New ways of looking and seeing require new applications of old skills

[JBW]

the grass came out well.

[Shadowman]

Nicely exposed clean looking scene.

[JBW]

Nicely exposed clean looking scene.

I am trying to see in different way.

[bnnrcn]

A nice and peaceful garden

[Geoff F]

Potentially a very difficult scene there, Brian.

The bright area just to the right of centre has many over exposure risks while the dark spot to the left of centre was a trap for clipped shadows.

Both hazards have been nicely avoided. The highlights are just under over exposure while there is still visible detail in the deep shadows.

The only very slight changes I would make are to a couple of isolated small bright spots in the shadows. A group of little bright areas will come together OK but those single pinpoint spots look a bit strange.

[Manfred M]

Brian - I wonder if you might consider having less lawn in the shot? I find that the interesting elements are towards the back of the image and all that grass in the foreground is not necessarily contributing to the composition.

[JBW]

Potentially a very difficult scene there, Brian.

The bright area just to the right of centre has many over exposure risks while the dark spot to the left of centre was a trap for clipped shadows.

Both hazards have been nicely avoided. The highlights are just under over exposure while there is still visible detail in the deep shadows.

The only very slight changes I would make are to a couple of isolated small bright spots in the shadows. A group of little bright areas will come together OK but those single pinpoint spots look a bit strange.

I have been working on learning how to use 'levels and curves'. not there quite yet but improving.

[JBW]

Brian - I wonder if you might consider having less lawn in the shot? I find that the interesting elements are towards the back of the image and all that grass in the foreground is not necessarily contributing to the composition.

I was working with less lawn but I found no reasonable way to use the rule of thirds or fifths for placing the top of the stone wall properly.

[JBW]

A nice and peaceful garden

Our garden/temple is dedicated to Peace, Quan Yin, Butterflies and Dragons so a feeling of peace is good.

[Manfred M]

I was working with less lawn but I found no reasonable way to use the rule of thirds or fifths for placing the top of the stone wall properly.

Hint: The rule of thirds doesn't always work. You should be looking at the composition rather than mechanically applying the "rules". If an element does not contribute to the image, it shouldn't be there, even if this means breaking the rules.

Sometimes other compositional techniques tend to be more important.

[JBW]

Hint: The rule of thirds doesn't always work. You should be looking at the composition rather than mechanically applying the "rules". If an element does not contribute to the image, it shouldn't be there, even if this means breaking the rules.

Sometimes other compositional techniques tend to be more important.

Agreed. However as I am very inexperienced in landscape shooting I intentionally stayed close to 'rules'. part of the result was your pointing out why the rules don't always work so well. Next time I will give myself a little more leeway. As someone once pointed out to me there are so many variables in photography that it is best to go slow and change bit by bit.

[Manfred M]

Agreed. However as I am very inexperienced in landscape shooting I intentionally stayed close to 'rules'. part of the result was your pointing out why the rules don't always work so well.

That makes sense, but also experiment. The rule of thirds isn't hard and fast and being close to the thirds or intersections of the thirds is often better than trying to be mathematically accurate.

A "rule" I find even more important in landscape work is to ensure every image has a foreground, middle ground and background. Landscape photography with the camera on a tripod is probably the best way to learn. It slows you down and you can examine your composition without worrying about a lot of other things that are happening around you. Before pressing the shutter release, scan around all the edges of your image to ensure there is nothing poking in / out of the frame that shouldn't be there.

If you want a quick example of the foreground / middle ground and background, have a look at the image I posted today: Machhapuchhre

The foreground is the rocks and tree covered hills, the mountain occupies the middle ground and the sky takes care of the background.

Next time I will give myself a little more leeway.

Yes, that makes sense. But work the scene and try different approaches to your subject. I'll often take 2 to 8 shots of the subject, but changing some of the variables (position, aperture, etc) and then see how that worked out when I get back to the computer.

As someone once pointed out to me there are so many variables in photography that it is best to go slow and change bit by bit.

I absolutely agree with that, except when it comes to the rules of composition. These are not something that you learn one at a time, but rather learn to figure out which of the rules is most important in the image you are creating. Most compositions incorporate a single rule of composition. Occasionally one sees two and I think I might have seen three used in the same image perhaps a couple of times.

If you are learning the rules of composition, it is important to know them and to figure out which one you are going to work on. Composition is definitely not a "one trick pony".