Winter

[billtils]

The judge at a recent club competition remarked that he put his camera away between April and August. These are months that he spends in the garden and when he considers the light too bright for landscapes.

I went back and looked at some of my winter shots, and while I don't agree with him about there being nothing worth taking out the camera for in the summer months, there were a couple of winter shots that caught my attention.

The first was taken at the south west approach to Glencoe in mid-March (OK, I do know that is technically not winter but we were not yet in the Summer Time time-zone and it was already cold and dark by mid afternoon). It is one I posted here at the time, but much edited (and I think improved) since then.





The second and third were taken in the Trossachs National Park on the 31st of December. I can't be more specific about exactly where as I was lost - the desired location was Loch Ard but this isn't it ...










C&C welcome

[Chataignier]

I particularly like the b/w, the shadows of the clouds on the hills are very fine.

[lesno1]

These are great super colours

[YossarianXXI]

I really enjoy these photos. Echoing Les, I enjoy the colors in the Trossachs National Park

The judge at a recent club competition remarked that he put his camera away between April and August. These are months that he spends in the garden and when he considers the light too bright for landscapes.

I'm still a novice at all this, and I'm sure this judge has much more experience than me, but this strikes me as an inherently silly statement.

Maybe living in Colorado, where it's a winter wonderland, biases me or warps my view but I love getting outside and taking winter shots. I'm buying a set of snowshoes just for this purpose.

[DanK]

Very nice shots. I particularly like the third. It's a beautiful composition, with the areas well-proportioned with respect to each other and a nice mix of contrasting colors and tones.

I think the judge's comment suggests that he has a narrow view of what's worth photographing.

[Wavelength]

First one is a majestic scene; second and third images are really special due to their colour combinations; quite rare

[lovelife65]

WOW WOW WOW. Just beautiful. If I had to choose a favorite... I couldn't. All really wonderful. Landscapes are so hard, because it's so difficult to really find something special that can be truly portrayed through a photograph.
Great work.

[Geoff F]

A couple of slight 'maybe' ideas from me.

With the first image, could you get away with a little bit more highlight brightness?

And what if you lost a bit of the left side of #2 which would give something like a 3 x 2 ratio? I know it would mean losing part of the distant skyline but the left side is rather bland and distracting from the main island subject.

[xpatUSA]

Landscapes are so hard, because it's so difficult to really find something special that can be truly portrayed through a photograph.

"really wonderful Landscapes are so hard"

... especially around here with a preponderance of evergreen shrubs and trees.

I do feel that someone can exclude a type of scene from a genre if they want to with such an exclusion not being called "inherently silly"!

[billtils]

A couple of slight 'maybe' ideas from me.

With the first image, could you get away with a little bit more highlight brightness?

And what if you lost a bit of the left side of #2 which would give something like a 3 x 2 ratio? I know it would mean losing part of the distant skyline but the left side is rather bland and distracting from the main island subject.

Thanks Geoff

I pulled back the highlights in the first image to the point where the exposure warnings had just cleared (5 and 250) so yes, perhaps a tiny bit.

I agree with what you say about the second image in regard to technique but left it in for its contribution to story-telling (winter sky and sun low on the right). I think it's one of those that illustrate the difference between "an image that the photographer likes" and "an image that a judge will like", and yes the colour one has been in a competition (the 3rd image here) and was well liked by the judge.

[billtils]

Thanks Sharon.

[billtils]

Thanks Nanda - the natural winter shades when I visited the location were beautiful but it was difficult to to capture the sense of coldness in the photograph while retaining the colours.

[billtils]

Thanks Dan - it is (marginally) my pick of the 3, with the mono a close second.

[lovelife65]

"really wonderful Landscapes are so hard"

... especially around here with a preponderance of evergreen shrubs and trees.

I do feel that someone can exclude a type of scene from a genre if they want to with such an exclusion not being called "inherently silly"!

:-)

[Marwus]

Really nice. I like most B&W image. Your comment about location of two others is great. Looks like you were actually lucky that you get lost Bill. Very nice images.

[Ken Clacher]

It’s the third one for me. Just love the colours and the stillness of the image.

[billtils]

Thanks Ken and David.

[YossarianXXI]

I do feel that someone can exclude a type of scene from a genre if they want to with such an exclusion not being called "inherently silly"!

For clarification. I interpreted the judges comments (or Bill's original) as the judge feels that winter is a bad time for landscapes for all photographers, and I find that interpretation an inherently silly (and snobbish) attitude.

If I'm misunderstanding, and he simply does not personally prefer taking them, that's another thing entirely and I rescind my comment. People like what they like and there's nothing inherently silly about one personal preference over another.

[billtils]

It's the other way round Colin. He prefers the light and the scenes in winter (or strictly, not summer). Add that he's a keen gardener and it all makes sense for him.

[xpatUSA]

For clarification. I interpreted the judges comments (or Bill's original) as the judge feels that winter is a [good] time for landscapes for all photographers, and I find that interpretation an inherently silly (and snobbish) attitude.

Agreed. I too dislike statements that apply to everybody or everything.

If I'm misunderstanding, and he simply does not personally prefer taking them, that's another thing entirely and I rescind my comment. People like what they like and there's nothing inherently silly about one personal preference over another.