critique please

Matt

Matt

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matt
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i hate trying landscapes, as they never come out right for me, so ive had a bash at one today and request tips on how to make it better!

landscape.jpg


fire away chaps, i can take it....:ponders:
 
Nice shot generally, but I would have taken the same picture from about ten paces to the right (assuming there isn't a river there). Would have helped to give the bales of straw some depth, as they're pointing straight at the camera.
 
I like the composition and the scene generally. I'd really have expected to see the straw bales a nice golden colour though, it seems a bit dark overall.

The golfer doesn't add anything ;)
 
The composition is fine but I think the exposure is off as the tree needs more detail. Using an ND grad filter might have helped get a deeper blue sky and retain that detail. The biggest bug for me is that the bales look like they've got that black plastic wrapping. Spot healing tool should get rid of the golfer ;) .
 
cheers guys, i will revist the original and see if i can get some colour in it, i stopped and got this on the roadside so it was a little rushed...didnt really get much more, got another in my gallery and some i need to process....

keep them coming though chaps!
 
I agree the shot is a little dark, you're losing shadow detail noticeably in that bush to the left of the tree. The bales lead the eye nicely into the scene... without a particular focal point though. The black wrapped bales don't help - I think that golden bales would have made a nice contrast with that dark forground and lifted the shot a lot.

I'd crop everything to the left of the tree to put the tree strongly on a 3rd and to stop the eye straying up there and focus the eyes along the bales. Far from a bad shot though Matty. :)
 
the bales are not black wrapped.....time to play with levels!
 
Landscape photography is a whole different animal, all the pros get up either really early to be at their destination and setup ready to capture the golden moment or wait till the “Golden hour” at the end of the day. These times are when the lighting is really soft and warm, it brings out the colours, adds texture by causing long shadows and allows for shadow details to be retained without having the nasty, harsh overblown highlights from high sun.

Without putting in that kind of effort your landscape work is only ever going to be average to good even if every other detail was perfect. Sure it might be easy to frame a scene as it doesn’t move like an animal would but the effort and skill is in the planning and getting to the place for that few minutes when the shot is ripe for the taking.

The above are the main reasons why your shot is not giving you the satisfaction that you are after. The colours are cold and not saturated, the many textures prescient have not been captured due to high, strong light and you have lost shadow detail.

Take a look at some of Bach's and Garnoch’s recently posted landscape shots, they all have captured the above and Garnoch's black and white stone circle photo is oozing with atmosphere from the weather conditions from when it was captured. There are some good examples of what the perfect light does to an ordinatry looking scene ;)
 
thanks Steve, i will be getting up early for some morning mist i think!
 
Late evening (sunset) can be just as rewarding although don't expect any mist ;)
 
cant be arsed in the evening, maybe if mornings give me good results i would then be persuaded
 
Your a truffle eating swamp donkey and a..... ohh not that sort of critique ! :coat: :whistling :)



I know it's a bit harsh so note I am no expert, but I would say the photo should be showing the sides of the bales, and was taken in a very bad light for the photo.. (would have been much better if the sun was in a different possition) The perfect light would have been way over to the left of where you were standing, but saying that even messing with the exposure would have probebly given it a burn out effect instead in some areas.

I'm guessing it was strong light but lots of shadow. Looks like it would be a very hard shot to get perfect in that light.
 
spot on Dezyboy, early afternoon, 28 and Sunny!

i will give it another go sometime, i did get one further to the right, but it dont look 'right' either, i will have a look at that later though
 
EosD said:
spot on Dezyboy, early afternoon, 28 and Sunny!

i will give it another go sometime, i did get one further to the right, but it dont look 'right' either, i will have a look at that later though
Click to expand...

shadow is to the right so you would have been shooting strate at the sun, people like yourselves maybe able to do that, i'm not good enough to do that.

I think I would have opted to shoot from the left so that the shadows fell away into the background.


like i said, i'm no expert mind !
 
This particular time of the year is amazing for landscapes...the quality of light early morning and evening is so golden with great shadows due to the position of the sun as we come into Autumn.

I'm passing scenes that I wouldn't look twice at any other time and when it comes to landscapes, I'm of the opinion that lighting is (nearly) everything.
I find myself not even bothering to power the camera up if the light ain't right these days.

If the sky is bobbins, I now try and keep it out of the shot altogether and zoom in on other details. Even then, the ambient light on the subject can make them look lacklustre.
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Recruit your local joyriders to torch a car and when it explodes in mid air, you get a nice golden light on the subject.
Be sure to get some shots when it lands too as the smoke gives an etherial misty appearance...OK I'll get my coat, everything below the red line is dribble. :coat:
 
your right, the lighting is all wrong. Its been noted!
 
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