snowdon view

Huss

Huss

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Huss
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Hi all,
Being so new to photography (started in march) has meant a seriously steep learning curve, with lots to take in and understand and as a result I have been visiting the forums here (which are fantastic) but not really taking part.

Well I am looking to change that now with my first ever photo post. I will be the first to admit that my photography needs alot of work, but I have found that out of the few shots I have taken that have been ok, my landscape ones have been the better. So this is a shot I took whilst doing the snowdon horseshoe this weekend. I appreciate that it kinda goes against the landscape orientation but then I wanted to catch the whole of the lake against the sky too for a sense of perspective.

I have posted a B & w convert with red filter and the original for C + C. I would like you to be brutally honest please as it will be the only way I learn and I need to thicken up the old skin :)

I would love to know if you think the B & W image works?

Thanks in advance for looking and any feedback you can offer

Original

3564343892_9fc418e469.jpg


Convert

3564360088_8d95726382.jpg


fixed now, sorry for posting the big versions
 
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Hi Huss,
The original is a very pleasant image and I like it. It looks nice and sharp, has plenty of depth of field, and is reasonably well exposed (i'd probably have gone 1/2 a stop less but I am sure others will disagree).
However, I think it would have been better if the crop wasn't so tight around the lake, a bit more land to the left and right would help the composition. You seem to have got the "rule" of thirds off to a tee though ;)

Do you have a polarising filter? This would improve the contrast in the sky and the saturation of the blues and also enhance the surface of the lake.

I'm afraid the mono conversion doesn't work well for me - there appear to be lots of burned out highlights and blocked shadows - the conversion is somewhat lacking in midtones, which is strange because the original has a a good range of mid tones. Having said that, I have personally had little success in conversion of "sunny" images to mono - overcast (or even fog/rain) conditions always give me better results.

Anyway, well done for a good original image - especially given you have only recently taken up serious photography.(y)(y)
 
thanks for the prompt response bigblue and feedback it is greatly appreciated

Sadly I do not currently have a polorising filter but it is on my shoping list to get asap.

Anymore for anymore?
 
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Huss, Hope you don't mind - I had a quick (5 minute) go at a mono conversion of the original...... More detail in the sky and lake surface - also gave it a bit of sharpening.....
snowdonview.jpg
 
Don't mind at all blue, your effort is a definate improvement :) trying to learn the post processing side as well at present, so did u just desaturate in photoshop and then unsharp mask it?
thanks again for your feedback
 
Nice shot, you've made a very promising start...as mentioned a polariser is invaluable..framing wise it works for me, the only comment I'd make is that maybe the lake is a bit close to the bottom left hand side of the frame

Simon
 
Hi Huss,
I actually use Photoshop plugins for Mono Conversion and Sharpening - as I use a Mac, the plugins I use are Photowiz BWStyler and FocalBlade (which are also available for Windows).

Basically the process I used was :

1. Load 2 copies of the photo
2. In one copy, use Image, Adjustment, Levels to adjust the sky so that there is the maximum tonal range - this will make the land very dark
3. Select the adjusted version and copy it
4. Paste into a new layer in the other copy
5. Add a layer mask (in the layers palette I hold down the ALT key and click the icon which looks like a grey square with a white circle in it
6. I select the brush tool and set opacity to 100%
7. Roughly paint the sky in from the adjusted photo
8. Set the brush opacity to 30% and paint in the land from the adjusted photo
9. I then used the plugins to convert to Mono

I find desaturate generates produces very bland and lifeless monos, which is why I use the plugins.

A great site for learning about Mono is http://www.runboard.com/bthedigitalmonochromeforum
 
Fantastic Blue that will prove really helpful, I will take a good look at the site tonight when I get home from work. I do like mono landscapes (thanks to the amazing shots taken by Ansel Adams) and would like it to be one of the focal areas for me.

Many thanks
Huss
 
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