Surreal Light

[The_Pearl_Poet]

I'm looking for comments that could help me improve these two images as well as how I could do a better job next time.
Thanks.

 

[The_Pearl_Poet]

Anyone?

 

[paigew]

I don't do landscapes so I can't really give you tips but that light is so surreal! Looks like a beautiful spot.

 

[davisphotos]

Focus looks a bit off to me, and they could benefit from a deeper depth of field. Were these shot on a tripod? I would suggest stopping down to f11 or f16, and using a nice slow shutter speed with a cable release. That longer shutter will also really help bring out that cool quality of the light.

 

[Forkie]

There's nothing surreal about the light. In fact, I'd say that it's realism is what makes the shots so nice. I think "serene" may be the word you're after.

I love the beams of light in both these shots and you've done well to capture them, but the composition doesn't quite work. The bush in the centre of the frame is taking my attention more than anything else in the shot. If it wasn't there, the beams in the second shot would lead my eyes quite nicely to the backlit flowers on the right.

The colours are great though. Good use of white balance.

 

[Joel_W]

Both pictures are kind of busy which detracts from those very delicate beams of light. I thought a crop, brightening the light beam some, and darkening the foliage around the beam would help. Here's a quick edit of what I'm alluding to.

 

[The_Pearl_Poet]

Everyone, thanks for the feedback. I shot these at 50 mm equivalent at f/9 using a tripod, cable release, and a circular polarizing filter. These were not the shots I had originally intended to take, but when I saw the beams of light I had to stop. I'll work on these a little more and see what I can do.

@davisphotos- How will a longer shutter speed bring out the light?
@Joel_W- I like the edit, and thanks for the advice.

 

[The_Pearl_Poet]

I did a little editing, and I think I have addressed most of the criticisms that have been given. How do these look?

 

[Joel_W]

Picture 1 in your re-edit is way better then the 2nd one. Picture 2 there is a most annoying and distracting dark shadow under the beam of light dead center. The colors are also washed out compared to picture #1.

 

[The_Pearl_Poet]

Thanks, Joel. I thought I might have made it a little too dark in that area you're describing. I'll also try bumping up the colors some too.

 

[The_Pearl_Poet]

I changed the crops a little, did a little dodge/burn, and added a warming filter.