Kyparissia Square Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is one shot of the central square in Kyparissia.

Kyparissia info from Wikipedia:
===============================
Kyparissia or Kiparissia, rarely Cyparissia (Greek: Κυπαρισσία) is a town of around 5.708 in western Messenia. The population has been steady. The town centre is situated on a road (GR-9 connected almost centrally between Pyrgos and Methone. Its distance is around 65 km south of Pyrgos, 67 km west of Kalamata via GR-9A and approximately 16 km south of the Neda River. The latitude location is about 37.2 N, and almost 25.5 E longitude. The elevation is sea level in the west, approximately 20 m downtown, and 50 m or higher in the east. There are approximately a 1,500 dwellings in the municipality. It is also the seat of the Province of Tryfilia. The town is built amphitheatrically. In the Middle Ages, it was known as Arkadia (), with the second Greek alpha accented not sounding like Arcadia.

More info about Kyparissia you will find here.
Info in Greek here.

About the shot:
===============
Night entered. The lady in black was dressed in blue with that moon as a cherry on top.
In fact that cherry gave that blue colour.
I tried several POVs to capture this scene. This one was the most promising.
I know I know. Many distortions I should correct before posting, right?
- Wrong! I wanted this scene to look like this, it adds a dramatic feeling, escaping a bit from a pure description ;)
Manual settings used, f/6.3 ISO 400 and 1 second speed, to avoid overexposure and to capture this specific fountain shape because it was changing and stopping after a while each time.

RAW+HDR+PP Notes:
=================
Highly post processed no doubt, but I needed to look like this since the original JPEG hasn't the same feeling.
However this could be real if I was there earlier, so you didn't missed much, trust me :)

- RAW Squeeze till this one screamed (Fill light, saturation, custom luminance values over colors)
- Noise Removed to smoothen that grainy noise from the dark areas.
- HDR Tonemapping with custom belly curve (described in my previous posts and answers)
- Clone stamp to remove whatever I didn't want to be visible
- Some dodge / burn over the grass and some other areas
- Luko USM sharpening over layer
- Resized for TE, with custom sharpening profile over layer opacity 70%
- Frame/Title
- JPEG optimization for TE usage.

For the ones who are interested in PP check my original JPEG shot and my Squeezed RAW to see the levels of post processing more closely.

Thanks for visiting/commenting

avene, Floydian, dip, feather, Vames, bostankorkulugu, danos, greek, cherryripe, azaf1, syd1946, chrkont, lilimih33, ifanik, COSTANTINO, stelli, trekks, theofanis, tolis68, MayaG, labro33, kdialyna, Rosa, zmey, jusninasirun has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Pelje (425) 2008-07-06 19:25

Hello Stelios!
Beautyful nigthshot - well done!
Good informations.
Greetings, Hubert

chirasak (575) 2008-07-06 19:29

Hello Stelios
the light is shining there look so nice and what a nice big star over there :)
nice shot

Regards
Chirasak

Floydian (30970) 2008-07-06 22:03

Hi Stelios,
There are several different colour tonings inside and that is something i like to see. Although the pov is not that spectacular, it shows great details all over the image, but also strong fallen lines. We could debate if they should be straight or not, but i have no real problems with them.
For the blue hour it seems a bit to late, but still there is a very nice touch of blue in the center part.
As always very good work on the editing and pp, that shows high quality..!!!
Regards, Henk

TopGeo (22495) 2008-07-06 23:01

Γειά σου Στέλιο!
Πέτυχες μία εικόνα με ηχηρή αποτύπωση τόσο χρωματικά όσο και τεχνικά! που εντυπωσιάζει!
Άργησες λίγο στην μπλέ ώρα, αλλά λόγω φεγγαριού την συνέλλαβες στο μέσον. Οι διαστρεβλώσεις του φακού εδώ βοηθούν! Το τέλειο στην παρούσα είναι η των νερών και των φοινίκων οξύτητα! Περίφημα αριστορεχνική! και αριστουργηματική νυχτερινή σύλληψη!
Γεώργιος

dip (13006) 2008-07-06 23:56

Geia sou Stelio,
oraia i nuxterini foto apo tin Kyparissia,den ksero ti afaireses me tin sfragida klonopoiisis alla auta pou afises einai poli oraia kai sosta topothetimena,
oraio kai to kadrarisma,
Xaireto,
Dimitris.

delkoo (35024) 2008-07-07 0:45

bonjour stelios
Very nicely caught with palm tree and fountain, it looks like a luxurious place, The colours in this are really lush and saturated, creating a very beautiful result.

best regards
didier

omixlistilimni (3287) 2008-07-07 1:05

Καλημέρα Στέλιο

Πολύ όμορφη σύνθεση!! Υπέροχα χρώματα και φως!!

Μαρίνα

feather (50560) 2008-07-07 2:35

I'm dying to see the original to find out just how much that RAW file did scream (Only because I'm nosy as I'm here to critique the result)It looks like you were just in time to catch the last of the blue hour, or is the sky on a separate layer at about 2000 WB? Whatever, I like the dark blue tone that is not garish like early blue hour images can be. I guess you timed your photo, not for the blue hour, but for the position of the moon which is perfect; much earlier it would no doubt have been out of sight. The motion blur on the fountain is just right for my taste and the whole set up with the circular grass and twin palms shouts for central composition. I'm not too sure about your decision to leave the distorted verticals, although sometimes when straightening them something else gets messed up. All-in-all another excellent post. Well done
Kath

Longroute (10113) 2008-07-07 4:49

One feature, an important one, of your photos, especially these ones in HDR, is this strong contrast/balance between illuminated parts and dark ones. It creates a very good effect.
Then there is this strong and vivid saturated colours, like the green here, that one doesn't expect in a night photo. And that too gives a good effect, a sense of freshness.
I've tried HDR myself (with photomatic) but the colours turned out pale and ugly, my fault or the program?
All the best,
Donato

Vames (4356) 2008-07-07 5:01

γεια σου Στέλιο,μια λήψη με όλα της πανέμορφα ,ξεχωρίζω το σημείο λήψης και το στήσιμό της !

athanvas (2353) 2008-07-07 5:46

Geia sou Stelio
Fantastikh h foto sou me wraia synthesh kai omorfa xrwmata.
Poly kalh texnikh,Bravo!
Xairetw Vasilis

bostankorkulugu (34198) 2008-07-07 7:54

i think i ll have to go to kalamata for you to teach me how to turn an ordinary square into a special place... you are gooood stelio...

krkt

greek (7524) 2008-07-07 9:11

stelio mou an sou po oti einai pio orea apo tin omonoia, tha me deiroun??? Omorfi nyxterini foto me wraia prooptiki, den exw paei pote ekei, galantis

cherryripe (19237) 2008-07-07 9:18

Hi Stelios
This is so bright for a night shot that it almost looks blue hour. The details are so sharp and so nicely lit. The "star" behind the fountain makes it really dynamic.
Regards
Nikki

azaf1 (15615) 2008-07-07 10:15

Geia sou file Stelio
Panemorfo kadrarisma kai xikterina xromata. Oi leptomereies exairetikes idaitera elkistikes gia vradines exodous
Na pernas kala
Argiris

syd1946 (17999) 2008-07-07 13:34

Γεια σου Στέλιο,
Επιδειξη υψηλης τεχνικης σε μια ακομη φωτογραφια σου!Ειναι εντυπωσιακο το ποσο καθαρα γραφουν ολες οι λεπτομερειες και τα χρωματα χωρις να "καει" η φωτογραφια!Και ο ευρυγωνιος φακος σε εξαιρετικη χρηση...
Επαινω φιλε μου!

Θωμάς

chrkont (3697) 2008-07-07 14:02

Γεια σου Στέλιο
Πολύ σωστά φωτισμένη η φωτογραφία σου και ιδιαίτερα ευκρινής κυρίως στα φύλλα των φοινίκων(thanks to Luko)
Το θέμα της παραμόρφωσης λόγο κλίσης της μηχανής δεν πρέπει να το τονίζω αφού είναι θέμα επιλογής. Μικρές ενστάσεις,
1ον για την έντονη πράσινη απόχρωση στο κάτω μέρος που μπορεί να προέρχεται από κάποιον φωτισμό όπως από αυτόν στο βάθος δεξιά,
2ον κλίση προς τα δεξιά αφού ο (μάλλον) κυκλικός χώρος του σιντριβανιού όπως φαίνεται υπο γωνία γράφει έλλειψη που έπρεπε να έχει τον μεγάλο άξονα οριζόντιο.
Το αποτέλεσμα πάντως είναι πολύ ευχάριστο στα μάτια μου.
Φιλικά - Χρήστος

[workshop] [compare] +

lilimih33 (9874) 2008-07-07 16:13

Hello Stelios!
Wonderful colours and light in your night composition, again!
Very nice effect and perspective!
Best regards!
Lili

Kelly78 (0) 2008-07-07 19:47

Hi Stelios, Gorgeous night shot! You took something so simple and turned it to a masterpiece once again. The processing is really clever. I hope to figure all this out one day.

Kelly

danos (33730) 2008-07-08 1:27

Στέλιο γεια σου,
κοιτώντας τα Ws δεν μπορώ να πω ότι δεν μου άρεσαν αλλά αυτήν εδώ την έχεις απογειώσει.Την ζωήρεψες και έκανες τα χρώματα πιό φωτεινά ιδιαίτερα του round about,με τους φοίνικες.Φυσικά εαν και τό δεξιό κτήριο ήταν λίγο πιό ίσιο, θα ήταν κατα την γνώμη μου πιό σωστό,αλλά ο καλλιτέχνης είπε ότι έτσι του άρεσε,οπότε και καθ΄'ολα σεβαστό.Φυσικά πολύ καλλές και οι σημειώσεις σου για τα RAW+HDR+PP.

Σε χαιρετώ,Δάνος

Cretense (57564) 2008-07-08 6:55

Geia sou Stelio!

Entyposiaki fotografia, apsogi fotistika, poly kalo HDR (i DRI), alla yparxoun provlimata prooptikis, paramorfoseis toso ston orizontio, oso kyrios ston katheto axona. Anamenomeno vevaia, logo evrygoniou, alla nomizo oti tha mporouses na to diorthoseis sto PS.

Xaireto, Iraklis

avene (11242) 2008-07-09 3:39

hello Stelios,
reading your notes is quite an education, thanks :)
I don't have a problem with the distortion, I agree that occasionally it can be useful in making a mundane scene more interesting, and I think this is exactly what is happening here. of course, the contrast between lights and darkness is important too, something tells me that during daylight this pov would be much less interesting even with the distortion. but now I like a lot the polished and dream-like feeling to the scene, another example that with smart timing and carefull work any place can look great :)

regards,
Kristine

COSTANTINO (23477) 2008-07-09 6:03

Geia sou Stelio,
teleia h nuxterini sou apotupwsi,
me apolaustikous xrwmatikous sundiasmous kai uperoxo fwtismo,
bravo,
Costantino

stelli (2987) 2008-07-09 9:11

Absolutely beautiful night picture! Light, colors and sharpness at the best level! I was next door (Gytheio) :) Thank you for sharing! ΦΙΛΙΚΑ Στέλλα

trekks (14336) 2008-07-09 17:09

hi Stelios

Very good night exposure shot of showing strong contrast with your pp work. Like a postcard. Good workflow note.

tfs, bill

theofanis (750) 2008-07-10 1:50

Γεια σου Στέλιο,
Πάρα πολύ ωραία τα χρώματα αν και νύχτα!Μ αρέσει το εφέ με το νερό το οποίο μοιάζει με γάλα.
theofanis

ifanik (20694) 2008-07-10 6:00

Eisai magos file moy den mporw na pw kati allo
Yperoxh, apsogh, apaixth foto kai den einai para mono ena syntribani..!!!
Xairetw
Nikos
Ayrio**

tolis68 (2006) 2008-07-10 10:42

Γεια σου Στελιο.Εξαιρετικη η γωνια ληψης με κορυφαιο το πρωτο πλανο το οποιο ειναι το βασικο θεμα.Το φοντο ομως χαριζει την ζωντανια και την κινηση της πλατειας εμπλουτισμενο με πολυ καλο φωτισμο και υπεροχα χρωματα που σου φτιαχνουν διαθεση για βολτα.Βασικος βεβαια παραγοντας αναδειξης ολων αυτων η εξαιρετη τεχνικη που επεδειξες σε ολους τους τομεις.Συγχαρητηρια.

mikeo (12117) 2008-07-10 15:04

Dear Stelios,

This what you did with this photo is absolutely amazing!!! It's superb! For me doesn't matter its highly PP - its a digital photography so lets use its features yeah?
Thanks a lot for great lesson. I really appreciate all your information and clues what and how to create such shot.

Thanks a lot!
Best greetings
Mikeo

MayaG (2393) 2008-07-11 11:47

Kalispera Mr Kritikakis,

now I'm really impressed by the quality of this hdr...especially because its a night shot. The little cute 'stars' in the photo are becoming your trademark! I really like everything Stelios - the wide angle, the saturated colours, the composition. I'm trying to see what I think could be improved, but its not easy here...hm, ok, that cyan cast on the buildings behind, maybe could be removed with 'white neutralizer' or suchlike filter, but on the other hand the colour does fit into the night mood...
well done and lots of regards from both of us ;)

labro33 (2804) 2008-07-12 3:29

Γεια σου Φιλε Στελιο,
Καθε φορα αποδεικνυεις οτι οτι πιο απλο στα ματια το κανεις να φιανεται και να ειναι τεχνη...
Σε χαιρετω,
Γιωργος

Hunkar (4994) 2008-07-12 17:36

A nice night scene of the square with good details..

gbeli (2026) 2008-07-13 2:55

Geia sou Stelio
Kai omos, mia apli plateia eparxiakis polis, me sosti lipisi mporei na apotipothei antiposiaka. Poli omorfa xromata kai gonia lipsis kathos kai diaxeirisi fotos.
Xereto

testmaniac (12342) 2008-07-13 22:00

Hi Stelios, just fantastic night photo with very attractive ights and colors. Excellent photo job!

TFS

Phil

kdialyna (3106) 2008-07-14 5:06

Φοβερή βραδινή λήψη Στέλιο.
Άριστη από κάθε άποψη, εντυπωσιάζει με την καθαρότητα της και την τέλεια εκφώτιση που δεν αφήνει κανένα σημείο υποφωτισμένο ή υπερφωτισμένο.
Η ελαφριά παραμόρφωση λόγω ευργώνιου δίνει κάτι που κατά την γνώμη μου της πάει.
Ωραίο το φεγγαράκι δίνει κάτι το ρομαντικό.
Χαιρετώ
Κώστας

Rosa (4147) 2008-07-16 3:32

Bonjour Stelios,
Magnifique photo nocturne, la fontaine est superbe ainsi que les couleurs , la lumière est bien rendue .
Félicitation,
Amitiés,
Rosa.

zmey (7282) 2008-07-22 9:12

kalispera stelios

to be honest, not my cup of tea (the overall scene content-wise), but i do have to applaud you, friend, on the fine pp work. it's amazing what you have managed to squeeze out of the original. love the blue of the sky and the ligh/color play on the green. excellent!

warm regards,
kristaps

sacavem (8693) 2008-07-23 1:06

Olá Stelios,

Amazing sharpness, lighting and colours. Well done my friend.

Best wishes,
Filipe

wolf38 (13159) 2008-07-26 8:36

Hello Stelios. An interesting photo. It lives by the outstanding composition and the special and intensive colors, which the artificial light brings out. The photo is a eyecatcher. Best regards, Wolfgang.

jusninasirun (10401) 2008-08-23 23:44

Hello Stelios. Excellent image with good color saturation. I like the mixture of light and shade bringing out this superb shot. TFS and best regards. Jusni

sotirios (1685) 2008-10-19 12:14

καλησπέρα Στέλιο.
Από οτι έχω δει και σε κάποιο γνωστό μου που έχει αυτό το φακό η παραμόρφωση του συγκεκριμένου, κάνει τις φωτογραφίες σχεδόν πάντα πιο ωραίες. Όυτως ή αλλως αν μιλάμε για καλλιτεχνική φωτογραφία αφήνουμε σε δεύτερη μοίρα την καταγραφή και σωστή απεικόνιση του μέρους. εκ του αποτελέσματος άψογες θα έλεγα οι ρυθμίσεις που επέλεξες.
Χαιρετώ