Lake Superior Landscapes

[Suzan J]

Hello All: I am trying to get out of my comfort zone and have been spending time at the waterfront attempting to take some landscape shots. I have also signed up for a 30 day trial of Lightroom 5. That explains the B & W conversion which is new territory for me. That particular creepy shot is of an abandoned grain elevator at the Thunder Bay harbour. It seemed to cry out for black and white. I only wish the gull could have been a raven. I have discovered the Lightroom Noise Reduction tool and I can really notice a difference. I hope I am not overdoing it. I have been using Aperture 3.0 which does have a NR tool, but frankly I never see a difference when using it??As usual, any tips, pointers or C & C is greatly appreciated. (For those not familiar with Thunder Bay, presumably most everyone, the third shot is a local landmark called the Sleeping Giant. It looks like a Native Canadian man lying down with his hands clasped to his chest. His head is to the left.)

DSC_4355.jpg by Soo J, on Flickr

url=https://flic.kr/p/oiLpwX][/url]DSC_5318 by Soo J, on Flickr

DSC_1405.jpg by Soo J, on Flickr

DSC_5166.jpg by Soo J, on Flickr

DSC_3664.jpg by Soo J, on Flickr

[Shadowman]

Hi Susan,

All nice exposures and composed very well.

[ShaneS]

Very nice shots Susan. One through three work well for me and I particularly like three with the caveat that the two branches crossing the horizon on the right night be a good candidate to be cloned out

I think the 4th needs a bit more contrast and some straightening and you might want to lift the shadows a bit in the fifth. I also think that the fifth might be a good candidate for black and white.

Overall this is a very nice set. Like you and I working on my ability to compose an effective landscape and it's nice to see what others see so thanks for sharing.

[dabhand]

#4 for me.

The silo thingy is a perfect target for an industrial type image though I'd like to make a couple of suggestions - the first, perhaps moving to the left of image onto that grassy knoll would present the opportunity to zoom in on just the tower and part of the main building; the second would be to really bring out the rough textures of the building by manipulating contrast as Shane suggests.

steve

[bnnrcn]

Hi Susan I especially like #2 and if you crop the empty part of the sky, I think the composition will improve. Lovely colours and calmness.

[Polar01]

Susan: Landscapes can be hard to do just ask Christine. The 1st image looks like you shot if from eye level, I think you would have had a stronger image if you had moved closer to the logs on the shore and then gotten down to 2 to 3 feet off the ground and then composted you shot, that foreground of the beach as little of interest in it.
The 2nd shot I like, well done.
The 3rd shot if you had or were able to use a longer lens to get rid of those branches and compressed the distance would have make again a stronger image I feel.
The 4th shot, I love buildings like this, again a longer lens, zoomed in on all the old steel, like the stairs running along that outside wall.
The 5th shot strong image, maybe remove some sky, and maybe depending on post skill level try to add a little drama to the sky.
Lots of people think landscapes are easy, they are not as we have to work with what we are given at the time. If you are able to sometime try this, if using a tripod, camera on tripod, but legs are not extended, take a shot, now extend one section of legs camera still pointing in same direction no change in settings, take shot, keep doing this until the legs have been extended to full height. Later look at the images to see the difference from your usual eye level shots.
And last it looks like you have a number of dust spots on your sensor.

Cheers: Allan

[Suzan J]

Thank you all for these great suggestions. I am very grateful for the assistance. Shooting landscapes is definitely a challenge. I am trying to incorporate some of your ideas. I have attempted to lift the shadows out of the shot below. Do you think is has been improved?

I am also trying to get acquainted with Lightroom by using the clone tool to remove some of the branches and to make some alterations to the cropping.

Alan, I do have a 55 to 300 mm lens, so I presume that using more telephoto would achieve the "compression" that you mention.

B & W is still something I am trying to understand. I'm reading a number of tutorials and hope to get a better grip on this aspect.

Oh, and yes, my sensor is overdue for a cleaning. The local Nikon dealer had promised me one free cleaning so I will definitely take him up on that offer!

DSC_3664.jpg by Soo J, on Flickr

[ShaneS]

Susan, the most important question is do you think it is improved by lifting the shadows? I see more clarity in the boat, water and reflection. If it were mine I would consider using a mask to only lift the shadows on the foreground and the boat as your sky has gotten a bit noisy and lost some definition in the clouds. I also like the darker silhouette of the island/mountain in the distance from the first shot so maybe somewhere in between on that part o the image.

Just my two cents...and, by the way, I really like Allan's suggestion:

If you are able to sometime try this, if using a tripod, camera on tripod, but legs are not extended, take a shot, now extend one section of legs camera still pointing in same direction no change in settings, take shot, keep doing this until the legs have been extended to full height. Later look at the images to see the difference from your usual eye level shots.

Looking, high, low and somewhere in between is something that I have been working on and I think this is a good exercise.

[Suzan J]

Yes Shane, I do see what you mean. I can see the noise. I chose to be somewhat lazy and applied a global change rather than take my time and change only what needed to be altered. Thanks for not letting me get off too easy!

[ShaneS]

No worries Suzan! Constructive feedback is what makes this forum great and I find that analyzing the images of others is a lot easier than figuring out what to do with my own.

Although, I will say that participating here has really upped my game and I love to see progress in the work of others too

[ied]

Lovely captures Susan, #2 is my fav. great composition.

Irene

[csa mt]

I really like #2!! That is a great image!

[Brownbear]

Hi Suzan,

Lovely images. Thank you for sharing. It is wonderful to be able to view someone else's landscapes and learn from them, and the advice you receive.

I especially love the 2nd image for the colour, light and composition (beautiful). #1 is very pretty. I also love the 3rd image for the framing and light dreamy feel. If it were mine I would crop it in half so it was symmetrical (panorama style) and try and bring out a wee bit more detail in the clouds if possible.

I like the composition of the 5th image, and prefer your edit.

I'm finding landscape images especially challenging, so it is a pleasure to learn from your images.