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Author Topic: new to the forum - a few panoramas!  (Read 1575 times)

james-greenland

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new to the forum - a few panoramas!
« on: October 15, 2012, 04:20:14 pm »

Hi everyone

I've just joined to get a bit of advice on my work. Only recently started working with landscapes and wanted a bit of feedback. Here's one I took over the weekend at Brimham Rocks, UK:

http://jamesgreenlandphotography.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/brimham-rocks-panorama.jpg

That was my second serious attempt at landscape work. My first was out in Sedona (see here):

http://jamesgreenlandphotography.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/phoenix-arizona-panorama.jpg

I also got some shots from a helicopter over the grand canyon, but not so sure about the final product.. not sure why:

http://jamesgreenlandphotography.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/colarado-river-grand-canyon.jpg

Any critics out there?  :)

RSL

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Re: new to the forum - a few panoramas!
« Reply #1 on: October 15, 2012, 05:36:36 pm »

Any critics out there?  :)

Heh heh. The forum is full of them, James.

I like all three shots. The first two are routine but well done. #3 is my choice of the three. It's well done and unusual. Very nice.
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IanBrowne

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Re: new to the forum - a few panoramas!
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2012, 07:03:34 pm »

#3 totally lost on me because of the horizon angle

#2 is my pick. Maybe lighten the shadows a bit. maybe lose about 1/2 the sky to bring the attention to the city. That is a special back-drop to a city. I like how the darker clouds/storm are on the RHS

#1 nice but not overly interesting to me. Sort of a case of trying to get to much in the photo.

I hope that helps you along the photography journey. Just an idea: i have found it better to post one photo per thread when serious CC is requested.
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james-greenland

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Re: new to the forum - a few panoramas!
« Reply #3 on: October 16, 2012, 04:19:50 am »

I hope that helps you along the photography journey. Just an idea: i have found it better to post one photo per thread when serious CC is requested.

thanks for the advice. Will do this in the future. was Just a bit over keen to get talking to people on the forum ;)

@RSL: glad you like number 3. I think that because it's so different to most landscape work it goes hot and cold for me.

mainly because as @IanBrowne says, the shot being off-axis seems a bit overdone sometimes when I go back to it. I'm so used to shooting sports that I think I got a bit carried away!

shutterpup

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Re: new to the forum - a few panoramas!
« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2012, 10:33:02 am »

#3 is definitely the best! I don't think it's overdone at all. What would have been disappointing would have been "just another GC shot."
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fike

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Re: new to the forum - a few panoramas!
« Reply #5 on: October 16, 2012, 10:34:13 am »

I like what you tried on #3, but it didn't work for me.  I think #2 is the best of the bunch.  To improve it I would try to balance the exposure level across the image.  With panoramic work you will constantly be faced with multiple exposures in one image. You will find yourself doing lots of selective exposure compensation. Done carefully you can consider gradually altering the shutter speed or ISO across the wide image, but it is probably easier to make a levels adjustment layer and then blend it with a graduated (right to left) layer mask.  
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james-greenland

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Re: new to the forum - a few panoramas!
« Reply #6 on: October 16, 2012, 10:55:29 am »

I like what you tried on #3, but it didn't work for me.  I think #2 is the best of the bunch.  To improve it I would try to balance the exposure level across the image.  With panoramic work you will constantly be faced with multiple exposures in one image. You will find yourself doing lots of selective exposure compensation. Done carefully you can consider gradually altering the shutter speed or ISO across the wide image, but it is probably easier to make a levels adjustment layer and then blend it with a graduated (right to left) layer mask. 

That shot was done with the exposure locked down, so the gradual change in exposure was down to the clouds overhead. Are you suggesting that next time I gradually change the exposure so that the darker areas match the lighter? surely then I would have obvious differences in exposure when the multiple shots were blended?

fike

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Re: new to the forum - a few panoramas!
« Reply #7 on: October 16, 2012, 10:58:03 am »

That shot was done with the exposure locked down, so the gradual change in exposure was down to the clouds overhead. Are you suggesting that next time I gradually change the exposure so that the darker areas match the lighter? surely then I would have obvious differences in exposure when the multiple shots were blended?

Yes that is one option that I am suggesting.  If you do it very gradually and you overlap the images a lot. It can be done without banding effects.  Generally I do this by bracketing the image at capture time and then processing all the exposures in raw to normalize the levels and then selecting the exposures that match best to actually stitch.
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james-greenland

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Re: new to the forum - a few panoramas!
« Reply #8 on: October 16, 2012, 11:01:29 am »

you sound like you've experimented with this...

Which have you found to be more effective for reducing banding: ISO or shutter speed? Shutter could produce some really strange effects if done at really slow speeds... Sounds fun!

RSL

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Re: new to the forum - a few panoramas!
« Reply #9 on: October 16, 2012, 11:11:54 am »


@RSL: glad you like number 3. I think that because it's so different to most landscape work it goes hot and cold for me.

mainly because as @IanBrowne says, the shot being off-axis seems a bit overdone sometimes when I go back to it. I'm so used to shooting sports that I think I got a bit carried away!

It doesn't look the least bit overdone to me. In fact, you could tighten up that turn and it'd still look fine. But I was a fighter pilot.
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james-greenland

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Re: new to the forum - a few panoramas!
« Reply #10 on: October 16, 2012, 11:46:54 am »

It doesn't look the least bit overdone to me. In fact, you could tighten up that turn and it'd still look fine. But I was a fighter pilot.

Perhaps thats why ;)

At the time I was taking the shot all I was thinking was that I didn't want to overdo the angle as to make the viewer think that it would look better if it were orientated wide-side across like a normal landscape, but I also didn't want the off-axis angle to be too small so as to make it look like a mistake.

*tilts head to see what it looks like*

fike

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Re: new to the forum - a few panoramas!
« Reply #11 on: October 16, 2012, 11:58:01 am »

you sound like you've experimented with this...

Which have you found to be more effective for reducing banding: ISO or shutter speed? Shutter could produce some really strange effects if done at really slow speeds... Sounds fun!
I typically bracket shutter speed because it is easier. It creates problems when moving water is present, but then I usually picks the same exposure for all the water regions.
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james-greenland

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Re: new to the forum - a few panoramas!
« Reply #12 on: October 16, 2012, 12:18:13 pm »

I typically bracket shutter speed because it is easier. It creates problems when moving water is present, but then I usually picks the same exposure for all the water regions.

good point. Water would look a bit weird if all exposures were at different shutter speeds.. I'm trying to think of examples where making the various slow shutter speeds obvious could produce something interesting...
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