Landscape critique please
Discussion
Lightroom is a truly excellent way of sorting and editing your images - in fact will do pretty much all of the things you want without recourse to Photoshop. There are lots of training courses on line - this is a fairly comprehensive introduction produced by Adobe and worth sitting down with a cup of tea and watching all the way through. LR 6 has some additional features and again there tutorials on their use. The two most important things about using LR (IMHO) are to have a filing system set up and then a basic work-flow to process your images. The fine tweaks come later. I will watch how you get on with interest - do you have a Flickr account?
I went back to Lake Vyrnwy today looking for some Autumn colours - FAR more challenging conditions than when I was there two months ago (photos earlier in this thread), with very low cloud, white-out skies and far less calm water for the reflection shots. Although I'd have preferred bright sunshine and still water, it was good to get some conditions that made me think a bit about what I wanted - all part of the (still steep) learning curve...
I'd be interested to hear critique again. I'm particularly interested in the two very hazy shots - the first is straight from the camera, the second is with some processing - which is better? Have I gone a bit too far bringing it back? It was so hazy that the camera couldn't get an auto-focus - had to switch to manual
Vyrnwy 2 by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
Vyrnwy 4 by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
Vyrnwy 5 by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
Vyrnwy 3 by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
Vyrnwy 7.1 by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
Vyrnwy 7 by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
Vyrnwy 6 by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
I'd be interested to hear critique again. I'm particularly interested in the two very hazy shots - the first is straight from the camera, the second is with some processing - which is better? Have I gone a bit too far bringing it back? It was so hazy that the camera couldn't get an auto-focus - had to switch to manual
Vyrnwy 2 by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrVyrnwy 4 by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrVyrnwy 5 by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrVyrnwy 3 by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrVyrnwy 7.1 by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrVyrnwy 7 by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrVyrnwy 6 by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrThe compositions aren't bad but IMHO the main problem is light. A camera can only record what's in front of it, and processing can only do so much. If a view looks poor in reality then it will probably end up poor in the photo - in which case look for something else or go back another day. Sometimes considering a b/w image can help overcome flat light. The last one is by far the best both visually and technically.
ETA Looking back at p1 your waterfalls are way better than your landscapes. I'm trying to work out why that should be...
ETA Looking back at p1 your waterfalls are way better than your landscapes. I'm trying to work out why that should be...
Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 31st October 10:37
I went out locally looking for similar stuff, and unfortunately found the same issue with the lack of light - I avoided the place last weekend (when it was sunny) because I figured it would be too busy, but it's been cloudy ever since. Annoyingly, the "preview" pane in RawTherapee shows the photos looking quite nice and colourful, but as soon as I open them it seems to process all that out and flatten them.
Simpo Two said:
The compositions aren't bad but IMHO the main problem is light. A camera can only record what's in front of it, and processing can only do so much. If a view looks poor in reality then it will probably end up poor in the photo - in which case look for something else or go back another day. Sometimes considering a b/w image can help overcome flat light. The last one is by far the best both visually and technically.
ETA Looking back at p1 your waterfalls are way better than your landscapes. I'm trying to work out why that should be...
I agree - the light was very poor, but as I'd driven a couple of hours to get there, I wanted to try to learn from the experience. There's only a relatively short window to catch the autumn colours, so waiting for a beautiful calm, sunny day wasn't a luxury I could afford. I have a week off next week, so if there's a good day, I might go back, but looking at the weather forecast I think I've missed any chance of great light. Next trip there will be in the depths of winter to catch some snow / frost scenes.ETA Looking back at p1 your waterfalls are way better than your landscapes. I'm trying to work out why that should be...
Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 31st October 10:37
Interesting comment about the waterfalls v the landscapes - what am I getting wrong with the landscapes that I'm not getting wrong with the waterfalls?
All good feedback BTW - much appreciated
Nigel_O said:
singlecoil said:
The first one would have worked better as a panorama, rather than the wide angle which has the trees converging in a rather dramatic way. You can do panoramas in Lightroom.
I wondered about the wide-angle distortion - is this any better?
This is probably a bit too bright depending on how bright your monitor is. Has yours been calibrated?
Picture 4, the one with the building, that could be a decent shot with some processing. Keep it looking moody and spooky somewhat and bring the finer details out in the building a little.
A little more time composing the image would have been to your advantage, as a minimum, following the rule of thirds usually adds some visual appeal to the composition. In this shot I would have more water in the image, using the shoreline as the bottom 3rd of the frame.
I like to play about with adding light and dark areas and I'm sure with a little experimentation that could be a much more dynamic and imposing shot.
A little more time composing the image would have been to your advantage, as a minimum, following the rule of thirds usually adds some visual appeal to the composition. In this shot I would have more water in the image, using the shoreline as the bottom 3rd of the frame.
I like to play about with adding light and dark areas and I'm sure with a little experimentation that could be a much more dynamic and imposing shot.
Edited by Craigwww on Monday 31st October 13:59
As with all landscape photography, its all about the light, If the light isn't right it is more challenging to get a decent shot, but that's half the fun. Lake Vrynwy has quite steep hillsides, and so often the opportunity for great light only happens very briefly.
(BTW holding the camera level, and cropping out what part of the frame you don't want will result in straight trees (and buildings)
Christmas Morning Dec 2012, no-one else there, very peaceful!! (handheld, Fuji X100)
Amazing Light 2 sm by Mr Perceptive X100, on Flickr
(BTW holding the camera level, and cropping out what part of the frame you don't want will result in straight trees (and buildings)
Christmas Morning Dec 2012, no-one else there, very peaceful!! (handheld, Fuji X100)
Amazing Light 2 sm by Mr Perceptive X100, on FlickrDavidY said:
Christmas Morning Dec 2012, no-one else there, very peaceful!! (handheld, Fuji X100)
Amazing Light 2 sm by Mr Perceptive X100, on Flickr
Oof! - superbAmazing Light 2 sm by Mr Perceptive X100, on FlickrIf I didn't know better, I'd say I was more impressed with the seriously beefy torch you have there..... I guess that was just a single spot of sunlight on an otherwise dull day? Either way, the result is very different.
Where was it taken from? I'm thinking the south end of the dam, but I think you may be further along the shore away from the dam
Middle of the dam, early in the morning, just lucky sunlight!!!
I used to live 15 miles away, so it was a regular haunt, often walked around it especially in the winter. When the light is bad, its worth investigating the trees in the sculpture park as well:-
Trees sm by Mr Perceptive X100, on Flickr
I used to live 15 miles away, so it was a regular haunt, often walked around it especially in the winter. When the light is bad, its worth investigating the trees in the sculpture park as well:-
Trees sm by Mr Perceptive X100, on Flickr
Nigel_O said:
I guess that was just a single spot of sunlight on an otherwise dull day?
Quite often landscapes are about capturing a really brief moment of beauty, the idea its an all day boring slow process is utterly wrong, I'm usually running round like a nutter during 'peak light'so its usually best to have your comps worked out before that happens.
Light + composition + timing + creativity = top photo.
Nigel_O said:
Interesting comment about the waterfalls v the landscapes - what am I getting wrong with the landscapes that I'm not getting wrong with the waterfalls?
The waterfalls, as well as showing good technical ability, have a point of focus - the waterfall. By contrast it seems to me your landscapes lack a purpose - they are just photos of trees etc. They may look nice in real life but when chopped out into a little 2D rectangle they lose whatever spark they had. It's as if the waterfalls were taken by someone else, in terms of composition, technical ability and processing.^ that.
A Landscape needs a subject (mostly).
best if you have a 'hero'/central point of focus and some kind of hierarchy of elements leading up to it. Dont have more than 1 thing competing for attention. keep the structure simple, and always either aim for symmetry , rule of thirds or obvious non symmetry
A Landscape needs a subject (mostly).
best if you have a 'hero'/central point of focus and some kind of hierarchy of elements leading up to it. Dont have more than 1 thing competing for attention. keep the structure simple, and always either aim for symmetry , rule of thirds or obvious non symmetry
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