than both you and Patrick, and perhaps would not have bothered fiving it a mention had you not raised the subject. Of course now you have highlighted the sign it becomes more of an issue Patrick seems to have suggested the obvious solution.

As a matter of interest was this a shot you set up or was it a grab shot and something you saw developing as the kiddie was running round the statues? If it was the former, the answer lay in your own hands by moving or cropping in the viewfinder I suppose.

These look as though they are Antony Gormley figures, what is the theme of the installation and where is it?

[richard crowe]

Re: Ring A Ring O' Roses

As patrick has shown, with a little patience the sign could easily be cloned out. I dont know that I personally find it that distracting - but another posibility could be to crop more or all of it out. You could also take a bit off the bottom to even things up. I dont think the space lost on the right would detrimentally affect the shot.

[RCE]

Re: Ring A Ring O' Roses

I agree with Richard crop the right side to near the furthest right statue.

A happy side effect is that the nearest statue (to the camera) becomes more prominent which tends to lead the eye to the child.

I think it may also increase the feeling of monsters in a Dr Who episode. the child won't have an empty space to escape into.

[Patrick]

Re: Ring A Ring O' Roses

I agree with Richard crop the right side to near the furthest right statue.

A happy side effect is that the nearest statue (to the camera) becomes more prominent which tends to lead the eye to the child.

I think it may also increase the feeling of monsters in a Dr Who episode. the child won't have an empty space to escape into.

I agree a slight crop is beneficial but the sign would still draw the eye as will the highlight on the left and the white paintwork on the right.

Here is a version with those elements dealt with and the contrast of the child increased a touch, and the corners darkened a little to take the eye where the subject of the picture is.
Relatively small changes but I believe gives the picture that extra edge.

Patrick

[Tom]

Re: Ring A Ring O' Roses

Silly me, I actually uploaded the wrong shot here. I thought I had uploaded the version with adjusted sign but thats neither here not there now as Patrick has done a proper job on it and the light. However I don't like the darkened corners and I also feel the eyes find the kid almost immediately anyway, but we could all have a different view on this.
I had taken a half dozen shots of the men without any pressure and was on my way when some preople started to come out of a nearby museum.
The hardest part of this shot I found was tracking the kid to get him/her into a position where the child was not dwarfed to any extent by one of the men. I wasn't too comfortable with this anyway as adults were around and could have well objected to the possibility that I might be including their child. So it was not in any way planned but a shot that had to be taken fairly quickly.
I also realise and regret now that had I stepped back/zoomed out I may have well got what I now realise is a full ring of brick paving around the men.
The men are situated at Woolwich Arsenal and I have been unable to find out anything about them having spent some time Googling. These men are hollow and to my knowledge A Gormleys own metal images of himself around the Hayward are solid but that may not mean anything.
Thanks to all.