Loch Tay - looking for feedback :)

crawdaddio · Feb 25, 2006

Raymond J Barlow said:
cool shots, and wonderful compositions.. i like the first shot best.. the only critique I would suggest is the rule of thirds... I personally try to keep horizons close to the upper or lower third of the shot. not exactly on the third, but close.

I will also add, that I normal spot a centered horizon right away, but these shots are so cool, I didn't notice. What did you do to them in PS?

I agree and usually do the same with landscapes. However, I believe he broke the rule well on these. The mountains and their reflections balance the images out nicely.

Very nice photographs. One question though. Why did you choose to use the filters to slow the shutter? Just curious............

lee_alkureishi · Feb 25, 2006

Why did you choose to use the filters to slow the shutter?

When I came across the scene, it was the most peaceful sight... the water was perfectly calm and smooth, and with the light coming across it just looked beatiful. But, while I was setting up the ducks flew across and landed right in the middle of my composition!

The ripples caused by the ducks weren't what I was looking to capture, so I wanted to slow the shutter enough that they would be "smoothed out". But, it was so bright that even an ND4+ND8 wasn't enough to get a long enough shutter to do that. As it turned out, I like the ripples in the shots anyway

Also, as I was shooting, the rain started to fall. As you can see in the third shot, it caused "pockmarks" in the smooth water. I shot this one handheld, so had to use a faster shutter anyway (1/60sec). Thus, you can see the raindrops in the water. But, I ended up liking this one best.

Thanks for the comments,

Leeko