Up at a mountain reservoir Wednesday on the bike. Hot but beautiful, with a touch of a breeze.

Tea and Sky.

Well, I bought myself a new camera (well I should say another new compact) for the first time in 10 years and its another Sony Cybershot.The old one was a P100 (5mp), the new one is a TX-55 (16.2mp). Stll getting used to it, but when I'm back in a few weeks I hope to contribute. Personnally I've never generally been a fan of retouching photos, but after seeing VF's tweaking using Aperture, the software delivers exceptional results.

That appears to be a restaurant with a floating pontoon with chairs and a table.

That appears to be a restaurant with a floating pontoon with chairs and a table.

Good eye. Here is the inside, just for you.

Thank You....

A view from the parking lot at Rai Boon Rawd.

Oops! Villagefarang, you've got a completely blown patch of white cloud in the middle of the photo towards the top. Did you accidentally overexpose?

Another great shot apart from that one major flaw. Do you use a polarizing filter?

Oops! Villagefarang, you've got a completely blown patch of white cloud in the middle of the photo towards the top. Did you accidentally overexpose?

Another great shot apart from that one major flaw. Do you use a polarizing filter?

No filters and I thought about working harder to get rid of that spot but in the end decided it might be better to submit a less than perfect shot. Thought it might help to ingratiate my good self with my critics.

"The worm that destroys us is the temptation to agree with our critics to seek their approval"

Hannibal Lector.

The reflective quality of the water in the reservoirs out in the tea plantation was quite different from the one out front at Rai Boon Rawd.

The reflective quality of the water in the reservoirs out in the tea plantation was quite different from the one out front at Rai Boon Rawd.

Another excellent shot, VF. However, if you permit me to make a few critical comments, I would say, lighten and enhance the foreground showing the cloud reflections in the water, and tackle those small areas of blow highlights in the clouds.

I'm not familiar with Aperture. I'm a Windows PC guy. I use Photoshop and select any area in an image which I think needs adjustment, whether lightening the shadows, increasing the contrast, reducing the highlights etc, etc.

Cheers!

I just got in from another Mt. Bike ride and probably won’t have time to work on today’s shots until tomorrow, as we have a dinner date with friends tonight. I will try to improve my techniques as I go and thanks for the tips. I am not working with layers, as one would in Photoshop, but I am pretty sure Aperture can do more than I am capable of, as yet. I continue to discover new things each time I process new shots but sometimes I get bogged down by the sheer number of images and start cutting corners. Anyway I will try harder.

The reflective quality of the water in the reservoirs out in the tea plantation was quite different from the one out front at Rai Boon Rawd.

Another excellent shot, VF. However, if you permit me to make a few critical comments, I would say, lighten and enhance the foreground showing the cloud reflections in the water, and tackle those small areas of blow highlights in the clouds.

I'm not familiar with Aperture. I'm a Windows PC guy. I use Photoshop and select any area in an image which I think needs adjustment, whether lightening the shadows, increasing the contrast, reducing the highlights etc, etc.

Cheers!

Here is a quick attempt at an upgrade.

Hey! Well done, VF! You fixed those blown highlights. That creates a better balance in my view.

However, VF, having fixed those blown highlights in the clouds, the overall image could be brightened a bit. I've taken the liberty of downloading your image and applying a bit of 'shadows/highlights' adjustment in Photoshop. Hope you don't mind. The difference is a bit subtle but an improvement I think.

Cheers!

However, VF, having fixed those blown highlights in the clouds, the overall image could be brightened a bit. I've taken the liberty of downloading your image and applying a bit of 'shadows/highlights' adjustment in Photoshop. Hope you don't mind. The difference is a bit subtle but an improvement I think.

Cheers!

Though perhaps technically flawed, I still like my first attempt with the blown out highlights. But that is the wonderful thing about photography, with interpretation and appreciation being left up to the individual. It is not a strict mathematical equation with only one correct answer.

However, VF, having fixed those blown highlights in the clouds, the overall image could be brightened a bit. I've taken the liberty of downloading your image and applying a bit of 'shadows/highlights' adjustment in Photoshop. Hope you don't mind. The difference is a bit subtle but an improvement I think.

Cheers!

Though perhaps technically flawed, I still like my first attempt with the blown out highlights. But that is the wonderful thing about photography, with interpretation and appreciation being left up to the individual. It is not a strict mathematical equation with only one correct answer.

These photos can be touched up so many times, but in my eyes, I liked the first one that you posted......but that is just me.

Another little something from the other day.

These photos can be touched up so many times, but in my eyes, I liked the first one that you posted......but that is just me.

You know for some reason so do I.

But I am not photography expert

The original has a lively sky for lack of better description

These photos can be touched up so many times, but in my eyes, I liked the first one that you posted......but that is just me.

You know for some reason so do I.

But I am not photography expert

The original has a lively sky for lack of better description

Indeed! The trick is to get a lively sky without significant areas which are totally white and devoid of detail, because that is not what the eye sees, except when the sun is shining through a patch of cloud.

Now, Villagefarang has achieved that effect in the image immediately above. The sky is very lively and detailed, yet there are no significant areas of blown highlights. There may be a few insignificant, very small areas which are blown, and that's okay, as long as the eye is not distracted by an unnaturally large areas of pure white.

Here is another somewhat blown out sky shot. Still it was a beautiful day, though very hot.

Here is another somewhat blown out sky shot. Still it was a beautiful day, though very hot.

Wow nice one VF!

What are they growing there? Tea?

Yes, that is part of the tea plantation located at Rai Boon Rawd in Chiang Rai.

Here is another somewhat blown out sky shot. Still it was a beautiful day, though very hot.

Wow nice one VF!

What are they growing there? Tea?

Like you, I find all of VF photos, nice....

They are very pleasing and easy to look at.

Like you, I find all of VF photos, nice....

They are very pleasing and easy to look at.

Yes & what is really cool is that he is out there actually seeing these things

first hand & sharing them.

So many go through life without ever noticing or stopping to look up.

That is such a beautiful area that he lives & rides in too.

Villagefarang, I can't help wondering about that submerged house with just the roof showing above the water, on the right of the Rai Boon Rawd 022 photo at the top of the page. What's going on here?

I notice a guy sitting on a bench nearby, perhaps forlornly gazing upon the submerged house. Is he just a worker resting, or perhaps the owner of the house which was flooded about a year ago during those major floods which almost reached the centre of Bangkok?

I took the liberty of cropping that section of your photo and raising the shadows to see what is going on. I notice a lot of vegetation up against the top of the wall near the roof.

Is this really a completely flooded house, and if so, when do you think was it flooded, recently or a year ago?

Perhaps this might help. This is a sala located in the grounds of an exclusive luxury villa located not far from Rai Boon Rawd. On my blog I mention visiting a few different places on that day and I ended up throwing all the images into one folder instead of three separate folders as I should have.

Though I did not talk with the man on the bench, my understanding is that he is one of the staff, probably taking a break as it was a very hot day.