Hang gliders over Stanwell.

[Mike Dee]

Hello All.
This photo was taken at a spot that holds the honour of being the home of the first powered flight in Australia. The pioneer was Lawrence Hargrave who made the 'flight' in 1894.

Now the site is home to hang-gliding enthusiasts willing to trusts in aerodynamics and flimsy head gear for safety!

On this day, the sky was littered with such enthusiasts, playing on the thermals like giant birds of prey.

As a beginner, I would welcome any comments on means of improving composition or post-production.

Thanks for looking.

[pnodrog]

Hi Mike welcome to CinC.

Last year I took two of my grandchildren to Symbio Wildlife Park which is just up the road. When we finished we drove through Stanwell. We wanted to visit the beach but there was no parking available - absolutely packed. As I was driving I never looked up.

To make an informed comment we really need a bigger image to view. From what I can see the exposure, focus and shutter speed are all good. However I can spot two problems, a bland sky and the horizon appears to be out of level. The horizon is easily fixed. To get some detail out of the sky takes a little bit of PP work and I suspect it is recoverable in your photograph. It will depend on what PP software you have available and whether you are starting with a jpeg or RAW file.

You have got a good vantage point and on a clear day with lots of blue sky I am sure you can get some great photographs. The afternoon (probably the later the better) should offer you the best lighting from that viewpoint. I look forward to seeing some more but larger photographs.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Mike,

Warm welcome to the CiC forums from me.

You really need to use the TinyPic method as detailed in the second post in this thread:
HELP THREAD: How can I post images here?
plus you may find the first post in this thread useful:
How to Get Effective Feedback for your Posted Images

OK, I have made your image appear as large as I can (but we like bigger), so I'll give you a couple of thoughts in addition to Paul's.

I was wondering why you have chosen this aspect ratio - is the subject the view, or the hang gliders?
If the latter, as the title suggests, then really there's little of interest in the right hand side of the frame - if I had shot this, I would be cropping some 20% off that side.

Hope that's helpful, Dave

[Mike Dee]

Thank you both Paul and Dave for your comments.
I have read (now!) the thread on uploading and I shall in future post the correct size image.
All comments are helpful.