Terrace in the Malecon, a photo from Distrito Nacional, East

Photographer's Note

Shot in the restaurant where Emile took us to lunch. I am sorry that I only can share the view with you, because the company, the talk and the food were equally pleasant.

The Malecon is the street where the restaurant is located. It spreads for Kms on the border of the Caribbean Sea and it is one of the most beautiful places of the town of Santo Domingo. It is like a long park with benches, green grass, trees and low cliffs over the water... that are heavily beaten by the waves when there is a storm, as you can see on the post and its WS's (1, 2) that Emile shot the next day somewhere nearby.

Location (latitude, longitude): 18.4562,-69.9135 (I am not sure about the accuracy, but my guess is that the error isn't greater than 2.5 Km / 1.5 mile).

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I have posted two WS's, one sharpened using USM instead of the "sharpen" filter (I would like that you could help me on this dilemma of mine with your thoughts) and another with a much similar shot that I hesitated putting as the main post.

robertosalguero, feather, linask, pboehringer, Docarmo, riclopes, sarahnatalie, ChrisJ, danos, Brian, luiscar, Emile, Tort, xuaxo, paura has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

robertosalguero (292) 2007-09-08 11:34

I bet sunsets look pretty from this deck. Excellent point of view to enjoy the ocean and seagulls. Good place to eat as well I imagine. NIce shot of this restaurant. The sharpness and clarity are very good. Though I wonder what is like during hurricanes in this place. Thanks for sharing Jose.

Roberto

[2]

fleopold (1375) 2007-09-08 12:20

Hello Jose!
A very inviting place to drink some coktails. Well done.
Greetings from Austria!

mehr (1360) 2007-09-08 12:32

Hi Jose,
beautiful capture of this nice place with great sharpnes, light and colors.
TFS
Bahram

feather (51130) 2007-09-08 12:46

You have set us a real dilemma Jose. Personally I prefer crisp, sharp shots and think your main post just has the edge, although I don't think the WS is lacking in sharpness. I think people say they prefer USM to just the sharpen feature, as with USM you have full control, so you can use a lower pixel ratio with a smaller image and vice versa. I use Smart Sharpen in PS and just sharpen the edges. I also never sharpen the sky. As you said it's often just a matter of preference.
As for the man I must confess I didn't pay him any attention until you asked about him so I guess that gives you the answer.
I'm hopeless recognising any colour casts so my advice should be taken with a pinch of salt, but maybe the WS2 is a tiny bit green?
I'm sorry I'm not much help. I like the composition from your highish POV. The various railings lead our eye all over the image taking in the details.
Kath

linask (2930) 2007-09-08 13:32

I think sharpening of the original post looks better than the workshop version. This is especially clear if you compare flowers on the bottom right corner - in workshop they look very blurred comparing to the original.
For photos resized to 800 px, I typically do sharpening with radius 0.3 px, and amount between 40 to 120% (depending on photo).

pboehringer (770) 2007-09-08 15:33

Jose,
regarding the composition comparing the main post to the "much similar post" I have to say that the man looking down doesn't really make any difference to me. Either one is fine.
Your question about sharpening is a very pertinent one. I'm lost in that battle too. I was always sharpening my shots with the filter until I got some critiques and I stopped completely in sharpening my pictures. Only what the camera does. However, lately I got some very soft appearing shots and sharpening got a real issue. I don't have an answer and that is my next bigger project in photography do have a better understanding. I will try to share my learning with you if I see that there is something notable.
I'm glad that I conviced you to meet Emile. I was pretty sure that you two (including the rest of both families) would have a lot of fun and nice moments like this one portrait here.
Regards, Peter

Docarmo (9767) 2007-09-08 18:30

Oi Jos�,
Gostei desta foto, quase que d� para sentir os "ares" do mar. Boa composi玢o com aquela mo鏰 lendo o card醦io do restaurante.
Quanto 鄐 suas perguntas, para mim, a melhor foto � a que voc� postou como principal. N鉶 que eu tenha identificado diferen鏰s gritantes, j� que nem tinha notado a presen鏰 do homem olhando para baixo. Mas como voc� perguntou, acabei fazendo compara珲es e vi que h� diferen鏰s. E a que agrada mais minha vis鉶 � a principal mesmo.
Abra鏾,
Maria do Carmo

riclopes (35577) 2007-09-09 3:17

Bom dia Jos�, j� vi que est醩 cheio de pica para nos dares imagens da tua viagem todos os dias...Gosto da vista e da composi玢o gr醘ica desta esplanada que parece ser super agrad醰el. Os v醨ios elementos dispostos enriquecem e d鉶 dinamismo � imagem e o equil韇rio entre o corrim鉶 curvo da direita e a tua mesa(?) � esquerda � excelente. Esta � a que gosto mais de todas - n鉶 sei se a pessoa a espreitar acrescenta muito, mas acho que sim. Prefiro este sharpness e luminusidade. O outro sharpness est� esquisito, com menos defini玢o e muita luz, acho eu. Em rela玢o ao outro WS, n鉶 vejo diferen鏰s significativas para al閙 da aus阯cia de pessoas e talvez um pouco menos de contraste, mas tamb閙 n鉶 me parece nada mal.
Um abra鏾,
ricardo

ruisc_pt (11594) 2007-09-09 10:16

Ol� Jos�
Gosto essencialmente do sensa玢o que nos transmite a imagem
(este way of life..)

Quano ao uso do USM o conhecido "Mestre" Rockwell http://www.kenrockwell.com/index.htm parece ter as respostas adequadas.
Um ab,
R.

lucasgalodoido (27698) 2007-09-09 11:45

Ol� Jos�!
Local muito agrad醰el esse, acho que ficaria o dia inteiro a�, s� tomando uma cerveja gelada e comendo camar鉶! hehe Deu vontade vendo essa foto!
Parab閚s e Abra鏾!

[2] +

sarahnatalie (697) 2007-09-09 19:14

Hi Jose,
Nice to see some more shots from you! I like this touristy one a lot- the lighting is its best feature in my opinion. I like the version with the man in it as I think it adds character and makes for a more interesting shot. Great work!
Sarah

ChrisJ (172442) 2007-09-10 0:35

Hello Jose

Marvellous colour, sharpness & pov. Good lighting contrasts & shadow detail. I like the repetition of the waves & white umbrellas. Glad 'Dean' missed you!

UnTrained (0) 2007-09-10 3:19

Ol� Jos�,
this is the best in my eyes. The unsharp mask does not work everywhere as no tool would be the overall solution. Looks like a nice place to have a coffee or more and listen to the waves. I like the POV looking down and including the higher part at left.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

danos (110407) 2007-09-10 4:40

Ola Jose,
i like this nice view of the terrace in the Malecon.The terrace is above the sea and this create a feeling of calmness and tranquility.Excellent the contrasted clours and light.The waves adds something more in your capture.Informative your note too.Well done Jose.

Regards,Danos

leonorkuhn (16237) 2007-09-10 7:51

Ol� Jos�,

A comida fica mais saborosa quando se est� diante de uma vista assim espetacular. Quanto 鄐 imagens, o olho humano ainda � muito superior � imagem captada pela c鉳era digital. Veja s� o que a compress鉶 pode fazer, este "serrilhado" nas t醔uas da primeira mesa � direita. As linhas obl韖uas s鉶 as mais afetadas. Acho que com a evolu玢o da tecnologia vamos ficar mais satisfeitos com os resultados. At� l�, vamos editar v醨ias vers鮡s e descartar muitas imagens quando n鉶 gostarmos do resultado final - eu sempre fa鏾 isso. Sem d鷙ida, a original � mais n韙ida.

Abra鏾s, amigo
Leonor

clnaef (6289) 2007-09-10 22:58

Bonjour,
Une envie de vacances me prend tout soudain !
Bonne journ閑.
clnaef

batalay (41261) 2007-09-11 3:57

Hello Jos�,

A most inviting sight, and an inviting group. I would have enjoyed meeting you in person, and indeed meeting Emile as well. He is a very good photographer. Years ago I visited Haiti, but missed a stopover in the Dominica Republic. The Caribbean is very especial, and I am happy that you got to see it, and indeed to this image just 3 1/2 weeks ago. The colors of the see are distinctly different that in the Medieterranean which is of course beyond beautiful.

Warm regards,
Bulent

Bluejeans (64251) 2007-09-11 15:51

Ola Jos� quase que para sentir o calor e o vento das Caraibas , e uma esplanada muito bonita a beira mar comer uma bela comida , uma caipirinha :), gostei muito do angulo da foto aqui com o corrim鉶 a covidar a gente para descer , das cores da luz , n鉶 vejo muitas diferen鏰s com o Ws , parabens!!!
Um abra鏾 Gon鏰lo

luiscar (3286) 2007-09-11 21:10

Hola Jose
Una imagen muy representativa del tiempo de ocio y vacacional.
Lo que nos dejas ver en la imagen trasmite mucha relajaci髇.
El color y la definici髇 son de excelente calidad.
Buen trabajo
saludos

Emile (20352) 2007-09-12 9:15

Hola Jose.
Excelente foto del la terraza del restaurante con la vista del mar, los colores y tu composicion estan muy buenos, gracias de nuevo por mencionar mi nombre, la verdad es que pasamos un buen momento.
Prefiero esta foto a tus dos WS, la presencia del hombre ocupa un lugar que se ve muy vacio en tu otra foto.
Un fuerte abrazo y cari駉s a la familia.

fanch (0) 2007-09-12 10:39

Salut Jos� ,

vive les vacances , non ? Tr鑣 belles couleurs ici !

Amiti閟 ,

danyy (0) 2007-09-12 23:42

Bonjour Jose,
une belle photo qui nous plonge dans une ambiance de vacances des plus agr閍bles, dans un coin du monde qui a l'air d'avoir 閠� cr殚 � cette fin.
Best regards.
Daniel.

Tort (2266) 2007-09-13 7:51

Ol� Jos�,
B閘issima foto, gosto tanto da composi玢o como das cores bem chamativas para uma foto praiana e com 髏ima nitidez.
Abra鏾s
Juan Tort

xuaxo (6854) 2007-09-13 12:38

Ol� Jos�,
N鉶 vejo muito significativa a escolha entre os similar shots; ambas podem ser colocadas em primeira escolha.
Quanto ao "sharpen" ou n鉶 "sharpen", esta principal tem melhor aspecto que a do WS. Acho que isso do USM ou outro m閠odo dever� ser escolhido conforme as fotos, ou conforme o que se pretende real鏰r (ou n鉶). Pelo pouqu韘simo que entendo destas coisas, acho que o USM tem a vantagem de se poder controlar mais. Mas, como disse, isso depende das imagens (e, claro, da maneira como se usa o USM); nem sempre o resultado � melhor com o USM, como parece ser o caso aqui.
Enfim, tamb閙 se pode resumir tudo a uma quest鉶 de gosto pessoal.
Um abra鏾. F.

emilbo (22616) 2007-10-27 6:33

Salut Jose!
Joli endroit pour prendre un repas et admirer la mer. Chanceux d,avoir pu prendre un repas avec Emile. J'aurais aim� le rencontrer le printemps dernier lors de mes vacances mais il m'a dit qu'il n'avait pas pris mon message.
Belle prise de vue et superbes couleurs.
Bonne journ閑!...
Emilius

paura (25802) 2008-01-23 17:46

Jos�,
Muito linda composi玢o, com um ponto de tomada muito bom e coisas muito bem arrumadas. Cores e tudo o mais parecem bem reguladas. Para voc� n鉶 ficar convencido, penso que a foto restaria melhor se a mulher que aparece alguma coisa escondida sentada pr髕ima ao jardim n鉶 tivesse sua cabe鏰 cortada na fotografia. Mas a foto est� muito boa. Parece que houve uma conspira玢o pix閘ica a te ajudar.

Abra鏾, amigo.

Paulo