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3 to the power of Thirds
3 to the power of Thirds
KiwiShotz


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Rule of Thirds (Basic Editing III)
Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ20
Location: Woodville Wind Farm, Manawatu Region, NZ
Date: Sep 18, 2005
Aperture: f8.0
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/80
Galleries: Landscape, Science and Technology
Date Uploaded: Sep 18, 2005

 Late afternoon. As shot in camera at 432mm, long shot, no cropping. Some colour and saturation adjustment.

Just driving along, came around the corner and this patch of sunlight was hitting the turbines and spring fields just as the storm was coming over the hills and developing all around us.

The turbines sit on the left vertical thirds line, the bright green fields on the second horizontal line and just to frame it all up, the storm cloud and the brightest field in the gully sit on the second vertical third line. The top of the road seems to attract our interest as it sits at the intersection of the bottom left thirds lines.

--- Post Voting ---
I'm humbled by a 5th placing for this as I didn't compose this image, nature did. As much as anything, this is an example of always having your camera by your side and always looking for shots. In this case, the day itself meant there had to be some great landscapes if nothing else.

THE SETUP
It was a stormy afternoon and we were in the car 300km from home. There were rain clouds all down around the hills and patches of sunlight were breaking through. I had no 3rds entry and wasn't looking for one, but I knew with the light and storms there was going to be a photo for the portolio sometime in the afternoon. We came through a cutting and there was this image. The stark white of the towers, the darkness all around and the beautiful sunlight on the band of hills shouted "take me".

My partner (also a DPCer) had other ideas and wasn't happy at all that I was stopping on a deserted country road - and where was I going to park the car and the trailer it had on behind. I didn't care :)

SCALE
You have no idea of the awesome scales involved in this image. There's a number of questions below about the "white dots" and a question about scale.

The thing I am most disappointed about with this image is that I have (sort of) failed to communicate the scale of it all. Yes, the dots *are* sheep. The band of "scrub" in the centre by the turbines is not scrub at all but fully matured trees some 15-25ft tall! The road which looks like a single vehicle track will take two road rigs passing with room to spare.

How big are the turbines then? They're 125 metres (412ft) tall! To see them in this setting in RL is breathtaking, I need to go back and try to communicate that in an image.

CROPPING
A number of comments have been well made about the black foreground trees and I tended to agree with them. Besides that, anything that 'bugs' people needs attention. I tried for an hour or so before submission to loose them or minimise their impact (easier if in Advanced Editing). The more I experimented, the more they became essential to the overall impact of the image. By removing them, two things happened: 1)the stark contrast between that dark foreground and the vivid green was lost and the overall impact was significantly lessened 2) It buggered up Thirds. The vivid green belt runs right along the thirds horizontal. Cropping the dark band brought the bright band into the bottom quarter and looked all wrong.

Brett

Statistics
Place: 5 out of 354
Avg (all users): 6.9072
Avg (commenters): 7.5789
Avg (participants): 6.5872
Avg (non-participants): 7.1797
Views since voting: 4909
Views during voting: 352
Votes: 237
Comments: 32
Favorites: 15 (view)

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AuthorThread
 03/03/2007 03:22:48 PM
Stunning composition. You made some good choices, sometimes the hardest if chock full of exciting possibilities part. What makes this more than a composition/landscape is of course the time/natural lighting and weather, which I would like to see more of in photos (note to self?).
 08/29/2006 01:20:30 PM
I think the black foreground helps accentuate the white turbines. Beautiful photo. (Newbie...seeing this for the first time!)
 02/10/2006 04:05:17 PM
good job
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/09/2006 09:16:20 PM
Great pic Brett. The size of these turbines is impressive and you've done well to capture the scale here. For the record...I always assume any white 'dots' in a pic from NZ are sheep! (I'm an Aussie so I've gotta chuck in a Kiwi/sheep joke whenever possible). Great job Mate.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/19/2005 10:48:03 AM
Impressive scene very well captured. I love nature's lighting and wow! a storm cloud, too. Congratulations on your high finish!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/05/2005 04:48:52 PM
You commented on my awful coffee beans photo, so I always return the favor, usually to my delight.... this is a marvelous photo, very sharp, clear, in focus, and well composed. I live in Texas, and have seen such devices out west, where the wind is good for such... I just noticed though, no wires are connected, unless they are underground... sure makes it nice when they don't foul up the scenery.... again, nice photo and thanks for your comments also.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2005 12:54:45 PM
a well deserved top 10, nice, making the hills pop like that
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/28/2005 05:34:25 PM
This photo has a lot of depth to it that makes it beautiful and I'm happy to know it was just a matter of having a good eye and being there at the right moment. ;)
One of the few I rated a 9 on. Glad it got into top 5.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/28/2005 05:06:31 AM
Originally posted by KiwiChris:
I stopped in almost the same spot earlier in the year and took some snaps with the coolpix 2500

Glad you have seen this place too Chris, the scale takes your breath away doesn't it.
 09/28/2005 01:41:56 AM
Very cool photo...

I stopped in almost the same spot earlier in the year and took some snaps with the coolpix 2500... on a bright sunny day though, so quite boring photos.. The contrast between the light and dark, and the colours really make this.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/28/2005 12:04:41 AM
Wonderful image :) I can't believe I missed this in the challenge :) Congrats on a top 10 :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
09/27/2005 11:56:34 PM
I love this, everything is wonderful. The coloring and lighting are excellent.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/27/2005 10:57:38 PM
Creative, 3/thirds. Cleaver. Beautiful landscape shot. Love how it rolls and seems so clear.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/27/2005 10:26:24 PM
Excellent. 10.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/27/2005 07:46:15 PM
altamont pass, CA???? 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/27/2005 06:39:28 PM
Shame about the title, but I like your photo. Foreground is a tad dark, but the subject is great. A car, house or person for scale could have improved it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/27/2005 04:54:15 PM
I absolutely love the windmills and fog. I feel like I am right there.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/27/2005 07:04:52 AM
I enjoyed this image - it challenged my sense of proportion, it is an eclectic mix of 3's (thirds) - colour, shape/form, contrast, intersection.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2005 10:17:31 PM
Fits challenge=5
Color/lighting=2
DOF/focus=1
Wow factor/uniqueness=1
Attractiveness=1

This is very nice, different, and has a lot for the eye to take in...are those white things sheep on the hills? Love the dark foreground and vibrant colors in the center with the faded ones in the background. Good job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/25/2005 12:18:02 PM
great shot ,ought to try selling it to npower!
beautiful colour and shadows, meets challenge very effectively
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/24/2005 06:42:40 PM
beautifully composed and captured with wonderful depth. very nice!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/24/2005 09:30:50 AM
Reminds me of southwestern Alberta! Only comment is the dark line at the bottom distracts from the image. Really nice otherwise!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/24/2005 09:02:12 AM
Lovely landscape.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/23/2005 09:05:11 PM
8 - Good shot. Almost looks surreal. Criticism; maybe 'something' done about the 'darkness' bottom/fore right, not sure, as that does add an 'element' here. The colors overall are very good, especially considering the difficulties you may have had with the white windmills/turbines. I like the 'dots', which I assume are sheep - add character and a good sense of perspective here. Technically, while no 'expert', I think you have applied the rule(s) well here vertically and horizontally. Maybe just a touch more 'contrast' or 'sharpness', not sure. Nice shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/23/2005 03:35:26 PM
What a great shot. I love the 3 windmills (is that what they're called?) and all the different colors of the landscape. It is so 3-dimensional!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/22/2005 07:52:18 PM
Awsome. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/22/2005 06:01:17 PM
Beautiful shot, I love the white contrast with the green hills, spot on for the challenge, bumping up my original 8 to 9. good luck.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/22/2005 12:36:26 PM
Nicely done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/22/2005 06:36:54 AM
The dark foreground is distracting, the colors are beautiful
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/21/2005 11:02:00 AM
Beautiful, color is amazing. Nice job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/21/2005 09:23:39 AM
This is interesting and I like the rolling hills with the complimentary blues and greens
This actually works both horizontally and vertically. The white of the wind mills draw your eye to them. Nice.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/21/2005 12:23:27 AM
Ooooh, if only this dark forest hadn't been in the foreground this would have been a quite nice photograph. :(

Other than that forest, I like it. Wasn't it possible for you to take this from a slightly different angle, e.g. more to the left, so you would have been able to leave that forest out of the picture? Or perhaps taking this photo from a higher vantage point?

Or maybe even reshoot the picture at a later time with the sun at a different angle so the forest wouldn't be so dark?

As it is, it's too much of a 'almost' picture for my taste. But there is so little missing for it too look really nice.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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