|
From our daily critiques, to our monthly Fix we are always giving you tips to improve your shots. The first ever Photo Makeover Contest gave readers a chance to show us what they've learned. Entrants were urged to transform their bad photos into keepers, by either re-shooting and/or editing.
The variety of photographs we received made it hard to choose just one winner. What set the winner, Alexandre Buisse of Lyon, France, apart was his dedication. He didn't just edit his picture; he returned to the exact location a year later and re-shot it. Buisse first took the photo while hiking on the Kungsleden trail in Sweden in August 2006. The picture turned out to be underexposed with burned highlights and poor lighting. With only one battery for his ten-day hike he didn't notice how disappointing his picture was until he got home. On August 2007, Buisse hiked a different portion of the trail, which ended in the same part of the Kebnekaise valley. This time around, the weather seemed to work much better. "Simultaneously, the rain clouds which had tormented us all day lifted, making for a perfect photo opportunity," he said.
For both pictures Buisse used a Nikon D50 with a Tamron 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 lens, the ultra-wide angle allowed him to show all depth of the composition. To get his second shot just right he bracketed for three different exposures (1/40 sec., 1/160 sec., and 1/640 sec), combined them in Adobe Photoshop CS3, and used Photomatix for HDR tone mapping.
From a simple ordinary landscape picture to a stunning re-take, with just the right amount of editing, Alexandre Buisse's "Valley Unfolding" is a first-class photo makeover.
Click here for a gallery of the finalists in this year's Photo Makeover Contest.
Tech Info for Alexandre Buisse's Photos
Before Shot: Nikon D50, Tamron 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Lens. Exposure, 1.400 sec at f/7.1, ISO 200.
After Shot: Nikon D50, Tamron 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Lens. Exposure, 1/40 sec, 1.160 sec, and 1/1640 sec at f/11, ISO 200.
|
