Post your best Landscape...

[d0051m]

A couple of shots, please let me know what you think


Swallow Falls by edd.jones, on Flickr


Aber Falls by edd.jones, on Flickr

[nvitalephotography]

i like the subjects but the compositions don't work.

[d0051m]

i like the subjects but the compositions don't work.

Nvitalephotography, cheers for your comments. Very new to all this so would love to know more 'why'

[Kayaker72]

Nvitalephotography, cheers for your comments. Very new to all this so would love to know more 'why'

Ed....there is a lot to like about the photos. I can tell a lot went into their execution. And I will let Nick speak for himself on this, but my suggestions would include the following:
1. Both photos may benefit from better framing/definition of your subject (but I agree, good subjects). The way the shots are framed, I am not sure if the subject is the rock or the water. It seems that the "subject" are rocks in the middle of the photos. Yet, the eye is naturally drawn to the water. But in both photos the water is mostly, but not fully captured. This is most obvious in the second photo as my eye continiously wanders with the water off your picture, either up or down. In the first photo, the base of the waterfall is cut off. I would have enjoyed both photos more had a) you focused more on the rocks with less water so the the rocks took up more of the frame (assuming the rocks were your subject) or if you had the water blurred more. b) included the complete waterfall (at which point, the waterfall would be your subject).

2. I wonder about white balance in both photos. In the first, the water itself may be yellow, but looking at the vegetation, I think the photo may be a bit "warm." However, looking at the second photo, the white balance appears to be a little "cool." Maybe only a few hundred degrees kelvin, but a little.

3. The first shot is a little dark, maybe 1-2 stops.

All of these may have been artistic choices on your behalf. There certainly is a bit of an abstract flair to both shots.

As I said before, there is a lot of good in the photos. You acheived excellent blur of the water while maintaining good detail on the land.

But, I am no pro...so take everything with a grain of salt.

[d0051m]

Kayaker, thanks so much for the comments. Am very much learning my way around the camera and can fully admit not enough thought goes into composing of the scene. One set of terms I don't quite understand is cold and warm and wondered if you could explain a little more.
Thanks very much

[Kayaker72]

Sure...here are some links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature
http://www.betterphoto.com/article.asp?ID=24
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/gu...mperature-4804

I am not sure how you processed your photos. They may have been jpg right out of the camera. If so, let me suggest shooting in RAW and using software such as Canon's free digital photo professional, Adobe's lightroom, or DXO's software. There are many others, but those are the three I have. Each has a slider bar that lets you adjust color temperature to RAW images. You can "cool" down a photo by decreasing the temperature, which tends to accentuate blue tones or can add add warmth to a photo by increasing the temperature, which tends to accentuate the yellow/orange tones.

[nvitalephotography]

Yeah, I completely agree with what was said, summed up my thoughts perfect . The second one I feel like the main subject is the waterfall in the background(at least thats where my eyes go) yet its cut off. I think if you aimed up a little higher this shot would be great. the water and rocks in the foreground would lead your eyes into the picture where they would land on that great waterfall.

The first photo I just want to see more of the scene.

You have great subjects here and the slow shutter is good.

[cls]

A couple of weeks ago we had full moon, and I spent a late afternoon capturing it rising. In a set of about 20 pics this is the one I like best. (There aren't too many minutes when the ambient light and the moonlight mix well in a single exposure.)

[Jonathan Huyer]

I tried my hand at a panorama shot this morning, shortly ater sunrise. I used the 24 mm TS-E, and shifted left and right to generate the combined image. It was quite a lot of fun, mostly because it was -19 C and the wind was howling. Trying to work those fiddly little knobs on the lens without freezing your fingers is a real trick. This location is the Spray Lakes Reservoir, just up the hill from where we live. I'll definitely come back here and try some other spots.



Edit: Forgot to mention, I also used a 3-stop soft edge graduated ND filter.

[Steve U]

Great effort to pick up a shot like this Jonathan, I like those blue tones.