LANDSCAPE/NATURAL LIGHT Thread II

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

09/22/2005 08:33:47 PM · #52

Originally posted by JOHNBOY1970:

Click it and get a thumbnail-sized image; we need something bigger. Also please tell us which assignment you're pointed at...

R.

justin_hewlett

Canon EOS-1000D Rebel XS

09/23/2005 01:33:35 AM · #53

All right, I'm just joining but I hope to catch up to where you guys are at. Here's a few from my portfolio that I feel fit each assignment:

No subject:

Dominant focal point:

Any thoughts?

09/23/2005 08:29:55 AM · #54

Originally posted by justin_hewlett:

All right, I'm just joining but I hope to catch up to where you guys are at. Here's a few from my portfolio that I feel fit each assignment:

No subject:
Dominant focal point:

Any thoughts?

The first image doesn't really fit the "subjectless" category, as the sky and water and the crossing diagonals work to make the superimposed wedges subjects within the context of the image. The second shot I'll get back to in the next post, but yeah, it's "subjectless" in terms of this assignment, of relatively uninteresting. Nothing in it really compels a return visit, if you knwo what I mean?

The B/W image isn't working for me at all. It's totally flat and awkwardly framed, with that oddly-truncated right-hand tree commanding way too much of the image area for no particular reason that I can fathom as a viewer. The lighting here is so flat as to be almost anti-light, so to speak. It's possible that a color version would show subtle variations that would help keep us inetersted, but I suspect it's just flat reddish earth and overly-blue sky, on the evidence. Sorry. The last shot is also awkward in how the tree on the right is just "there", oddly truncated for no strong impact. The centrally-located dead snag is somewhat interesting, especially in conjunction with the hot spot of light on the landscape behind, but the diagonal foreground branch really doesn't seem to be working for you here.

Robt.

Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM

09/23/2005 08:33:23 AM · #55

Slight Digression

Justin posted the following as a "subjectless landscape" and also linked to an outtake of it:

Try opening both these images in separate windows and toggling between them. Please consider which works better, and why, and comment to that. Disregard any putative "assingment" categories for this mini-exercise.

Robt.

orussell

Canon EOS Rebel T6s

09/23/2005 08:40:38 AM · #56

How is this for a landscape with a dominant focal point (aside from the slightly tilted horizon)? 640 x 427 at 72dpi doesn't really show the fine detail in the image. I have printed at 10 x 15 with the i9900 and it's a different image altogether.

Pentax SMC DA 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR

09/23/2005 10:03:25 AM · #57

Originally posted by orussell:

Works for me. Nice shot, illustrates the point well too. You're aware you want to level the horizon, so I won't harp on that except to ask "How long would it have taken you to level the damned thing before POSTING it here, eh?"

(grin)

I'd watch the hot spot in the sky also, when printing. I assume you have it under control. Did you know you can use selective color in the white range to add tonality to spots like that if necessary?

R.

Prism

Pentax K-30

09/23/2005 10:21:34 AM · #58

Originally posted by bear_music:

Slight Digression

Justin posted the following as a "subjectless landscape" and also linked to an outtake of it:

Try opening both these images in separate windows and toggling between them. Please consider which works better, and why, and comment to that. Disregard any putative "assingment" categories for this mini-exercise.

Robt.

I prefer the look of the outtake. The foreground color draws my eye into the middle of the photo and it just seems overall more balanced and pleasing to look at. In the first one, my eye wants to follow the line of the hills right out the picture. Not technical... I know.. but how I see it.

tsheets

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

09/23/2005 10:48:51 AM · #59

Originally posted by bear_music:

I like the landscape orientation better. I feel cramped in the portrait orientation.

In the portrait orientation, It feels 'choppy' to me, chopped off foreground hills both right and left, then I get to middle ground, and background, both mountains are chopped off again. However, I do like having a bit more foreground.

In the landscape version, the foreground isn't as prominent, but the road feels more complete than just the side of the hill leading to the edge of the road. I just like the framing better in this one.

orussell

Canon EOS Rebel T6s

Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM

09/23/2005 11:29:22 AM · #60

Originally posted by bear_music:

Originally posted by orussell:

How is this for a landscape with a dominant focal point (aside from the slightly tilted horizon)? 640 x 427 at 72dpi doesn't really show the fine detail in the image. I have printed at 10 x 15 with the i9900 and it's a different image altogether.

Works for me. Nice shot, illustrates the point well too. You're aware you want to level the horizon, so I won't harp on that except to ask "How long would it have taken you to level the damned thing before POSTING it here, eh?"

(grin)

I'd watch the hot spot in the sky also, when printing. I assume you have it under control. Did you know you can use selective color in the white range to add tonality to spots like that if necessary?

R.

Thanks Robert. I was fogetting that I finally have CS2 and it's literally a snap to do; in Elements it's trial and error. The real point though I guess is I'm just too darn lazy sometimes. ;) Thanks for the tip on selective colour. It doesn't look bad printed, ie. no marked banding from the hot spots. Personally, in a situation like this, I like the drama the blown out sky adds to the scene.

Prism

Pentax K-30

Pentax SMC DA 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR

09/25/2005 12:07:02 AM · #61

OK, let's try again. I think this one has the dominant focal. Even with a dominant focal, would it be better to still keep an infinite depth of field or shorten it to focus more on the focal point? Or is that something that depends on the personal preference of the photog?

Pentax SMC DA 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR

09/25/2005 03:04:05 AM · #62

Originally posted by rsm707:

It's nearly always desirable to have infinity focus in a landscape. I'm sure there are exceptions but I can't think of a great one offhand. Arguably, if the subject of the picture were an object within a landscape, photographed up close, and the horizon were in the picture, it might be useful to have the distant landscape slightly OOF. But as a rule of thumb, sjots OF landscapes work better with great DOF.

As for your shot, well... ummm... yes, you have a dominant focal point int he foreground, the railing, but geeze man... it's chopped at the bottom, it's chopped at the left, it's just there and I can't for the life of me think why one would want to make that naked railing the focal point of such a lovely view... Still, I guess the "why" doesn't matter here, this is just an exercise, so yes it does fulfill the "assignment" more or less :-)

R.

Prism

Pentax K-30

09/25/2005 07:01:30 PM · #63

Ouch, OK so you don't like my choice of dominant focal but out of 150 shots I took yesterday, that was the only one that didn't end up with a dead tree as the dominant (I like the look of old weathered tree stumps) or no dominant at all (whine) so... as I am here to learn something and my post processing cropping seems to be wanting as well, would anyway care to take a stab at the uneditted version and see what they can come up with that might constructively help me to improve? Or am I misunderstanding the point of this mentorship type thread entirely?

arngrimur

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/25/2005 07:50:07 PM · #64

Thanks Robert for your great work here.

I started looking through my landscape photos and I was really surprised how few images I found that fit this assignment.

Here's one that might fit.

Incarlight

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

09/25/2005 08:07:30 PM · #65

Would this qualify as a dominant focal point?

Leica 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 Vario Elmar-T ASPH

09/25/2005 09:32:16 PM · #66

Originally posted by Incarlight:

Would this qualify as a dominant focal point?

Yup.

Now I got a question for YOU: There's a single, minor aspect of that picture that's both distracting and fixable. What is it?

R.

Message edited by author 2005-09-25 23:32:55.

Incarlight

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

09/25/2005 09:37:01 PM · #67

Would that be the horizon, perhaps?

MAK

Leica M Monochrom

09/25/2005 09:38:09 PM · #68

Thank you so much for all the input and help you offer to people here Mr Bear.

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

09/25/2005 10:06:32 PM · #69

Two very different compositions of the same shot:

I'm curious to see if the foreground islands in this composition qualify as the dominant subject in both cases, and if not, why not?

tsheets

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

09/25/2005 10:46:47 PM · #70

Originally posted by rsm707:

What's wrong with a dead tree being the foreground subject in the landscape? Or did you just want to find something different?

With this shot, I think the railing/bridge is pretty much the focal point....and that's what the assignment was asking for. I think if the railing was really old and worn from being out in the elements, or none at all, just a bridge, it may have fit better in the landscape. Something that *may* be a better shot, would be to get along side of the bridge, down low - closer to the stream and make that be the foreground element of interest.

It's a beautiful scene, BTW. :-)

dsidwell

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

09/25/2005 11:17:29 PM · #71

This is a lovely scene. The fence is in a strong position, but look how the lines of the fence lead the eye out of the photo and to the left instead of into the photo and to the lovely scene beyond. It might be fun to experiment to see if there might be a place to stand so the railing takes the eye inward instead of out off the frame.

Alternatively, see how the stream makes a lovely S-curve through the photo? If you stood right at the railing, there may be a way to make the stream your focal point that leads the eye into the photo (right now it's too subtle to do that, and the railing is shouting for attention).

This is a good experiment! The tones and colors of the scene are really fantastic. I guess the job is to get us to look at it!

Originally posted by rsm707:

dsidwell

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

09/25/2005 11:19:36 PM · #72

In this lovely image, you've used light and the rules of thirds (and contrasting textures and shapes) to create a focal point. It works nicely for me!

Originally posted by arngrimur:

Thanks Robert for your great work here.

I started looking through my landscape photos and I was really surprised how few images I found that fit this assignment.

Here's one that might fit.

dsidwell

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

09/25/2005 11:22:26 PM · #73

This is a fun thread! I thought I'd post a few, too!

Non-focal point??:

Focal point:

09/25/2005 11:34:24 PM · #74

Originally posted by Incarlight:

Would that be the horizon, perhaps?

No. I'm looking at the bright clouds upper left edge; they're an eye-trap, pulling our eye out of the iamge instead of into it. Picture would be measurably imporved if this bright spot were burned down a little.

R.