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Do you see the light?

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Here is one of my pictures which has been bugging me for months now. I can't come to terms with it one way or another. What do you think?


church1.jpg



Cheers,
 
Last edited by a moderator:

StuartRae

New member
Hi Cem,

I find this is a very powerful image, but IMO it needs the figure of Christ to be more illuminated.

Here's a quick and rather crude edit which illustrates what I'm thinking about. Maybe a bit OTT, but it gives a general idea.


church1-LM.jpg


Regards,

Stuart
 

Gary Ayala

New member
Cem ... this is wonderful as it is ... but some enhancement would make this image ... inspiring.

I'd see how it looks in B&W (sepia also) and darken the background ... well I'd significantly darken everything but the crucifix, the window and light rays.

Moi being moi I'd even go the extreme with the conversion and go high contrast.

Man, Cem ... I wish that image was mine. Bonne Chance

Gary
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Well Cem,

Since Stuart has already edited your picture, I'll take it as a given that you won't mind me posting my iteration.

I see your work here as an extension of your portal series and your interest in openings and what they provide on one's journey in life. This is a very philosophical attitude that I think drives all of us. Where are we going?

So I felt we needed to get the light to come through the window to illuminate the head of the figure. First the Church needs to be erect and orthogonal and so not distracting. That necessitated correcting perspective and skew as well as rebuilding the roof. So now it's an honest structure against which to see the Crucifix.

That way, the god-man is seen as being at risk and the subject of this "revelation" to viewers. Are they seeing the light, the way of "The Christ"?

So here's what I quickly sketched out in Photoshop.



church1_ADK_01.jpg


Cem Usalkigil Seeing The Light edits ADK




So this now, I think, seems to fit better with your title.


Thanks for sharing and tolerating my intervention!

Asher
 

Gary Ayala

New member
well ... if Asher can have an intervention ... I guess so can I ... this is a very quick take I my ideas ..

581985058_cpEAy-L.jpg


Gary
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I think that you Gary took it further! there is only need for the bright light from the high window. Light beams and color are all not needed. We're boiling down to the essence.

Now, with no color, I have to rethink my work on the roof and arch and correction of perspective and skew that led me to do that. I'll have to look to see what happens now in B&W to a corrected orthogonal version!

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
So, now we've moved to look at B&W, I discovered that the lighting I thought was needed, was out of place.

So here's my new version with a different lighting.

church1_ADK_01 B&W.jpg


Cem Usalkigil Seeing The Light in B&W edits ADK


This version gives a different feeling. Color adds so much that one has to rethink everything when working in B&W.

Asher
 

Gary Ayala

New member
While I appreciate all the soft tones in the image ... I felt the message was stark and strong and I tried to equal/match that with the B&W.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
While I appreciate all the soft tones in the image ... I felt the message was stark and strong and I tried to equal/match that with the B&W.
Gary,

I think yours emphasizes the dark specter of the crucifix as a path of suffering, the essence of dogma. mine sought a broader view.

Asher
 

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Hi Stuart, Gary and Asher,

Firstly, I am overwhelmed by your interest in this picture and various ideas you have offered, all of which have their own merits. Thank you, thank you, thank you.... (please feel free to edit as you want to).

I am just back home from a party at a friend's home so I am intending to go to bed right now. So I'll react more properly tomorrow morning.

You can see why this image has been bugging me since there are many possibilities which one can embark upon to make it final. As it is, it is a work in progress. I am seriously considering a BW version as well as a HDR version since I was clever enough to bracket it ;-). This particular one is based on the normal exposure one but I've got two others with -2 and +2 exposures. I have straightened the image a bit but it was shot with a wide lens (17-40mm) so I have lost some details in the arch atop the ceiling. For the rest, I have just played with the tonalities. The ray of light hitting the icon is real, it was not a product of PS :).

Good night friends,

Cheers,
 

Bill Graham

New member
Cem,

When I first saw this image I was literally taken aback at it's power and impact. Gary referred to it as stark and strong and I couldn't agree more. Part of it's strength is, of course, the subject itself but the environment and the lighting, to me, play an equal part. The coolness of the shadows, played off against the warmth of the woodwork and the glare of the light itself all contribute to the overall image.

To me, the story here is of Christ's last moments on the cross, the light receding, leaving him to the darkness. With that in mind, I don't see the need for any additional illumination on the icon, I think the shadow is much more appropriate. It's obvious where the light is coming from in the photo, there's no frontal lighting on the icon. Adding light here, in my eye, just doesn't look natural.

Since you said it was OK to fire away, I did this quick edit in Lightroom:

church1-2.jpg



I dropped the exposure 2/3 stop, cropped to an 8x10 format losing some of the bottom, and darkened the pulpit another stop with the adjustment brush. The pulpit in the original was, for me, so bright as to be distracting.

The perspective distortion in the verticals doesn't bother me but it looks like it has affected the left arm of the icon, making it look unnaturally long. I'm not sure how you'd correct this, though.

Since you have another exposure 2 stops down, I'd be interested to see if you could paste in some detail in the window. It looks like it may have some kind of pattern, it might be worth taking a look.

That's just my $.02/worth, as you posted it I found it to be a very powerful and moving image. I hope you'll pursue it further.

Bill
 

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Cem,

When I first saw this image I was literally taken aback at it's power and impact. Gary referred to it as stark and strong and I couldn't agree more. Part of it's strength is, of course, the subject itself but the environment and the lighting, to me, play an equal part. The coolness of the shadows, played off against the warmth of the woodwork and the glare of the light itself all contribute to the overall image.

To me, the story here is of Christ's last moments on the cross, the light receding, leaving him to the darkness. With that in mind, I don't see the need for any additional illumination on the icon, I think the shadow is much more appropriate. It's obvious where the light is coming from in the photo, there's no frontal lighting on the icon. Adding light here, in my eye, just doesn't look natural.

Since you said it was OK to fire away, I did this quick edit in Lightroom:

church1-2.jpg



I dropped the exposure 2/3 stop, cropped to an 8x10 format losing some of the bottom, and darkened the pulpit another stop with the adjustment brush. The pulpit in the original was, for me, so bright as to be distracting.

The perspective distortion in the verticals doesn't bother me but it looks like it has affected the left arm of the icon, making it look unnaturally long. I'm not sure how you'd correct this, though.

Since you have another exposure 2 stops down, I'd be interested to see if you could paste in some detail in the window. It looks like it may have some kind of pattern, it might be worth taking a look.

That's just my $.02/worth, as you posted it I found it to be a very powerful and moving image. I hope you'll pursue it further.

Bill
Hi Bill,

Thanks for your input about this image, I am finding myself agreeing with most of what you wrote :). I'll rework the image along the lines you've suggested and do an HDR on the window to regain detail and repost.

Cheers,
 

Rachel Foster

New member
Cem, I love the light. The only thing I wondered about was if going longer in the crop might anchor the bottom of the image and give it more impact.
 
Hi Cem,

I thing like Gary that this kind of "cerebral" subject is better served by B&W, so i like very luch Gary's version. Maybe you could try a lighter version, less dark and dramatical ? ;)
 

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Cem, I love the light. The only thing I wondered about was if going longer in the crop might anchor the bottom of the image and give it more impact.
Yes, this is an interesting avenue I might take a look into. Having said that, I am not all too sure about correcting the perspective to the degree I did either. Will follow up on that...

Cheers,
 
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