One of those shots !

Andrew Davies Photography

Andrew Davies Photography

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Andrew
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I took this image recently in the lake district, Ullswater to be precise following a wedding there. Its an image that i love and one of those that i am determined will end up large on the wall sooner rather than later.

Processed from three shot exposure using Canon 5Dmk3 and 35mm F2 IS , and before anyone mentions blown out clouds i love them that way it just adds more character for me :)

The photos is of a cute little romantic boathouse called The Duke of Portland and its available to hire for couples only ;)

It should be said also sorry to those that were staying there when it took the shot, i noticed the inhabitants swimming quickly back across the lake when they saw me as they had left their mountain bikes outside, must of thought i was about to make off with them lol

Ullswater%20google.jpg


www.andrew-davies.com
 
It looks as though you've shot it when the sun was too high in the sky and have then used HDR to bring up detail from the shadows. I'm not saying it's a bad result, but elements like the unusually bright greens in the foliage beyond the jetty would benefit from being toned down.
 
This is where it sometimes gets interesting with photographic forums and people who view the technical aspects of photos rather than the actual look and feel, i sometimes abandon many rules when i am taking photos and go for the look that pleases 'me' - that's what differentiates one photographer from another, some would call it your style. To be honest if everyone stuck by the rules everything would look so similar there would be no point. Treat your photography as art and experiment , don't be caught up in what people say you should not do - think about what pleases you. I have had many positive comments on this shot on other social networks etc already but its only when i post it here you start to see comments about halos hdr etc etc - then you remember there are two different worlds ! - the one the photographers live in - and the one everyone else sees. I have developed a knack over the years of being able to produce work that wows people not photographers and hence have sold hundreds of landscapes and made nearly 250k in 6 years out of my photography.

I can see exactly what the previous posters have said and I don't disagree with their findings - yet i would not change a thing, I actually dodged and burned this shot aswell as mild HDR to give it the look it has and the impact i wanted it to portray - as a piece of art. It was a place i had planned to visit for some years and yes the sun was high in the sky but again sometimes i feel the sunset and sunrise shots are just too common and wanted to create something with what was there at the time, it was a very bright and contrasty day and there were some vivid colours too.

Thank you for the comments its all good food for thought and i don't want to sound like i am coming across as ungrateful either !
 
Andrew Davies Photography said:
This is where it sometimes gets interesting with photographic forums and people who view the technical aspects of photos rather than the actual look and feel
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This statement hits the nail on the head for me. I tend to see the scene for what it is. Now if there's an obvious flaw, a very badly sloping horizon for instance, then it may impact on my first opinion, but I don't look for flaws. For me it's like a food critic, do they ever enjoy a meal when they go home or do they analyse and have a critical opinion on every morsel they eat.

Sometimes I think people on forums look to criticise just to make themselves feel superior, as if pointing out someone else's shortcomings elevates their abilities :(

You are making money from your talents so you must be doing something right. For me, I like the scene, you've done it justice. :)
 
Hi Andrew, I certainly understand where you are coming from when it comes to Tech aspects etc, as a landscape photographer myself I always smile when my family and friends suggest I go out with the camera as their is not a single cloud in the sky and the sun is at midday, and of course we all have our own style when it comes to hitting that shutter button. I can hold my hands up and honestly say that if I do ever own my own gallery I would up the colour and saturation in images for sure, like you say their is photographers then their are the none photographers that when they see a famous landmark etc they want something different and out of the ordanary probably the very same reason you have earned 250k from Landscape images, or is that the wedding side too?

My only crit would be your verticals, now I dont know this boat house never shot it before but something is not sitting right with it especially when you click on it.

Thanks for sharing

Kevin
 
Andrew Davies Photography said:
I have developed a knack over the years of being able to produce work that wows people not photographers and hence have sold hundreds of landscapes and made nearly 250k in 6 years out of my photography.
!
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Andrew, the shot doesn't do anything for me as the light is flat and the processing unsympathetic. Also the fact that it is a cliched viewpoint and an easily won grab shot would mean that personally, I would have got very little if any satisfaction out of taking it.

If it wasn't for the above quote (which is quite frankly a boast, and a vacuous one at that) I would have had some sympathy with you, especially when you mention creating a look that pleases you. However, that statement is at odds with the main gist which seems to be that 'togs' are snobs and facebook philistines know better because they lap up plastic looking images and pay good money for them. Pleasing the masses with derivative, insensitive imagery does nothing to further the cause of landscape photography as art in this country and its proliferation on social media does the art a great disservice.

Just a few thoughts, but for me, this image says nothing about the location in any meaningful way, which, of course, is absolutely fine as long as someone buys a big canvas :p
 
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Agree totally with Nick. I did have some sympathies with your argument until the rather unnecessary boast.
 
Come on guys I know their are people making alot of money from over saturated images charlie and chocolate factory springs to mind, and they are making money, and if that is what you have to do then so be it Surely 250k!!!!!, I'm just sitting on the fence with this one, as I dont earn my living from my photography YET :(
 
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Kevin O'Brian said:
Come on guys I know their are people making alot of money from over saturated images charlie and chocolate factory springs to mind, and they are making money, and if that is what you have to do then so be it Surely, I'm just sitting on the fence with this one, as I dont earn my living from my photography YET :(
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Kevin, that would depend entirely on your photographic motivations and philosophy. Personally (and you know this from our chats) I take photographs as means of expressing my heartfelt passion and deep respect for the mountains. If my images stopped selling then I wouldn't change a thing about my approach to photography in order to gain sales.

Integrity is everything to me and I would never compromise my principals for commercial ends.

I sincerely hope you won't either when the time comes ;)

A good analogy would be pop music, an area that we know attracts mercenaries hell bent on making money by appealing to the lowest common denominator with vapid, meaningless drivel!
 
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Andrew Davies Photography said:
Interesting perspectives, I love the place, love the image, and loved taking it. Beyond that is is not even yet for sale and the only wall i plan on putting it on right now is mine ! and as for people spouting integrity - lol - do grow up
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I think that was me Andrew. I didn't for one moment question your integrity, but I'd imagine that our ideas of what it means differ, which is fine, but suggests that we take photographs for very different reasons...which is also fine :)
 
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I'm not entirely sure why you think Nick should grow up because he takes the images he wants to take. He puts a lot of effort into it and I don't think he compromises his ideals which I think is the only way to do it if you are serious about being a photographer as opposed to being a salesman. Your opinion would undoubtedly differ but I think you are losing friends fast via your comments about income and telling folk to grow up.
 
I also take the images i want to take , it just happens that people like them and buy them. The majority of my photographic income is through weddings which is undoubtedly a compromise of what i want to take and what needs to be taken and the rest is a mix of landscape which i love and commercial which is much more weighted towards what the client wants with some of my artistic skill thrown in.

I was suggesting that people citing integrity when talking about photography was immature which to me it is, I run a business and if i believe an image will sell then integrity is not really a consideration. If I thought that way i would be doing a 9-5 at Aldi. To suggest someone is less of an artist because they aim to sell their work is simply naive.

I frequent a lot of forums and see this attitude often but i also see the other side as i can in this thread where certain people have enough of a grip on their art to understand how to gain the most from it.
 
Nick Livesey said:
Andrew, the shot doesn't do anything for me as the light is flat and the processing unsympathetic. Also the fact that it is a cliched viewpoint and an easily won grab shot would mean that personally, I would have got very little if any satisfaction out of taking it.

If it wasn't for the above quote (which is quite frankly a boast, and a vacuous one at that) I would have had some sympathy with you, especially when you mention creating a look that pleases you. However, that statement is at odds with the main gist which seems to be that 'togs' are snobs and facebook philistines know better because they lap up plastic looking images and pay good money for them. Pleasing the masses with derivative, insensitive imagery does nothing to further the cause of landscape photography as art in this country and its proliferation on social media does the art a great disservice.

Just a few thoughts, but for me, this image says nothing about the location in any meaningful way, which, of course, is absolutely fine as long as someone buys a big canvas :p
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Hmmm you manage to see an image with clearly defined layers of land water cloud sky etc as flat !
A vacuos boast ? you are my accountant now ?
The image says nothing about the location , which you nothing about ?
Facebook Philistines ? once more you jump before looking , i am not a fan of facebook and the majority of my social work is posted on pinterest and google.
An easily won grab shot , that i had to travel 100 miles to get.

Not really sure what your problem is but if you let me know i can try and help ;)
 
Andrew, for what it's worth I co-manage my own gallery so understand what makes a business tick, and that is sales.

However, I will not pander to common trends and have never taken a photograph in my life with thoughts of how much money it will make.

I suppose I'm one of the lucky ones who can indulge their passion without compromising the core values which drew me to it in the first place.

I am all about expressing my passion for mountains through the medium of photography. For me, that is the be all and end all.

If my gallery starts to go belly up then so be it, but I will never compromise my ideals. That is what integrity means to me.

I would never say that it is the right way or the only way but, it is my way ;)
 
Some strong views here for some reason.

My two-penneth:

To a photographer there are some issues (already mentioned) however, being a stock 'choccy box' scene and a nice sunny day it's a pleasing image to look at and will no doubt be liked by many.

Ultimately - If Andrew likes it then that's what matters.

That said - I quite like it even if it could could do with the volume turning down a notch or two.
 
dinners said:
Some strong views here for some reason.
Ultimately - If Andrew likes it then that's what matters.
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Hear hear and lets not forget what's going on in the Ukraine and Palestine...it's only a bloody photo! :)
 
No Nick your not one of the lucky ones there are hundreds and thousands of us making our money out of our love of photography , the fact yours is a gallery and mine is through weddings and online is immaterial and does not lend you some moral high ground to stand on and shout the values of integrity. If your gallery has survived it is through your skill and business sense and nothing to do with integrity. That is just a comfort blanket for the good times.

Well done on your gallery and your work though and wouldnt mind a link to it so i can enjoy too , I often wander up the Cairgorns in Scotland as i too love mountains and wilderness.
 
Andrew, I don't give a rats anus about your views on this, that or anything else to be honest, it's only a photo...but I do respect them and your right to air them whole-heartedly.

It wasn't my intention to enter into any kind of debate on here (I haven't felt the need so far) but had to take issue with the statement that implied that 250k of sales was proof of your expertise. It IS a vacuous statement as it suggests that if something sells then it is automatically good. Even you must know that that isn't always the case. It's like saying because Justin Bieber (or whatever he's called) sell gazillions of records it must be great art...we know that isn't true. It's a vacuous statement which means nothing. It is almost like you slipped that nugget of information in to validate you viewpoint which, I think, failed spectacularly!

One last thing...as for knowing nothing about the location? I have climbed most of the Wainwright Fells in Lakeland and have plenty of experience of this boat house at all hours of the day, and in all four seasons!

This is getting very silly. I think it is a very average photograph at best but I'm really glad it has brought you lots of pleasure. You can't please all of the people all of the time so carry on pursuing your vision and sod whatever anyone else thinks...your ideas are different to mine I would never want to impose them on you or anyone else :)
 
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Or just maybe the thought never crossed your mind Nick that not everyone spends all day in mountains and is given such a photographic opportunity on a regular basis and therefore cannot fail to get amazing shots of mountains and scenery because that's what you do and that's where you are . You have some great shots their in your PF i have just viewed but they will have taken you a long time to compile and your in a position most are not to get them.
 
In all fairness it rains a lot here and it can be frustrating, but, a hell of a lot of effort goes into capturing my mountain scenes. The things is though, I got into photography through mountains and not the other way around. If I didn't have a camera I would still be out walking and climbing.

For what it's worth, if I had to shoot a wedding I would balls it up royally. People are not my passion and so I could never capture them in anything other than a very amateurish fashion...it would be embarrassing!

If I was to post a people picture on here (and I do take them occasionally) and met with criticism I would just bow my head and scuttle off to hide under the sofa ;)
 
I got into Weddings by accident myself Nick, I was an amateur landscape photographer and loved just taking photos for years with 35mm. Was asked to help out for a relatives wedding and got the bug from there, sure people photography can be unnatural at first and its not everyone's cup of tea but its something that can grow on you like a lot of photography i guess. I envy you being out in the wilderness and I have spend many short breaks up in the scottish highlands and can see why you love it. Unfortunately a knee injury put pay to my climbing days some years ago.

I take great pleasure in many different types of photography and love to see the beauty in many types of work its all really part of the same great big visual feast that we live in, sometimes its just a case of stopping long enough to see it !
 
Wow. I didn't see this thread going this way from the very first post, honest. lol

Andrew. You mentioned about how everyone raves about your shots over social media but as soon as you post them on here people pick out technical faults.

Your subsequent responses then begin to sound like a bit of a dummy spit because you are not getting the same reaction here as you do in other places. I don't think anyone here is taking time and effort to respond to your posts and interigating your images and then noting things that they believe can be improved just to be horrible. It's clear that you like the images you produce, and I am sure people here only mention the 'faults' so that you can keep them in mind for next time and create an even better image.

Whether you agree with the comments or not, or whether you decide to act on them or not is entirely up to you. But that is the purpose of critique, to suggests ways to improve.

If you honestly think you are at the top of your game, have no room for improvement and the only reason you show your images is to give your ego a little tickle under the chin, then may I suggest you stick to sharing your images on social media and not here?
 
This is social media David, and to be honest when the second comment in is 'The sky is a mess' that's not constructive critique - its simply a photographer with their eyes close to the world around them and other peoples visions just looking for the fault in every image which i find quite sad.

You are correct the purpose of critique is to suggest improvements - so when a critique has no suggestions but just negatives what then would you call it ?

No one is ever at the top of this game and everyone has room for improvement, just sometimes though the thoughts offered need to be a little more measured. I did not say people 'raved' either ( do you work for the daily mail ;) ) i simply mentioned that i get positive responses from other social media sites.
 
Kevin O'Brian said:
the boat house looks on a slant and when you click on the image the railings and drain pipe don't appear vertical. only minor I know but it did catch my eye.
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Hi Kevin

This was shot with a prime so there was very little distortion present in the original shot but i did straighten out the horizon so may have caused it - or maybe the boathouse is slanted slightly , the ramp does throw the lines out a bit too ?
 
Thing is Andrew, youve asked for critique (by posting in a critique section) on a forum full of photographers, and you appear to be a little surprised by the comments youve received. Unless youve managed to convey your feelings/passion in the way you have presented a shot, and other photographers are able to pick up on that, you will only ever get comments on the technical aspects as that is all that is visible to us.

My first thought when I saw the image, was that it is WAY over processed, and it didnt fit in with the apparent calm of the scene as a whole. Just my opinion of course, but I, as with everyone else on here, did not have the benefit of knowing your thinking behind presenting it in such a way. I know I will never understand all 'art', but for me, the processing on this does battle with the scene, and it just doesnt sit right with me. This may have been your intention, but it doesnt make my opinion less valid.

Just to add, I had a look over your website last night, and some of your Wedding work is fantastic.
 
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