I am not a landscape photographer.

JustJazzie · Mar 12, 2013

Which is a shame since I live in one of the most beautiful places in my state. But I'm trying! I would appreciate some CC on this one.

JustJazzie · Mar 13, 2013

No one can offer me any?? I'd love some ideas for improvement, since I'll have lots of chances to prefect it! Or is it just boring and no one wants to tell me??

manaheim · Mar 13, 2013

It's sorta simple and not overly exciting... it's pretty, but not compelling. That's, I expect, why no one as commented.

There's not a ton to offer on critique because a tree full of snow... is often just a tree full of snow. Hard to say what to do to improve it.

JustJazzie · Mar 13, 2013

manaheim said:
It's sorta simple and not overly exciting... it's pretty, but not compelling. That's, I expect, why no one as commented.

There's not a ton to offer on critique because a tree full of snow... is often just a tree full of snow. Hard to say what to do to improve it.

Thanks for chiming in!

Designer · Mar 13, 2013

No doubt landscapes are difficult, but your avatar photo proves that you can do it.

On the tree in rime frost; Can you isolate one tree or just a portion of it? Can you catch it just as the first rays of direct sunlight hit it? Can you make the sky more dramatic somehow? Maybe darker? (for more contrast) While you are doing all that, try for artistic balance, and attempt to find a perspective that is "enlightening", and one that other people might not have noticed.

Mully · Mar 13, 2013

Change it to make it more interesting!

Ballistics · Mar 13, 2013

That is a really brown tree lol.

hirejn · Mar 13, 2013

For me the biggest thing missing is a quality of light. A simple side light at dawn or dusk would have been tremendous. Quality of light would also affect the sky. Also this needs some post processing, as does any image, to bring out the best in it. And I'd say that something in addition to the tree would help make it pop, maybe cloud texture, and a deeper sky would really help the trees pop. White on blue is actually a nice palette if the blues are deep, IMO. That can be done in post, assuming you have RAW, but better yet with a polarizer.

JustJazzie · Mar 13, 2013

Designer said:
No doubt landscapes are difficult, but your avatar photo proves that you can do it.

On the tree in rime frost; Can you isolate one tree or just a portion of it? Can you catch it just as the first rays of direct sunlight hit it? Can you make the sky more dramatic somehow? Maybe darker? (for more contrast) While you are doing all that, try for artistic balance, and attempt to find a perspective that is "enlightening", and one that other people might not have noticed.

Thank you for the compliment! However I am convinced that was a fluke! It was taken many many years ago and I haven't gotten it right since. *sigh*

Thank you for the ideas. Next time it snows here ill try to find a new angle, or wait on some more interesting clouds or try to make the sunrise.

JustJazzie · Mar 13, 2013

hirejn said:
For me the biggest thing missing is a quality of light. A simple side light at dawn or dusk would have been tremendous. Quality of light would also affect the sky. Also this needs some post processing, as does any image, to bring out the best in it. And I'd say that something in addition to the tree would help make it pop, maybe cloud texture, and a deeper sky would really help the trees pop. White on blue is actually a nice palette if the blues are deep, IMO. That can be done in post, assuming you have RAW, but better yet with a polarizer.

This was a raw file, and I have enhanced the blue from the original, I'm mobile right now or I would post the original. I will see if I can't pull it out some more. I had another shot with side lighting, but the sky had no blue at the time, it was too foggy. I'm finding landscapes are a bit of "luck" or perhaps I just need more time to wait on the sun, which is hard to come by with the littles.

KrisztinaK · Mar 13, 2013

I also believe this would pop against a deep blue sky. The pastel blue is pretty, but just doesn't provide enough of a contrast against the white.

That is one beautiful tree the way it is covered in snow all over. I don't blame you for trying.

What state are you located in (if you don't mind my asking)?

Majeed Badizadegan · Mar 13, 2013

Composition and light aren't super compelling.

Try to find an isolated tree in early morning or dusk light. You'll see a big difference.

WesternGuy · Mar 14, 2013

Maybe part of it is that it doesn't resemble what most might think of as a landscape - intimate landscape maybe, but I would suggest that you might want to think about some of the compositional aspects of your imagery. In this shot, you have a picture of a couple of trees, covered in snow, yet the tree on the right side has been partially cropped out of the image, so this makes me wonder what the real subject is here. If you are serious about shooting landscapes, then I would suggest that you study some of the masters like Ansel Adams, Galen Rowell, Eliot Porter, Michael Frye, Alain Briot, the Caponigros, and the Muenches, to name a few. Look at the books by Rob Sheppard - Landscape Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots: Rob Sheppard: 9780321823779: Amazon.com: Books and Amazon.com: The Magic of Digital Landscape Photography (Lark Photography Book) (9781600595165): Rob Sheppard: Books . There are, of course, numerous books on landscape photography - Sheppard's are just a couple.

Study the images and watch for their use of compositional elements like the rule of thirds, leading lines, etc. You can check out aspects of composition here - Advanced Composition -- Part I. This is the first of three articles. The links to the subsequent ones can be found at the bottom of this one. If you want to be a landscape photographer, there is absolutely nothing to stop you, except yourself. The key is to study composition and the images of those who are considered good landscape photographers. You don't have to imitate them, but you can learn from their images. HTH.

WesternGuy

JustJazzie · Mar 14, 2013

KrisztinaK said:
What state are you located in (if you don't mind my asking)?

I'm located in the beautiful colorado mountains!

@western guy,

Thank you for those resources. I am much more Interested in portrait photography, but I would obviously like to improve my skills in every category. I will definitely look into some of those books.

Thanks everyone for the feedback.