Three landscapes to share...

[SlimPaul]

Hey,

I drove by this meadow today and thought I'd take some photos. Here are three I like, but I'm not sure if they're good enough. I'm not too positive about the colors in these shots. They seem off. I hope I can count for your opinion

Thanks, Paul


1. The tree. Not sure if I didn't pull out too much highlights in this one.

- Can't decide if I like the original or the cropped version more. What do you think?

2. The river.

3. The leaf.

 

[tirediron]

Opinion per req:

1. Nice; a rare well executed application of a portrait orientation of a landscape. Of the two, I prefer the greater space in #1. The tree is interesting, but it needs the perspective of the open field to really make the image. I thing a G-ND would have really helped here, bringing in a lot more cloud detail The colours seem fine on my monitor.

3. I'm so-so on this one. Technically the use of both a CPOL and a couple of stops of G-ND would have really helped. You've made good use of the shore as a leading line, but I'm not reallly sure that the tree is prominent enough to really qualify as a subject.

4. Interesting idea. I thin this one would have been helped a lot by removing the leaf just to the left and cloning out the dark area in the background just to the left of the leaf.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[SlimPaul]

Opinion per req:

1. Nice; a rare well executed application of a portrait orientation of a landscape. Of the two, I prefer the greater space in #1. The tree is interesting, but it needs the perspective of the open field to really make the image. I thing a G-ND would have really helped here, bringing in a lot more cloud detail The colours seem fine on my monitor.

3. I'm so-so on this one. Technically the use of both a CPOL and a couple of stops of G-ND would have really helped. You've made good use of the shore as a leading line, but I'm not reallly sure that the tree is prominent enough to really qualify as a subject.

4. Interesting idea. I thin this one would have been helped a lot by removing the leaf just to the left and cloning out the dark area in the background just to the left of the leaf.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

Thanks for your help John. I do own a CPOL, but very rarely make use of it. I thought it was meant to cut the reflections when shooting through glass. How would it help in landscapes?

 

[tirediron]

A CPOL is the single most useful (and important) tool you have for landscapes. It will remove unwanted reflections from shiny surfaces (water), it will enhance contrast, and give you those deep, rich, blue skies and enhance the contrast between sky and clouds.

To get the most out of your CPOL, especially as a landscape tool there are a few basic rules: Shoot when the sun is low in the sky (early morning/late afternoon) and with the sun at 90 degrees to the axis of the lens (ie, if it's early in the morning, the sun is rising in the east, then your best results will be with the camera pointed north or south).

As a comparison, this is the above image taken at less than optimum (for a CPOL) conditions.