Learning Landscapes - Reflection

[Brownbear]

These images were photographed on a river bank in Brackendale (near Squamish) where all the eagles are now because of the spawning salmon. (on the other side of the river, high up in the trees)

Again I did not quite manage to capture the true beauty of the scene but I think these two shots are better than my cloud shot.

Aperture Priority F10 ISO (200 and 500) Exp Bias -.67 (Tripod and mirror-up mode)

I forgot to turn off auto iso while photographing eagles, and these are also spot metered instead of matrix metered for the same reason.



In this image I included some of the foreground, albeit the log and the sand is not the most attractive part of the scene, I included it because I see that foreground should be included.



Absolutely all C&C is most appreciated. I would like to improve my landscape images and need help.

Thank you.

[Shadowman]

Nice, the reflection in the first image touches the edge almost perfectly. Nice lines in both.

[IzzieK]

That looks pretty good, Christina...my eyes go to different areas of your shot...particularly because you mentioned the stump there. Can you remove that and see if it will make your image better...??

[Brownbear]

Thank you John. Is it a good thing to have a reflection so close to the border? If yes, why?

Hi Isabel,

Thank you. Do you think I should try removing the just the tree stump or also the bit of sand bank that points to the reflection. I will try it but it may have to wait until tomorrow to do.

[Cantab]

I like both photos, especially the first one. I looked at it full screen and it's quite something.

In the second shot, I found the piece of old tree at the left edge of the foreground a bit distracting. It almost looks like a piece of abandoned machinery with a piece of pipe running to the edge of the photo.

[FrankMi]

Hi Christina, when I do landscapes I try to get something interesting in the foreground, middle ground and background. In the case of the first image, the reflection is in the foreground and is very interesting so the scene's composition works for me. In fact, it works better than the second image for the reasons you mention, the sand bar and tree trunk are not well represented.

Yes, it would be good to have a little more breathing room below the reflection in the first one but that is not a show stopper.

Reflections from water can be used to double the view. When using a lake, river, or ocean, get as close to the water as possible. For smaller reflections, as in mud or rain puddles, be sure to get the most interesting part of the image in the reflection. Being close to the surface of the water may produce an unexpected benefit of being able to capture objects under the water such as stones or fish, dramatically increasing the depth of the image. This is one case where the objects below the water's surface, in close sharp relief, can be a much more dramatic foreground than the background reflection. This is particularly true of a lower camera angle as the background reflection is usually more shallow than what you have here.

When shooting landscapes in general, the more of the following elements you include, the happier it makes the viewer: Fresh water, meadows, mountains, distant sky, forest, and sometimes pathways.

Hope this helps!

[Brownbear]

Hi Isabel,

Just to let you know that I agree and think the stump is not very attractive (hence distracting)

As an exercise in post-processing I tried removing the stump and it just leaves the sandy bit which is just as distracting, and healing and cloning things out is extremely hard to do well (for me).

If it were just a wee branch or a piece of litter I would remove it, with ease. Learning landscapes is a project I have assigned myself and a learning experience, so I just need to learn to compose a photo without distracting things in it. (or remove them physically, or try a different angle)

Thank you for letting me know because I included it in a few images trying to think of leading lines and foreground inclusion, but it didn't work. Your sharing and commenting is truly appreciated.

That looks pretty good, Christina...my eyes go to different areas of your shot...particularly because you mentioned the stump there. Can you remove that and see if it will make your image better...??

[Andrew76]

Hey Christina! I've been following your "Learning Landscapes" series, from afar. I don't think I've commented on any of them yet, but am very interested in what's going on, and how you're doing.

I have a question though. In your OP you state that you "did not capture the true beauty of the scene". I'm wondering if you mean that the photo (as a finished product) is not up to your liking - like would some expert post processing change that for you, or is it that you're not seeing what you saw when you were there?

PS - I like these ones better than your cloud images too.

[pnodrog]

I like both photos, especially the first one. I looked at it full screen and it's quite something.

In the second shot, I found the piece of old tree at the left edge of the foreground a bit distracting. It almost looks like a piece of abandoned machinery with a piece of pipe running to the edge of the photo.

I agree with Bruce in that the odd shapes at the left bottom edge of the second short do look out of place and may be better cloned out. The log at the end of the small sandy peninsular is fine. The lighting is uneven almost as if you were using a polarizing filter or the lens is vignetting a bit. I would suggest you burn in a bit (particularly the right hand side) to compensate.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Bruce... Yes, that big old tree is distracting, and I think that the other pieces might be abandoned machinery... At the time I was too focused on finding some foreground to include. Thank you for sharing. Truly appreciated.

I like both photos, especially the first one. I looked at it full screen and it's quite something.

In the second shot, I found the piece of old tree at the left edge of the foreground a bit distracting. It almost looks like a piece of abandoned machinery with a piece of pipe running to the edge of the photo.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Frank, your feedback is enormously helpful and I will be printing your reply to use as a reference.

Thank you for sharing so many wonderful tips on landscapes. The reflection is the foreground! Wonderful to know.

Yes, immensely helpful.

Hi Christina, when I do landscapes I try to get something interesting in the foreground, middle ground and background. In the case of the first image, the reflection is in the foreground and is very interesting so the scene's composition works for me. In fact, it works better than the second image for the reasons you mention, the sand bar and tree trunk are not well represented.

Yes, it would be good to have a little more breathing room below the reflection in the first one but that is not a show stopper.

Reflections from water can be used to double the view. When using a lake, river, or ocean, get as close to the water as possible. For smaller reflections, as in mud or rain puddles, be sure to get the most interesting part of the image in the reflection. Being close to the surface of the water may produce an unexpected benefit of being able to capture objects under the water such as stones or fish, dramatically increasing the depth of the image. This is one case where the objects below the water's surface, in close sharp relief, can be a much more dramatic foreground than the background reflection. This is particularly true of a lower camera angle as the background reflection is usually more shallow than what you have here.

When shooting landscapes in general, the more of the following elements you include, the happier it makes the viewer: Fresh water, meadows, mountains, distant sky, forest, and sometimes pathways.

Hope this helps!

[Brownbear]

Hi Andrew,

Hopefully I will show some improvements in my landscape photos this year, earlier rather than later.

I've been inspired by all the beautiful landscape images by members of Cambridge in Colour! And why not learn everything I can from everyone here, far more insightful than a book.

While nature photography will always be my first love, I want to learn as much as I can about other areas of photography that interest me. I recently moved back to British Columbia and the scenery here is spectacular beautiful, (waterfalls, mountains, rivers, etc (I hike a lot) so I want to learn to capture that beauty in a photo (plus interesting insects are hard to find)

With respect to my OP...
The true beauty of the scene was far more vast than I could fit in my view finder and I struggled with deciding what to fit in from the first moment, even though I was using a wide angle lens. The colours and the light that morning were also far more beautiful then in the image I took. And I am also learning to post process my own photos (I started taking just raw photos a few months ago) so that means that I have to learn how to process my own photos, and I've learned just in the past few months that I need to sharpen my photos, add more contrast and bring out rich tones and colours... And now that I look at the photo again I think the colours in the mountain are a little flat, and so I also hope to learn how to fix that.

PS Thank you. I admire your images a lot.

Hey Christina! I've been following your "Learning Landscapes" series, from afar. I don't think I've commented on any of them yet, but am very interested in what's going on, and how you're doing.

I have a question though. In your OP you state that you "did not capture the true beauty of the scene". I'm wondering if you mean that the photo (as a finished product) is not up to your liking - like would some expert post processing change that for you, or is it that you're not seeing what you saw when you were there?

PS - I like these ones better than your cloud images too.

[Brownbear]

Hi L. Paul,

Thank you for sharing. Yes, I agree with Bruce and everyone now that I see it too.

Yes, I used a polarizing filter on a wide angle lens (that I forgot about, forever) so a lot of my images with skies in them have the uneven lighting or are too, blue. I will try burning the lighter blue sky... Thank you for the tip. Appreciated!

I agree with Bruce in that the odd shapes at the left bottom edge of the second short do look out of place and may be better cloned out. The log at the end of the small sandy peninsular is fine. The lighting is uneven almost as if you were using a polarizing filter or the lens is vignetting a bit. I would suggest you burn in a bit (particularly the right hand side) to compensate.

[PhotoByTrace]

Hi Christina, Lovely image! I think Frank has mentioned most of what I was thinking from the first image... the reflection is foreground and is leading the eye nicely into the image. Were you using a polariser on a wide angle lens? You seem to have some uneven shading to the sky... though certainly that will help reduce the glare and assist with the reflection.
Perhaps something else I would consider in this scene would be to lengthened my exposure, most likely with an nd filter but sometimes just through aperture, to help smooth the waters a little more.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Trace.

Yes, I forgot about the polarizer (new) that I left on a wide angle lens and hopefully I will remember not to do this again in images with blue sky.

Thank you for sharing. I do hope to buy some ND filters this year, and I will also try some longer exposures. A BIG thank you to you!

Hi Christina, Lovely image! I think Frank has mentioned most of what I was thinking from the first image... the reflection is foreground and is leading the eye nicely into the image. Were you using a polariser on a wide angle lens? You seem to have some uneven shading to the sky... though certainly that will help reduce the glare and assist with the reflection.
Perhaps something else I would consider in this scene would be to lengthened my exposure, most likely with an nd filter but sometimes just through aperture, to help smooth the waters a little more.

[Kathy O]

I think you photo is beautiful!! I hope you don't mind but I cropped it a little different just to see what it would look like.

[pnodrog]

Hi L. Paul,

Thank you for sharing. Yes, I agree with Bruce and everyone now that I see it too.

Yes, I used a polarizing filter on a wide angle lens (that I forgot about, forever) so a lot of my images with skies in them have the uneven lighting or are too, blue. I will try burning the lighter blue sky... Thank you for the tip. Appreciated!

Polarizing is fine for a blue sky but you just have to keep an eye on or compensate for the gradient it can introduce. Actually it was more than the sky and I suspect there was some vignetting or flare that needed correcting.

A quick burn.

[Mike Buckley]

Christina,

At the end of every shoot, remove all filters. First, you need to inspect them and the lens for cleanliness, which can't be done with the filters attached. Second, consider starting off every shoot without any filters. You apparently find it easier (more effective) to remember to add them when needed than to remove them when not needed. Make life easy for yourself and devise a workflow that is a good fit with your natural tendencies rather than fight your natural tendencies.

[Shadowman]

Thank you John. Is it a good thing to have a reflection so close to the border? If yes, why?.

Christina,

For me it helps guide the viewer's gaze back to the foreground. My eyes went directly to the sandbar, followed the ridge of the mountain, up to the sky and directly back down to the reflection. This caused me to want to take in the scene again to see if I missed anything.

[ajohnw]

Something that might help re flat colours Christina. This can be done from raw (best) or with a jpg. This is the result - a starting point for further work.



All I have done is set a black point from the dark area on the other side of the water and then darkened the low end of the mid tones a little.

On my odd ball Linux work flow I do that like this.



Notice that the curve starts a little way in at the dark end. That's the black point - the darkest point of the image now, nothing can go darker. Some packages do this with a black slider. Some packages rather than having a curve like this allowing any tone level to be manipulated might just have a mid tone slider. That can achieve the same effect. I suspect Colin might agree that it's best to get this aspect as good as it can be before doing anything else. That might involve further brightness and contrast adjustments. In this case it might be best to leave the black point alone and just alter mid tones. On the other hand it can be moved further across without having much effect on the shadows in the shot adding yet more contrast to the rest.

Some people use a levels control to do the same sort of thing. I can't get on with them but if a package has auto levels it sometimes helps especially of the sliders can be manipulated afterwards.

John
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