Landscapes - Archive

[Sahil]

Antonio:- However, I suppose the house at the top left could be cloned. And just near the river is that a hut ?

No, Antonio, interestingly thats not a hut. Another huge rock . Even I was debating about cloning out the house at the top. But then decided against it. I think its adding to the scene, as to a nice place to live?

& about the shot, you like the best, it was taken from an airplane

[perpetual dan]

The first one has great potential - I say great because I think if some of the top is cropped off it becomes great.

I know that we hate to "waste" some of what we've captured, but this technique is very often useful in making a composition stronger (simpler often equates to stronger). Using the scroll button on the right of the screen, I "cut off" down to and including the black fold on the right side. This amounts to cropping about 1/6th from the top.

To my mind's eye, the upper 1/6th is busy and distracting. When this is removed, the strong diagonal of the shadow gains prominence, and it leads the eye into the fabulous texture of the snow.

I'm going to be more critical of the second image - I can't find a subject - is it the sun, the posts, the snow, or the track in the snow? This might be worth a re-shoot though - concentrate on the track - and get closer to accentuate the interesting pattern.

Thanks for the comments. I have cropped the top a little to get rid of even busier bits, but hadn't thought to take the crop that far down. I'll give that a go later.

A re-shoot may take a while, the snow has melted now! It could do with something more to lead the eye to, yes.

[perpetual dan]

In the photo, Tyre track in the snow, if you had allowed the sun to go behind the post it would have done two things: first, it would have diffused its brightness and it becoming the focal point instead of the tire (spelled correctly, I might add ) track because by diffusing that light, the track ridges would have had a more defined shadow and I suspect, two, a deeper tinge of yellow, both of which would have directed the eye up the hill in a more pronounced way.
I am only kidding with the spelling thing because I told a friend about this site on the telephone and he kept telling me the link wouldn't work. When I spelled it out, he yelled back, "well, no wonder, they spelled Color wrong."

I think I tried to get the sun behind the post, but if I remember i lost the angle on the tracks and didn't completely solve the brightness problem. I didn't want to wait for the sun to go lower as I didn't want to ride my bike back down the ice in the dark! Maybe I should take a little longer to experiment with positions that balance the shot. Thanks.

[Donald]

I didn't want to wait for the sun to go lower as I didn't want to ride my bike back down the ice in the dark! Maybe I should take a little longer to experiment with positions that balance the shot. Thanks.

Dan

You make a good point here in terms of people thinking about their learning.

An example of the point I'm making is in Yan's entry to the December 2010 Monthly Competition, here. You'll see that he writes that he gave 3 hours over to the making of this photo (and then the additional time processing it to make it into a picture).

I think that, as you develop your knowledge and skills, you also develop the awareness that you have to give the making of a picture the time in needs and deserves. Okay, you don't put life and limb at risk by deciding to ride a bike down an iced-up track in the dark, but ....! Sometimes it has to be about putting yourself out a bit to make the image that's in your mind.

As to your point about taking a little longer to experiment, my own approach has developed into one in which pressing the shutter is the end of a process that may have taken 30 - 60 minutes of, once at the location (which I will have targeted because I've been there before), moving about, kneeling down, lying on the ground, etc etc, to identify the shot I really want. But since I find that the enormously satisfying part of photography it is not seen as a chore. At the end of it I feel I really know and understand the location and the shot I want.

[Dave Humphries]

he (Yan) writes that he gave 3 hours over to the taking of this photo

my own approach has developed into one in which pressing the shutter is the end of a process that may have taken 30 - 60 minutes of, once at the location (which I will have targeted because I've been there before), moving about, kneeling down, lying on the ground, etc etc, to identify the shot I really want

Hmmm,

That's interesting, I am beginning to see why I never win any competitions
.... a distinct lack of preparation, shame on me!

Oh well, I suppose it gives me a New Years resolution to make.

[Donald]

Hmmm,

That's interesting, I am beginning to see why I never win any competitions
.... a distinct lack of preparation, shame on me!

It's okay Dave, I lead a very sad life. Just got nothing better to do!!

[Dave Humphries]

Just got nothing better to do!!

Now we both know that's not true.

Credit where it is due, this DOES show in both your and Yan's photos.

[Donald]

Now we both know that's not true.

Credit where it is due, this DOES show in both your and Yan's photos.

Dave, you're very kind - thank you.

My point was well illustrated this morning. We've just taken a dog to look after for a week (through the organisation I've mentioned on here before - He's a Gordon Setter, so he's more like a small horse!). I took it our for a walk at about 11:30 this morning, to a location that's featured on here many times and is one of my favourite spots. As I walked up the road and into a field, I saw the most glorious image. The sun was in front, but still very low, having just come over the shoulder of a small hill. From where I was standing, tractor tracks ran through the snow up and over the same shoulder. The light was towards me and was glorious.

So, if it's a bright day again tomorrow, I shall be up there from about 10am onwards. I wouldn't expect to get what I want until about 11:15/11:30, but I want to be there in plenty of time so that I have the composition right for when the light is right.

[Wirefox]

Donald

Like Dave I too suffer from premature shutter activation. I have tried all the traditional approaches to the problem (even Chinese medicine) but I just cannot pull back from half shutter release at the critical moment. 30 mins to and hour is amazing...have you thought of a career in the motion picture industry?

Joking aside I find it very interesting how much prep you invest in your shots. It certainly pays off in your case. It reminded me of the discussion elsewhere on CiC where we discussed whether PP was legit. I suggested that landscapers actually pre-process by waiting for light, tides, weather etc. This is a good example of why preparation is just as essential as PP (if not more so)

[Donald]

Joking aside I find it very interesting how much prep you invest in your shots. It certainly pays off in your case. It reminded me of the discussion elsewhere on CiC where we discussed whether PP was legit. I suggested that landscapers actually pre-process by waiting for light, tides, weather etc. This is a good example of why preparation is just as essential as PP (if not more so)

Steve

Like I said above, it's the bit of the process that I love. I just absolutely treasure those moments when it's just me, camera, lens, tripod etc and the scene in front of me. There's a sense of calm and relaxation that I get nowhere else - whether it's looking at a river, a hill, an electricity pylon, or even a tractor! If I wasn't a real he-man who tears telephone directories in half for amusement and who doesn't go in for all that namby-pamby, touchy-feely, silly emotional stuff, I would say it's almost sensual. But I won't ...'cause I'm not that sort of person!

[perpetual dan]

Thanks for the comments. I have cropped the top a little to get rid of even busier bits, but hadn't thought to take the crop that far down. I'll give that a go later.

Later has happened
I started with a different original, which required a little more work to get the texture out but had an angle which made dropping the busy bits easier. In the end I've gone further than Glenn's loose the top 1/6th suggestion and taken it down to a square. This wasn't how I saw it when taking at all - in my minds eye it was a vertical shot - but I'm quite pleased with the outcome. Thanks for the encouragement.

[whited3]

Canon 500D with a Sigma 10-20mm @20mm, f13, 1/400, ISO 800. Cedar Creek Falls at Mt Tamborine in QLD. Looking down part of the falls over a drop of ~15m. Looks further than that I think, maybe due to the lens? Exposure and distortion corrected in ACR, levels in PS.

[Antonio Correia]

Later has happened
I started with a different original, which required a little more work to get the texture out but had an angle which made dropping the busy bits easier. In the end I've gone further than Glenn's loose the top 1/6th suggestion and taken it down to a square. This wasn't how I saw it when taking at all - in my minds eye it was a vertical shot - but I'm quite pleased with the outcome. Thanks for the encouragement.

Indeed you have done a very good work now.
In my monitor the white area on the left is a bit too white and without detail. Perhaps you could make a small adjustment in that area ...

Thank you Dan for posting here
-
Also thanks to you Mark, for posting here
This is quite unusual in terms of angle for capture fro a water fall. You were not in danger were you ?
I can see a small rainbow down there. Yes, I also think that it looks deeper because of the lens you used.

Canon 500D with a Sigma 10-20mm @20mm, f13, 1/400, ISO 800. Cedar Creek Falls at Mt Tamborine in QLD. Looking down part of the falls over a drop of ~15m. Looks further than that I think, maybe due to the lens? Exposure and distortion corrected in ACR, levels in PS.

[whited3]

This is quite unusual in terms of angle for capture fro a water fall. You were not in danger were you ?
I can see a small rainbow down there. Yes, I also think that it looks deeper because of the lens you used.

Thanks Antonio. No danger really. I was a good metre back from the edge but I think the lens distorts the image in such away as to give the impression I'm leaning over the edge. I have no plans to suffer (ie falling off cliffs!) for my art!

There's only a small crop to that image so it's using the full width (range? diameter? what's the correct terminology?) of the lens. Normally I try to avoid capturing a scene where one side of the image is close to the lens while the other is in the distance, as the lens distortion is so obvious in these types of images. But it works here I think

Same spot. Slightly different perspective.

[Glenn NK]

Dan (perpetual):

I like your latest version much better. I'd also like to hear what the others think about the changes.

I realize that my approach of simplifying isn't what others may like. And I've seen images that were busy, yet had a cohesiveness to them. For example, recently on Naturescapes, a poster submitted an image of some trees in the winter and it was snowing heavily. From a technical point, it was a busy image, yet it projected a mood, and a feeling of place. Your snow sculpture also created a mood and it draws one into it. Personally I think it's an exhibition level shot, but I still like the portrait orientation a bit better.

Finally I'm quite aware of the problems that your part of the world has experienced, and while it may be nice to get some snow to photograph, I wouldn't wish the problems recently experienced on anyone to be repeated.

Glenn

[Glenn NK]

Hello, my name is Jaqueline, I'm from Brazil. My husband Wagner and I are begginners at taking pictures, but we are really loving. I love see all kinds of picture. I can spend a long time looking for beautiful and creative photos. I'll share a picture with you and I'd love to know what do you think. I took this picture on 12th december in Prague: http://picasaweb.google.com/wagner.e...75902920120418
(I couldn't upload the picture)
I hope you all enjoy it.

Jacqueline:

My comments on your image will be similar to the comments on the snow drift image submitted by Dan - I also hate to cut away part of the image I captured in the field - it is painful.

My personal opinion is that the lower part of the image contains a lot of nothing (hope this makes sense to you - it's actually an oxymoron). The bottom of the image takes up much space, but doesn't add to the image of the building and statues. I would suggest cropping 1/3rd from the bottom - this forces more of the viewer's attention on the important components such as the statures and the building.

The drawback to cropping is that it removes pixels, and pixels are valuable as they define the image. My approach to any image is to frame the composition in the field as closely as I can, so I'm actually cropping when composing the image. To be honest, there are times when I crop too much and miss part of the subject (this is why I try several different compositions).

Glenn

[Vandenberg]

dwl rotterdam

[John C]

Vandenberg,
I really like the first of the two photos. It has an interesting composition with the use of the diagonal lines. I also especially like the sense of distance conveyed by the photo, from foreground to far background. Regarding the fogging of the lens from the bright sun, I think the photo suffers from too much washout.

[whited3]

A 0500 start got me to Natural Bridge before the tourists just after 0600. Natural Bridge is situated in the Numinbah Valley between the Lamington and Springbrook NPs, behind the Gold Coast in QLD. It is basically a cave with a hole in the roof through which the creek pours in.

500D, Sigma 10-20mm f3.5 @ 1.3s, f10, 10mm.


This turned out to be a lot harder than what I thought it'd be. Dark inside with contrasting bright light from outside. Very wet with the all spray and mist, which meant the lens required drying after every capture. The cave roof seems to be black rock so my attempts to light it up with the flash or LED torch did nothing.

What all this led to was that in most of my shots the waterfall came out like a beam of white light. This was the best I could come up with using ACR to strike a balance in lighting and exposure. I tried spot adjusting the waterfall with no luck.

This shot is from above.
500D, Canon 24-105mm f4 L @ 0.3s, f22, 24mm


Other images here http://www.flickr.com/photos/4868689...7625608783391/

[MiniChris]

On the bottom side of Glacier National Park in Montana...incredible watercourses, rapids and falls.



The dangers of staying up past your bedtime...ya just get a bit silly...