North Hill Church, Minhead

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Kemmish

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Name
Chris
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Hi, i have been an amature photographer now for couple years and now am starting to take it more seriously..

This shot is taken from Minhead beach looking up North Hill with my Sony A350

Looking to get general comments - good or bad.. Is this a good photo?

NorthHillChurch.jpg


Thanks for looking
 
It might be my eyes this early in the morning, but it seems a little out of focus, but I do like the way it makes your eyes climb up the hill
 
Try to crop out those distracting foreground houses. Wait for better light like the early morning sun or sunset, this will improve it dramatically in my opinion :)
 
You have seen what should, on the face of it, be a great photographic subject; and old church in a village/wooded setting. You next job as the photographer is to tell that story but to inject some impact into the image.

I would agree with sparkoss that the light is not ideal; the white sides of the building have lost all detail as these elements are 2-3 stops brighter than the rest of the scene. Taking this shot early morning or evening or in less contrasty light would have got round that issue.

The points about focus are correct also, the image is "soft".

The composition is lacking as well. The houses in the foreground could have been a contributor to the shot but you must find away to arrange such objects in such a way that they either lead the eye or provide a platform of some form for the church to sit on (eg layering up roofs). The tree centre bottom is not part of the scene as it is only the top that is visible so this only serves to break up the houses. As a result you could discard the bottom third of this image as it does not contribute to the image.

One final tip. When taking a landscape shot of this nature, just before you press the shutter, run your eye around the edge of the viewfinder and if it rests on anything (like the chimney at the bottom) then you need to re-compose.

I am convinced that this subject will provide you with a better image so if you have the opportunity you should return.

(y)
 
Last edited:
Gary has made an extremely fair appraisal.

He mentioned the bottom third of the picture contributing nothing. Try using your screen to crop the photo just above the big yew tree. It immediately looks better, more balanced and interesting.

When you take these shot try to use an aperture in the middle range of the lens, say from f11 up to about f16, and if you are working handheld with a shutter speed that doesn't fall too far below about 1/40th sec, preferably a bit higher. You might find that using the aperture priority mode of the camera, if it has one, helps.
 
Cheers for all the comments. I'll take this on board and try remember the tips for next time I try a shot like this.

Thanks again :)
 
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