Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: William Walker on May 13, 2012, 03:00:22 am
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Hi
I took this one yesterday and am pleased with what I got.
I would like to hear what you think - even if it is "ho-hum"! (Chrisc only! ;D)
William
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No... this image is not "ho hum".
Very nice - full of interest.
I just wish I could see the full-size view.
The B&W rendition was probably the way to go here given the lighting.
Well done.
Regards
Tony Jay
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Hi Warren,
You should be please with this pic, I think that a 1 or 2 stop gnd filter on the clouds may have helped. I posted a very similar pic taken from almost the same spot some time ago. While you were in Underberg, did you hear that John Hone passed away?
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Howzit Heinz
I had a feeling of familiarity with this picture! I do remember yours, now that you mention it.
Sorry, no, I don't know who John Hone is. Who was he?
Thanks Tony.
William
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William
This is a really fine picture, made so by the contre-jour light which touches all the subjects with its particular magic. Well seen and framed.
Now then, just a thought. Because we have not one but two skies in this picture (one above and one reflected in the river) I find them to be competing for my attention. What I would be tempted to try, just for fun, would be to quite severely crop the top of the frame to reduce the amount of sky there, and place our attention on the sky below as it is reflected. This would also result in a more elongated aspect ratio, naturally.
It may not work, of course ;)
John
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Contrary to my reputation it would seem, I like this image quite a lot. I do agree it should be cropped and think if you added a little bit of tonal depth to the cloud area just above the middle grouping of trees, it would help both the atmospheric relationship between the reflection and the lightbeams.
I like! ;D
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Ah ah! The croppers are out in force, as usual, trying to make you come a cropper.
Don't listen to them, William. There's no crop that can improve this already very fine landscape.
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I find this to be very busy, I'm not really feeling a visual center at all, just a whole heap of interesting details, and a somewhat over-processed feeling. The tonal range of the sky, while not radical, is quite close to the tonal range of a lot of the land (tree-trunks excepted, obviously) which makes it feel tonally out of balance, which produces for me a similar effect to the stupid jet-black skies some people love. I feel like the land should have consistently more local contrast than the sky.
The image also feels oddly tilted to the right, which could just be the way the hills in the back are arranged, giving a false sense of an un-level horizon. I'm also not sure if there's lens distortion, or if it's just a wide lens combined with some un-fortuituous tree branches on the left edge that makes me feel that way.
That said, the details are all gorgeous, there's a lot to love here. The river vanishing into the distance is trying to produce a visual center at the base of the hills in the distance, it's just a little overwhelmed by the other material in the image, and can't quite pull it off for me.
I wouldn't crop it, god forbid! I'd go back with a longer lens, and I'd wait ;)
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Howzit Heinz
Sorry, no, I don't know who John Hone is. Who was he?
Thanks Tony.
William
Firstly, thanks to all who took the time to comment, it is always appreciated!
Secondly, regarding the above quote: I visited by sister later yesterday, and, on her coffee table was a book "Encounters With Dragons" by John Hone! I have seen the book before but obviously did not remember the author.
The reason Heinz mentioned it was because he photographed the area where my post was taken extensively. As far as I know he used to do some serious mountain climbing with medium format equipment.
If anyone is interested, here is a nice link I found : http://www.drakonline.co.za/featured-articles/160.html
Thanks again
William
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Could you indicate for us with a red circle your primary point-of-interest or primary point-of-focus in this image?
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Hi Oscar
Sorry, I can't draw the circle for you (I am at work), however, I will tell you what my intentions were:
The foreground "pool" and grass bank were where my original focus was - it is an idyllic setting and somewhat un-African to me - I could picture this being somewhere in England.(I have a somewhat romanticised notion of England, but that is another story).
That was where my attention was focused. I was pleasantly surprised at the way the river then took me upstream and into the mountains.
I am not sure if that answers your question? Thank you for asking it - you forced me to think about it and I have learned from it.
I would like to hear your thoughts, based on what I have told you.
William
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Here are some questions that come to mind:
What did you try to do in order to have the supporting elements and the framing support the point-of-interest? For example: the picture is in B&W, how does this support your initial idea? How does it support your secondary surprise? The crepuscular rays can be toned more dominantly or toned down. Are they somehow supporting the mood or possibly pointing to the point-of-interest?
The trees are sharp and drawn harshly. Which of them are of interest and why would they be drawn in that specific tonality? The vegetation is similarly toned in all parts of the image, which lacks separation and depth, at least in my observation. Is this by choice? If not, can it be done otherwise? (in other words: is there enough color separation to create tonal separation in B&W? Or does it need dodging & burning with a brush?)
There is a river with a certain flow and direction. Are viewers invited to travel up this river and direction? What will they find if they do? Both physically when viewing the picture, as well as in the minds eye? Is there an intrigue?
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Here are some questions that come to mind:
What did you try to do in order to have the supporting elements and the framing support the point-of-interest? For example: the picture is in B&W, how does this support your initial idea? How does it support your secondary surprise? The crepuscular rays can be toned more dominantly or toned down. Are they somehow supporting the mood or possibly pointing to the point-of-interest?
The trees are sharp and drawn harshly. Which of them are of interest and why would they be drawn in that specific tonality? The vegetation is similarly toned in all parts of the image, which lacks separation and depth, at least in my observation. Is this by choice? If not, can it be done otherwise? (in other words: is there enough color separation to create tonal separation in B&W? Or does it need dodging & burning with a brush?)
There is a river with a certain flow and direction. Are viewers invited to travel up this river and direction? What will they find if they do? Both physically when viewing the picture, as well as in the minds eye? Is there an intrigue?
Thank you for the detailed reply - I continue to learn (and may it never stop!)
These are certainly considerations I will take forward with me every time I stop to take (and work with) a photograph. I have also learned a great new word - "crepuscular". I did not know that those rays had a name.
Oscar, what you have not done, is tell me what you think of the picture. I would like to know.
Thank you again for taking the time.
Regards
William
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I think there is a picture in there somewhere, but this isn't it. The light is too harsh and direct, the tonal rendition is reversed and all over the place, the visual elements are too busy and compete for attention, the viewing is uncomfortable, and the framing isn't quite right.
But it's definitely a spot worth revisiting often. Next time make sure to tone down on the light reflected in the water. What direction does the sun travel over this spot?
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I quite like this William. Can't draw any circles or lines to substantiate my opinion though, I just get a feeling that this resonates with me.
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I went back to this location last week and took some pictures at sunrise.
In the light of the above comments - it would be interesting to see what you think of this one. I did not convert to B&W because I liked the subdued colours.
William
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Well, I know opinions are going to vary, but as far as I'm concerned, William, they're both top-notch.
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Well, I know opinions are going to vary, but as far as I'm concerned, William, they're both top-notch.
+1
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William this latest effort is wonderful.
Lovely pastel shades.
The pinks of the mountain and sky contrast beautifully with the blues of mist and middle ground.
Great image.
BTW I can feel the frosty cold coming up through the soles of my shoes just viewing this image. Brrr...
Regards
Tony Jay
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Thanks William. The tones for this image are contradicting the subject matter for me. The water has this peaceful feel - yet the light is harsh. The river bank on the right foreground for me is a bit of 'nothing'.... and I think there is an image waiting for perhaps a differnt light and perhaps a slightly different vantage point.
Julie
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I went back to this location last week and took some pictures at sunrise.
In the light of the above comments - it would be interesting to see what you think of this one. I did not convert to B&W because I liked the subdued colours.
William
AHHH.. this one is beautiful. Tones, composition, mood.
Julie
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I like them both, but I agree that the sky in #1 is a bit problematic. Parts of it have an almost solarized appearance which is a little odd in that context. However, a more judicious use of custom of Photoshop filters in the B&W conversion process might help with that. Difficult to say without seeing the original color, though. But I would not crop the image. I might have chosen a slightly different camera position for the shot, however, to avoid the grassy bank in the right foreground, which is extraneous to the composition.
Overall, I prefer the second photo. I think it's the more unified and interesting composition of the two. I'd be curious to see you do a B&W conversion of that one as well.
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AHHH.. this one is beautiful. Tones, composition, mood.
Julie
Praise from Julie is high praise indeed!
Regards
Tony Jay
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Praise from Julie is high praise indeed!
Regards
Tony Jay
LOL... I'll take that as a compliment Tony.... hmmmm ...... or does that imply that I am a hard task-master?? LOL.. anyway.... regardless, all I can ever do is be honest about how I feel about something and share that respectfully.
Julie
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I love the composition and tonal range. My eye naturally flows up the water to the sky.
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Julie, I do think that you have a good eye for an image - even if you are a hard taskmaster.
Regards
Tony Jay
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Julie, I do think that you have a good eye for an image - even if you are a hard taskmaster.
Regards
Tony Jay
Tony, With humble gratitude- thank you.
Julie
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Thanks you to everyone who took the time to comment.
I am especially pleased to see that most of those whose opinions I have come to respect on this forum were positive about it. I do feel as though I made some progress - especially in terms of persistence. This spot is about a hundred miles away and we had to book into a place the night before to get there for sunrise. ( A few clouds might have been nice!)
I hope you are coming along well Julie?
Pop, I tried B&W first but did not feel comfortable with it. I have started working on it again and will post it if I think it is good enough.
Thanks again
William
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Thanks you to everyone who took the time to comment.
I hope you are coming along well Julie?
Thanks again
William
Thank you for your thoughts William. Yes coming along well. A more challenging recovery than I expected - but after 2 weeks of being inside because the air on my lip was so excruciating, I had to escape and go for a walk (with a bandana over my nose and mouth.) ... and I felt like a new woman!!! I couldn't stop from taking photos ...and used my iphone to snap some power lines.(on my blog should you wish to see them). Can't keep a good girl down! :-)
Julie
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...... or does that imply that I am a hard task-master??
What's wrong with being a hard taskmaster (or taskmistress) Julie? Certainly you, of all people, know that that's how you get art that can stand on its own. I remember ten years of soft taskmastership when my wife had her gallery: kids who hadn't bothered to learn their art, didn't know when to stop, or slapped something together because they just knew they were artists. Finding the real thing always was difficult, but once in a while we'd find it and then we'd stick with it.
Three cheers for hard taskmastership!
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Overall, I prefer the second photo. I think it's the more unified and interesting composition of the two. I'd be curious to see you do a B&W conversion of that one as well.
I agree that the second is more appealing and I think the muted colours are very effective. I do feel it's a little cramped at the top, though; I'd like to see just a bit more space between the mountains and the upper edge.
Jeremy