I'm Learning. Please comment

[Saulius]

I took a landscape snapshot which is good enough to show, but... I need comments on that as I'm learning.
The biggest disadvantage of it is that I had no tripod at the moment of rainbow. I just was looking around the place.
Because of that I had to reduce lift ISO to 200 and reduce aperture to f/5.6 to expose correctly.
I chose focus point on the down right side of image, on reflections of trees. Was this right? There was almost no PP done for this image. Is it needed there?
Appreciate comments and advices.
Thanks

[Roger Calixto]

I am by far no master, but here's my opinion. I like the shot, but I found the centered horizon to be not so pleasing. Nice capture of the rainbow and the detail of the cattails, but the picture looks slightly tilted.

Nice capture though! Thanks for sharing!

KT

[dalethorn]

From a distance, and the darker the lighting on the image, the more it looks like a sound spectrum burst on one of those audio measurement devices.  That being the case, I would make the darkest areas a little brighter.

[francois]

I don't think that the dark cloud reflection at the bottom of the photo is too pleasing. I would try to crop it. This would move the horizon line away from the center.

[Bill Caulfeild-Browne]

I took a landscape snapshot which is good enough to show, but... I need comments on that as I'm learning.
The biggest disadvantage of it is that I had no tripod at the moment of rainbow. I just was looking around the place.
Because of that I had to reduce lift ISO to 200 and reduce aperture to f/5.6 to expose correctly.
I chose focus point on the down right side of image, on reflections of trees. Was this right? There was almost no PP done for this image. Is it needed there?
Appreciate comments and advices.
Thanks

Looks great to me! I normally don't like a "halfway horizon" but here it looks quite balanced. If you do follow the advice to trim the bottom, don't cut off the right-hand tre reflection.

Nice!
Bill

[francois]

Looks great to me! I normally don't like a "halfway horizon" but here it looks quite balanced. If you do follow the advice to trim the bottom, don't cut off the right-hand tre reflection.

Nice!
Bill

I gave no indication about cropping out the bottom part of the photo and you're right. Leave the right side tree reflection. The horizon in the center is not a "disaster" as there's no vertical symetry in the photo. That said I would still trim a bit of the bottom, just below the reflected tree top on the right.

[wolfnowl]

There are almost too many pleasing elements in this image.  You've got the shoreline, which twists and curves and has nice textures, then you've got the rainbow and it's partner, the reflection in the water, and then you've got the bird and its reflection in the water, plus that amusing little swirl in just below the center of the frame.  It's almost like being a kid in a candy store and not being sure of where to look first!

I agree with Francois, though.  I'd remove a little off the bottom and if you could bring out a little more detail out of the shadows in the spruce trees on the right that would be good too.

Mike.

[Saulius]

Hi,
Sorry, guys, for not reacting to your comments. I have been away for a while.
Thanks everyone for comments. I tried contrast masking and cropped image as you suggested. Does it really look better?
I think I loose dramatic mood of the picture as it gets lighter. Don't you think so?

About the centered horizon... does it has to be moved away from the center in these kind of pictures?
And did I chose focus point correctly (focusing to right hand tree reflection in water?)
I know... some stupid questions here probably...


Thanks everyone again

Saulius

[shutterpup]

Hi,
Sorry, guys, for not reacting to your comments. I have been away for a while.
Thanks everyone for comments. I tried contrast masking and cropped image as you suggested. Does it really look better?
I think I loose dramatic mood of the picture as it gets lighter. Don't you think so?

About the centered horizon... does it has to be moved away from the center in these kind of pictures?
And did I chose focus point correctly (focusing to right hand tree reflection in water?)
I know... some stupid questions here probably...


Thanks everyone again

Saulius

For me, with your revision, the trees on the left side of the photo are too bright. It draws the eye away from the converging lines which lead into the meat of the shot. I agree with others about the centered horizon needing a change.

[RSL]

Hi,
Sorry, guys, for not reacting to your comments. I have been away for a while.
Thanks everyone for comments. I tried contrast masking and cropped image as you suggested. Does it really look better?
I think I loose dramatic mood of the picture as it gets lighter. Don't you think so?

About the centered horizon... does it has to be moved away from the center in these kind of pictures?
And did I chose focus point correctly (focusing to right hand tree reflection in water?)
I know... some stupid questions here probably...


Thanks everyone again

Saulius

Saulius,

Try this one. It brings back the darker sky and water but leaves the vegetation a bit lighter as Mike suggested with regard to the spruce trees on the right. By the way, I'm not sure about cropping the original. Putting the horizon smack in the middle makes the picture static, but, after all, the scene is static.

[attachment=14456:Egle.jpg]

[Saulius]

Saulius,

Try this one. It brings back the darker sky and water but leaves the vegetation a bit lighter as Mike suggested with regard to the spruce trees on the right. By the way, I'm not sure about cropping the original. Putting the horizon smack in the middle makes the picture static, but, after all, the scene is static.

[attachment=14456:Egle.jpg]

Thanks

It looks better. I think I have to learn more of Photoshop. :-)
Saulius

[RSL]

Thanks

It looks better. I think I have to learn more of Photoshop. :-)
Saulius

Saulius,

What I did was make three different curves adjustment layers. I used adjustment layers because they automatically come with layer masks. On each layer mask I laid down a white to black gradient: on one mask from the top to about the tops of the trees; on the second from the bottom to the edge of the water; and on the third from the left side of the picture to about a third of the way in from the right, leaving Mike's trees over there alone. Then I set the blending mode on all three layers to "multiply," and made some small adjustments in their opacity. Finally I flattened the image. The whole thing took about three minutes. If I really were doing it for myself I'd probably have made some more minor adjustments and I'd certainly have worked on a 16 bit .PSD from the original raw file, in ProPhoto RGB color mode. As is usual in Photoshop what I did is just one of many ways to make these changes.

By the way, there's way too much blue in the clouds and the water, but I left it that way because I think it's the right look even though it isn't "correct."

[Saulius]

Saulius,

What I did was make three different curves adjustment layers. I used adjustment layers because they automatically come with layer masks. On each layer mask I laid down a white to black gradient: on one mask from the top to about the tops of the trees; on the second from the bottom to the edge of the water; and on the third from the left side of the picture to about a third of the way in from the right, leaving Mike's trees over there alone. Then I set the blending mode on all three layers to "multiply," and made some small adjustments in their opacity. Finally I flattened the image. The whole thing took about three minutes. If I really were doing it for myself I'd probably have made some more minor adjustments and I'd certainly have worked on a 16 bit .PSD from the original raw file, in ProPhoto RGB color mode. As is usual in Photoshop what I did is just one of many ways to make these changes.

By the way, there's way too much blue in the clouds and the water, but I left it that way because I think it's the right look even though it isn't "correct."

Thanks for being that informative. I'm planning to learn PS in order to get more control of the picture. I like comments of more experienced photographer as you. I learn from all you how to look at my images with another eye. Thanks again.

Saulius

[JeffKohn]

To me the rule about placing the horizon in the center of an image is one that can and should be broken from time to time. Reflection shots such as this one, or any image with a strong sense of symmetry can often work well with the horizon in the center because it emphasizes the symmetry. Sometimes that's exactly what you want (and sometimes it may not be, which is why it's really more something to consider rather than a hard-and-fast rule).

[Saulius]

To me the rule about placing the horizon in the center of an image is one that can and should be broken from time to time. Reflection shots such as this one, or any image with a strong sense of symmetry can often work well with the horizon in the center because it emphasizes the symmetry. Sometimes that's exactly what you want (and sometimes it may not be, which is why it's really more something to consider rather than a hard-and-fast rule).

Thanks
Intuitively... I thought so too.