Why can I not progress.. Some panos

[dougiem]

I havent visited posted in the forums for a while been rather busy with work, infact i havent used the camera much this year. But when I look around the forum I cant help feeling depressed when everone elses pictures look truly emense.
The quality of my 'Work' seems to be stuck at the same level and I cant seem to progress I keep trying to convince myself that it's my camera so I can feel less guilty about buying a new one! but I have seen people with the same camera as me with far superior images, What am I doing wrong my stuff just doesnt have that same eye catching effect ??

 

[big soft moose]

those arent too bad, but i'd suggest that its time of day - they look to have been shot in the middle of the day when the light is quite bright and flat - you could try shooting more in the golden hour (ie the run up to and just after sunset) or get out of bed early and shoot arround sunrise

the other thing is to plan the composition more carefully thinking about leading lines and thirds and such - have a look at the joe corrnish book 'first light'

Apart from those its all down to practice - so dont spend on upgrading , spend on travelling about taking lots and lots of photos

 

[Just Dave]

To be honest none of the shots are in focus, they are soft though out,

where was your focas point, are they hand held? you need to move your focus spot to where you want it foreground/midground/far distance at theres settings you chose, should be on a tripod cable release

Exif

Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 18 mm
ISO Speed 100

 

[TheBigYin]

Well - I always think that the main things with landscape work are the right location, the right composition and the right light.

The hardest thing about shooting landscapes out in the hills at this time of year is that the best light is either at silly o'clock in the morning - 4:30 am around your way, or so late in the evening you've missed your dinner. In "good" weather to be on the hill - it's often hard to make a dramatic picture as the light is just too harsh/flat - such as your first shot suffers from a little.

One handy tool I've found is The Photographers Ephemeris. It's a handy little application that show sunrise,sunset times and directions on a map - allowing you to work the direction of light into your shots. There's even a iPhone/iPad version which you can use out and about, but the PC one is great for pre-planning shoots etc.

The Other thing is to work on composition - I'm sure you've heard of the rule of thirds etc. - not always easy to apply when you're thinking of shooting panoramas. In fact, I'd leave pano's alone for a while - get happy with your results on "normal" aspects - 2x3 type stuff for the 450D. Rest assured, the 450D is a good little camera, and even with the kit lens, its more than adequate for some really interesting stuff out in the hills. I usually take mine, in preference to the 7D for a big day on the hill - mainly as it's about half the weight to carry while yomping over 3-4 hills.

 

[dougiem]

those arent too bad, but i'd suggest that its time of day - they look to have been shot in the middle of the day when the light is quite bright and flat - you could try shooting more in the golden hour (ie the run up to and just after sunset) or get out of bed early and shoot arround sunrise

the other thing is to plan the composition more carefully thinking about leading lines and thirds and such - have a look at the joe corrnish book 'first light'

Apart from those its all down to practice - so dont spend on upgrading , spend on travelling about taking lots and lots of photos

I have added that book to my Amazon wish list and will definitely buy it some time soon! I definitely need to start getting out early in the morning and capturing some sunrises, I have found though that in low light conditions the pictures can be a little noisy though, even when the iso is at 100 will need to play around more

To be honest none of the shots are in focus, they are soft though out,

where was your focas point, are they hand held? you need to move your focus spot to where you want it foreground/midground/far distance at theres settings you chose, should be on a tripod cable release

Exif

Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 18 mm
ISO Speed 100

They were both handheld with me basically spraying and stiching them later in photoshop, the tripod i have is one of those £10 ones so I dont even use it since it's wobbly to say the least! I think a new purchase is needed

 

[Digifrog]

... when I look around the forum I cant help feeling depressed when everone elses pictures look truly emense.
The quality of my 'Work' seems to be stuck at the same level and I cant seem to progress

I think you'll find many people feel the same, myself included. !

For those images, I'd say a few things can be addressed.

1. Shoot towards the end/beginning of the day
2. Landscapes: Try shooting at f/11 - f/15. Any lower than f/11 will give a shallower depth of field, any higher than f/15 will run the risk of diffraction (softening)
3. Shoot hyperfocal distance, or focus roughly one third into the frame.
4 Avoid a cloudless sky. A good sky/cloud cover usually sets the scene.
5. Use graduated filters if you can.
6. Always scout for good compositions. When you find one, stick to it and wait for the right moment.

 

[big soft moose]

the tripod i have is one of those £10 ones so I dont even use it since it's wobbly to say the least! I think a new purchase is needed

definitely - a decent tripod and head is an absolute must for lanscape photography

theres a guy in the classifieds selling a decent manfrotto rig http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=330614

but the only thing with those steel ones is the weight - if you want to carry it up into the hills a lot you might want to splash the cash and get a carbon fibre variant

 

[Just Dave]

I think you'll find many people feel the same, myself included. !

For those images, I'd say a few things can be addressed.

Me too Ive posted 2 posts/threads of studio shoot, hardly any replies so that helps not

also posted test shot from my new lens, only a few comments, nowt technical :shrug:

 

[dougiem]

Well - I always think that the main things with landscape work are the right location, the right composition and the right light.

The hardest thing about shooting landscapes out in the hills at this time of year is that the best light is either at silly o'clock in the morning - 4:30 am around your way, or so late in the evening you've missed your dinner. In "good" weather to be on the hill - it's often hard to make a dramatic picture as the light is just too harsh/flat - such as your first shot suffers from a little.

One handy tool I've found is The Photographers Ephemeris. It's a handy little application that show sunrise,sunset times and directions on a map - allowing you to work the direction of light into your shots. There's even a iPhone/iPad version which you can use out and about, but the PC one is great for pre-planning shoots etc.

The Other thing is to work on composition - I'm sure you've heard of the rule of thirds etc. - not always easy to apply when you're thinking of shooting panoramas. In fact, I'd leave pano's alone for a while - get happy with your results on "normal" aspects - 2x3 type stuff for the 450D. Rest assured, the 450D is a good little camera, and even with the kit lens, its more than adequate for some really interesting stuff out in the hills. I usually take mine, in preference to the 7D for a big day on the hill - mainly as it's about half the weight to carry while yomping over 3-4 hills.

Thanks for the advice Just downloaded photo ephemeris Couldn't resit it after all it's free if i find it useful it will definitely be getting purchase for the ipad. I think im going to do exsactly as you advised and forget about panoramas for a while and focus on the normal aspects! I do agree the 450D is a good wee camera one day I will actually some good results out of it

I think you'll find many people feel the same, myself included. !

For those images, I'd say a few things can be addressed.

1. Shoot towards the end/beginning of the day
2. Landscapes: Try shooting at f/11 - f/15. Any lower than f/11 will give a shallower depth of field, any higher than f/15 will run the risk of diffraction (softening)
3. Shoot hyperfocal distance, or focus roughly one third into the frame.
4 Avoid a cloudless sky. A good sky/cloud cover usually sets the scene.
5. Use graduated filters if you can.
6. Always scout for good compositions. When you find one, stick to it and wait for the right moment.

I didn't actually know about the problems with going above f/15 and diffraction. regarding 6 I definitely need to be more patient and stick around instead of trying to move on