Sigh... More Vacation Pics in Dorset

[Suzan J]

I hope you folks will indulge me and allow me to post a few more of my vacation pics. As I said before, i find landscapes to be quite challenging and any tips are gratefully accepted. These shots are in Dorset. The heritage steam train is shot from the vantage point of the ruins of Corfe Castle. The seaside is in Swanage, and the cliff shot is on the coast near the village of Kimmeridge. I cannot decide how to crop the seaside with the boats. Leave the OOF bird in, or not?



DSC_0152 by Soo J, on Flickr


DSC_0205 by Soo J, on Flickr



DSC_0253 by Soo J, on Flickr


DSC_0249 by Soo J, on Flickr

[Digital]

I like #1.



Bruce

[Wavelength]

Nice photo travelogue; the time you capture these images is not magical hours of the day and colors look a bit flat. I like the presence of the bird in the image, because it adds more life; i liked the the distant train speeding as seen in the first image...
Regards

[Geoff F]

I would try cropping #1 tighter on the right side and using a different image size. At the moment, the train is past half way. A crop would have the effect of positioning it better in the overall scene and produce more impact. Sufficient ruins would still remain to frame the train.

The trouble with that bird is that the whole quayside is out of focus, but the bird does make it appear more obvious. Ideally, this would have been a merge of two shots with different focus points, taken on a tripod.

And without something in the foreground there is a lot of rather plain water before anything interesting.

Personally, I would probably simply put this one in the 'gaining experience' section.

[Suzan J]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. It really helps to get comments and critiques from this site. I've learned a lot about "bird" photos from some of the experts here, and hopefully, I will be able to tackle more landscapes with a bit more knowledge. The composition tip is definitely helpful.

[davidedric]

I like #1 especially. I think though that the horizon is a bit off the horizontal. It's one of those things that once you notice drives you mad, but is so easy to correct.

Dave

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Suzan,

#1: Unusually for me, the locomotive being past half way doesn't worry me, as that isn't the main subject, but I would level it and also consider cloning out the bright power line pole (and associated cables)

#2: Good composition, but shot at wrong time of day/atmospheric conditions to be interesting (IMHO) - not your fault, just an observation

#3: If you can apply some Local Contrast Enhancement (LCE) to the foreground quayside (only), it will help deceive the viewer's eye that it is sharper than it really is. It is a shame the bird isn't a gull and facing into frame, but probably needs to stay for reasons others have already stated.

#4: A bit drab, due to the lighting conditions when you visited - we get a lot of this here in UK
I do wonder whether, with an increase of exposure, a warming of white balance and some LCE on everything except the sky, it might look better? Just a thought.

Cheers,

[Cogito]

Hi Suzan,
#3: If you can apply some Local Contrast Enhancement (LCE) to the foreground quayside (only), it will help deceive the viewer's eye that it is sharper than it really is. It is a shame the bird isn't a gull and facing into frame, but probably needs to stay for reasons others have already stated.Cheers,

Or even pretend it's a panorama.....