Hills and livestock photos for C&C

OrionsByte · May 19, 2014

I don't normally post landscape shots because I haven't really been working on improving them, but I liked the way a couple of these turned out so I thought I'd post them for critique.

Feel free to be harsh.

The hills/mountains in the photos are the Sutter Buttes, arguably the smallest mountain range in the world. I took the day off from work for my birthday, slung my camera on my back, and took a 17-mile bike ride through the hills. It was a lot of fun - it was a nice change of pace for both my biking and my photography, because for one thing I wasn't trying to beat my best time on that particular route or anything, and for another, I haven't made any real serious attempts at landscape photography in quite some time.

Anyways, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Here are my three favs, and if you're interested you can look at the entire set here (there are only 9 photos total).

DSC_9678 by Brian C. Stanford, on Flickr

DSC_9681 by Brian C. Stanford, on Flickr

DSC_9690 by Brian C. Stanford, on Flickr

minicoop1985 · May 20, 2014

Be harsh? YOUR PHOTOS ARE BAD AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD

:lol:

I'm kidding. I really, really like the first two. The last one, I feel like the cows are supposed to be the subject, but they're underexposed and kinda hidden in the shadows. My favorite is the middle one.

WesternGuy · May 20, 2014

The middle one is my favourite - there is no question as to what the subject is. For the first and third ones, the viewer is left to wonder what the subject is - animals or landscape. In the first one, the subject would appear to be the sheep and I that case it is not too bad, although I think it is a little busy as far as the subject is concerned. In the last one, if the cows are the subject, then they are badly underexposed; if the landscape is the subject, then the cows are a distraction. One of the basic guidelines for any type of photography is to try and keep it simple, because one go the most common mistakes in photography is trying to put too much in the frame - this is the case with the first and third ones. In the middle one, the composition is nice and simple. You have the leading line formed by the top of the trees on the left that leads the viewers eye to the hills on the right and you have the long grasses in the foreground for a simple anchor. The only thing I might do, if it was mine, would be to clone out the antenna towers on the hill. HTH.

WesternGuy

IzzieK · May 20, 2014

Here is my take on this...All your shots are good for someone who is not much into landscapes.
#I actually like this shot -- I feel like wanting to roll down that hill going to the left. Weeeeee...what an experience that will be! I do not want to suggest anything to improve this shot because there ain't any. I like it the way it is.

#2 Most people will prefer this shot -- clean, sharp, nothing obstructing the view, etc.

#3 I like though it has too many things to look at. But that where the beauty of this kind of scene is...discover the nooks and crannies, wander through and walk your eyes to follow the lines of the fence, look up at the sky and look at those contrails, look for faces in the clouds, wonder what is behind one of those trees at the left. Is there a path that leads to the mountain? This is just how I look at this kind of shots. It could be better, but then this is how you saw it. The cows could be lightened a little bit...Do they really belong in this shot? Maybe if they are not there, there will be an element missing in it...looks busy but then you shot this one because it caught your attention. And that is a good feeling.

Designer · May 20, 2014

Apparently sheep like to graze from right to left. I like shot #1, but I like your bicycle and the open road better.

Digibill · May 21, 2014

What time of day did you take these?I think if you were at these locations at sunrise or sunset they would be even better.

OrionsByte · May 21, 2014

Thanks everyone - I pretty much agree with everything!

These were taken as close to sunrise as I had a chance to attempt. Unfortunately that darn thing just rises so fast. I've been out there right after sunrise before though (without my SLR), and you're absolutely right that the hills are more photogenic at that time.

I also agree that #3 is pretty busy, visually. It's also the one I tend to get the most comments from friends and family on. Go fig.

Funny story about those cows - when I was pedaling by, one of them (the one with the most white) was actually standing a bit closer to the road, in the sun rather than in the shade - it's what got my attention. I got off my bike and those cows were eyeing me, like, okay what is this guy up to? If I had shot them from the road, there was a barbed-wire fence that would have been in the way, so I wanted to get closer to shoot over or through it. However, the shoulder was gravelly and sloped down at about a 30-degree angle, and when I tried to gently step down, my feet slid a bit and made a big scraping sound, which really startled the cows, who turned and ran for 10-20 feet. When they recovered from that and got back around to staring me down, they were all in the shade.

So I missed the shot because of a bad step.

Playboy_Mommy · May 22, 2014

IzzieK said:
Here is my take on this...All your shots are good for someone who is not much into landscapes. #I actually like this shot -- I feel like wanting to roll down that hill going to the left. Weeeeee...what an experience that will be! I do not want to suggest anything to improve this shot because there ain't any. I like it the way it is. #2 Most people will prefer this shot -- clean, sharp, nothing obstructing the view, etc. #3 I like though it has too many things to look at. But that where the beauty of this kind of scene is...discover the nooks and crannies, wander through and walk your eyes to follow the lines of the fence, look up at the sky and look at those contrails, look for faces in the clouds, wonder what is behind one of those trees at the left. Is there a path that leads to the mountain? This is just how I look at this kind of shots. It could be better, but then this is how you saw it. The cows could be lightened a little bit...Do they really belong in this shot? Maybe if they are not there, there will be an element missing in it...looks busy but then you shot this one because it caught your attention. And that is a good feeling.

I totally agree with this assessment. I, too, want to roll down that hill in number 1. And the third shot is the most interesting to me. There's a lot to look at, yes, but I don't think it's too much. There's a story there for sure.

Sent from my iPhone