Natural Florida: Itchetucknee Springs

[akboeckman]

Trying to capture a good photo of the springs near us is always so difficult for me. Am I a jerk for hating how "messy" nature looks sometimes? There's just so many leaves and limbs and in this case, people too, that it makes me not like my photos as much.

Do you feel the same? More examples of the same location in my Flickr album: Itchetucknee Springs State Park

 

[Jeff15]

Not a bad image....

 

[waday]

Nature can definitely be “ugly”. And when people get in the way, add them into the shot.

For example...

Jogging at Sunrise

 

[smoke665]

Trying to capture a good photo of the springs near us is always so difficult for me. Am I a jerk for hating how "messy" nature looks sometimes? There's just so many leaves and limbs and in this case, people too, that it makes me not like my photos as much.

It's a given that the world will do it's best to give you lemons, but the ability to make lemonade is up to you. Maybe you need to change the time you visit? In landscape, sunrise is the ideal time and there's likely no one there to distract. Nothing says you have to take your photos from only one perspective, move around get an angle where the limbs and leaves don't make it messy. I've also spent hours picking up trash from locations I wanted to shoot. I apologize if I'm wrong but your post seems more of an attempt to draw traffic to your page then a serious issue.

 

[akboeckman]

Trying to capture a good photo of the springs near us is always so difficult for me. Am I a jerk for hating how "messy" nature looks sometimes? There's just so many leaves and limbs and in this case, people too, that it makes me not like my photos as much.

It's a given that the world will do it's best to give you lemons, but the ability to make lemonade is up to you. Maybe you need to change the time you visit? In landscape, sunrise is the ideal time and there's likely no one there to distract. Nothing says you have to take your photos from only one perspective, move around get an angle where the limbs and leaves don't make it messy. I've also spent hours picking up trash from locations I wanted to shoot. I apologize if I'm wrong but your post seems more of an attempt to draw traffic to your page then a serious issue.

I definitely agree that time of day can help, though in this case these parks are packed from sunrise to sunset during summertime. Honestly the people aren't my biggest complaint, because I like integrating people into my photos - and while I had to wait around for a photo without people in the foreground, I'm happy enough with it.

My question is not so much "how do you solve this problem" and more of "am I being overcritical/do other people notice these things?" Am I not noticing the "mess" of leaves and nature in other people's photos? I'd also like an honest critique of the photo itself.

I'd be lying if I wasn't a little offended at you thinking I'm trying to draw traffic; I have my Flickr link in my signature already. I linked to a specific album of the same location in the photo instead of posting multiple images to illustrate my point (which I thought I'd read was preferred here, links rather than multiple photos). It's actually the album of photos I'm LEAST proud of. I'm not here to gain followers, I'm here to learn and grow and relate to others.

 

[akboeckman]

Nature can definitely be “ugly”. And when people get in the way, add them into the shot.

For example...

Jogging at Sunrise

I love this photo, great example! I have been trying to integrate people into the shots more when they just won't get out of the way, lol.

 

[AlanKlein]

Looks like a nice place to swim and spend the day. No alligators I hope I notice that many of your shots seem like you had the lens on wide angle. That's going to pick up lots of stuff. Nothing wrong with that for an overview of the area. But the "messiness" has to do with clutter and the viewer has no subject to focus on. You might want to zoom into selected areas to eliminate the "clutter". Our eyes and brains are great selecting out clutter when we're there. But once you shoot it, the two dimensional picture get all clogged up. You need a subject the eye looks too.

Also, duplicates are boring. For example, shots 1 and 2 are the same as are 3 and 4. Pick the best and discard the second bests. People like people. While I'm a landscape guy, when I'm with people, I try to include them in my shots. For example, in shots 3 or 4, move over to the kids and the people. Or zoom in with your lens. Catch them doing their thing. Right now they are too distant to see their activity, eyes, etc.

Shot 6 has nice colors and good exposure. But the water is empty and takes up a lot of space. That's where you need that alligator. Or something.

Shots 1,3 and 4 have white uninteresting skies. That's a problem on cloudy days for everyone. So ignore them. Zoom into below the tree line and keep them out of the shots.

Finally, the best way to display good shots is to be merciless in eliminating the bad ones. Do not include them in your portfolio. Unless it's a badly exposed picture of some alligator chomping on some guy's leg, get rid of it. If you only include the best ones in your portfolio, your photography will improve automatically. Good luck and have fun. It's not a test.

 

[AlanKlein]

Nature can definitely be “ugly”. And when people get in the way, add them into the shot.

For example...

Jogging at Sunrise

I love this photo, great example! I have been trying to integrate people into the shots more when they just won't get out of the way, lol.

Nice example of what I'm talking about. Zoomed in. Subject jumps out. Simple but dynamic. No clutter. Keep it simple are the best shots.

 

[smoke665]

I'd be lying if I wasn't a little offended at you thinking I'm trying to draw traffic

Which is why I predicated the response with an apology. Unfortunately it is a common occurrence for spammers to join and post only to draw traffic.Glad that is not the case here.

As to the mess in nature, I live in the middle of a large wooded area. Vegetation grows wild, it lives it dies, it rots and provides nourishment for the cycle to continue. You've heard the expression "can't see the forest for the trees"? It's the photographers job to bring focus on a subject because in chaos there can be order (patterns, colors, textures, lines), to see what nature has provided. If you're seeing leaves and branches as a mess, then look closer. Something the previous post pointed out.

 

[akboeckman]

Looks like a nice place to swim and spend the day. No alligators I hope I notice that many of your shots seem like you had the lens on wide angle. That's going to pick up lots of stuff. Nothing wrong with that for an overview of the area. But the "messiness" has to do with clutter and the viewer has no subject to focus on. You might want to zoom into selected areas to eliminate the "clutter". Our eyes and brains are great selecting out clutter when we're there. But once you shoot it, the two dimensional picture get all clogged up. You need a subject the eye looks too.

Also, duplicates are boring. For example, shots 1 and 2 are the same as are 3 and 4. Pick the best and discard the second bests. People like people. While I'm a landscape guy, when I'm with people, I try to include them in my shots. For example, in shots 3 or 4, move over to the kids and the people. Or zoom in with your lens. Catch them doing their thing. Right now they are too distant to see their activity, eyes, etc.

Shot 6 has nice colors and good exposure. But the water is empty and takes up a lot of space. That's where you need that alligator. Or something.

Shots 1,3 and 4 have white uninteresting skies. That's a problem on cloudy days for everyone. So ignore them. Zoom into below the tree line and keep them out of the shots.

Finally, the best way to display good shots is to be merciless in eliminating the bad ones. Do not include them in your portfolio. Unless it's a badly exposed picture of some alligator chomping on some guy's leg, get rid of it. If you only include the best ones in your portfolio, your photography will improve automatically. Good luck and have fun. It's not a test.

Ahh, you're definitely challenging me on some of my weak points! I know that wide angle can be a weakness for me; I just want to capture EVERYTHING but you're right in that I need to focus.

Looking back, I could've focused more on the people and their activity rather than just trying to hide them. But I also worry about getting too much into family photos.

Also, for the record, no alligators in the Itchetucknee river or its springs - springs in Florida stay in the 75F degree range year-round, too cold for gators! and this particular river stays about the same temp. But it's a dream of mine to head out to the local prairie and try to see some gators soon!

 

[akboeckman]

Which is why I predicated the response with an apology. Unfortunately it is a common occurrence for spammers to join and post only to draw traffic.Glad that is not the case here.

As to the mess in nature, I live in the middle of a large wooded area. Vegetation grows wild, it lives it dies, it rots and provides nourishment for the cycle to continue. You've heard the expression "can't see the forest for the trees"? It's the photographers job to bring focus on a subject because in chaos there can be order (patterns, colors, textures, lines), to see what nature has provided. If you're seeing leaves and branches as a mess, then look closer. Something the previous post pointed out.

Admittedly, I get a little defensive

You have a point. I think I need to get over my desire to capture everything (which the wide angle lens tempts me to do) and focus more. Or at least place a subject in the foreground more I guess.

 

[Fujidave]

Looks like a nice place to go too at a later date, sometimes it helps if you can zoom in on something or even crop in more.

 

[smoke665]

You have a point. I think I need to get over my desire to capture everything (which the wide angle lens tempts me to do) and focus more. Or at least place a subject in the foreground more I guess.

I looked at your album, and Alan's comment above pretty much summed it up in one word, boring. Typical family vacation snapshots of everything and nothing. In the real world you have 6 senses - sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste, and that uncanny 6th sense that detects what the others don't. Regardless of conscious thought the mind is always at work, and will unconsciously lock in on something, but a photo is a flat one dimensional image, all the brain can use is sight. Devoid of anything specific it dismisses it and moves on. That's why the elements of composition work. Things like the Rule of Thirds, Golden Spiral, Leading Lines, guide the eye. Patterns, textures, colors, shapes hold interest, especially in landscapes. Sometimes it's easier to see (at least initially) by converting to a B&W. Would also suggest as a good starting reference you pick up a copy of "The Art Of Digital Photography" or " How To Take Great Photographs" both by John Hedgecoe. They aren't expensive even to buy. He explains things in easy to understand ways. https://www.amazon.com/Art-Digital-Photography-John-Hedgecoe/dp/1405340932 and https://www.amazon.com/Take-Great-Photographs-John-Hedgecoe/dp/1843403307