Something Different for Me

[Brownbear]

I was up early and no birds were around, so I took a photo of the view... I've seen photos like this but I'm not sure what I think of it... The histogram looks okay, and the silhouette seems sharp but other than that there is not much to it... No clouds around.

What does one strive to achieve in this type of photo?



Thank you.

[Bobobird]

Would like to hear answers to your questions too.

[ShaneS]

Not a bad view Christina! I guess the success of the image depends on what you were trying to achieve. Were you just trying to capture the beauty of the scene? Did it evoke any emotion for you that you want to portray?

I really like the simplicity of the image as is but moving it around in the light-box allows me to see difference versions of the image and I wonder about two different crops:

One, removing removing some of the sky and moving the silhouette of the mountains up in the frame (as it sits they are pretty much at the halfway point) or, two, eliminating some of the bottom of the mountains to the point where the right edge of the foremost mountain is at the bottom of the image and leaving all of the sky.

Do either of these crops seem to be an improvement or do they change the overall feeling of the image for you?

I too will be interested to see what others have to say...

[Brownbear]

Hi Shane,

Honestly, I was hoping to capture a beautiful morning sky which never came about, so I just decided to photograph the mountains in silhouette to learn something different. No emotion or story involved. I like the lines but struggle with no detail in the image.

Here is your suggestion for a crop which I find interesting because I do think it improves the shot as it is less centered and I think the lighting looks better? Is this what you meant for a crop?

[ShaneS]

This crop maintains the same ratio as your original image Christina. I took a bit off the bottom and left side and also added an auto levels adjustment (the image got a bit degraded when I re-saved it)

[Brownbear]

Thank you for demonstrating your crop.

[Mike Buckley]

It's always good to think creatively and to learn from the process.

If you look on the Internet, photo magazines, photo books and the like, you'll find a classic style of landscape photography that is similar to this. Most often, the style involves three or more layers of mountains and each layer is lit differently. Very often there is no sky included in the photo.

The biggest difference between this photo and the classic style is that the light cast on the mountains in this photo isn't particularly interesting and doesn't create much separation between the two layers of mountains. Having said that, this photo is a good start, especially considering that you didn't have this style of photo in mind when you began your shoot and apparently haven't worked in the past at making this style of photo.

[Steve S]

Shooting landscapes, takes time. Once you find a suitable location, it's best to study it for a while. (if you can) Pay attention to how the light falls across the land. Envision the image you want. Determine the crop and composition , before you shoot it. Then , it's a waiting game untill the conditions are right.


The image you posted, does nothing for me as a color image. I do like the layering of the mountains, and the silhouette of the hills. I think changing it to a black and white, and cropping to 16/9, makes a huge improvement.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Mike. That is exactly what I needed to know... ie; the light was nothing special and it was not falling on the mountains, so the only thing we have is a silhouette of a mountain. I will try something like this again when the light is nice.

Thank you Steve... Will do! PS It looks better in B&W so also a good thing for me to know for future.

[Digital]

I think the photo also looks better in b/w. Bruce