Hi all, first post in the Fstoppers community. Really like the quality work on display here and the high bar the community sets in their ratings.
Took this shot on the second day of a week-long hike on the overland track in Tasmania. With a demanding itinerary and a heavy pack, there wasn't much time to scout locations and wait for interesting lighting conditions. So in that sense, it might even count as a snapshot.
Would appreciate some feedback from the more experienced landscape photographers here - would you have composed this shot differently, how does the colour editing look to you? Thx
Hi George. A very good frame.
Just another option to show the bigger water element in the frame. This could work well when some more interest in sky. Colour tone and saturation is individual choice.
cheers.
Thanks for the tips - I might experiment with cropping it, but another lens might have been in order.
Hi Georg, nice image. Some other things you might have considered / tried(if you didn’t......)
1). Cropping out a bit of the foreground to bring more emphasis to the water
2). Use a telephoto instead of the 20mm you used in order to compress / foreshorten the image. This would eliminate some of the extraneous material on the left / right and increase the size of the bluff which is an important element.
3). Bump up the saturation some but not so much as to drive the colors into the unrealistic realm.
4). If possible, find some way to integrate some black to anchor the image and help drive the viewers focus to the main elements.
Thank, really appreciate that input... I agree, telephoto in landscapes is underused and would probably change the feel of this image quite considerably.
I might also need to invest in some proper monitor calibration - I'm always hesitant to boost the saturation too much as to not make the image look overprocessed.
Thanks for the tips.
That would be a good example for a composition class. Some might say that the subject is weak.
The reflection is almost the stronger image, but the two are fighting each other for attention. That is a tough one, and I bet you agree.
I like the color and the foreground. That single compositon element is a challenge. Maybe if it was far to the right and more of that beautiful landscape to the left was shown.
Would that cause the reflection to not line up with the mountain? That would be a big improvement. Thanks for showing this.
😄 I agree this might make a good teaching example titled "Can you improve this image"
While the landscape was really fascinating, I found it hard to convey that in an image. This might be one of those locations that have potential but require a bit more thought and/or legwork to find a point of interest.
I see what you're trying to do. There's too much nothing/not really interesting stuff in the photo, i.e. nothing captivating in the sky or the plants. Crop it vertically just below the bottom of the pond, just outside the mountain's reflection and to just above the top of the peak.
It's kind of nice that there are a number of competing/opposing V's (both right side up and upside down) but they are not fascinating enough that they have to stay due to the plainness of the sky and vegetation.
Thanks for the input... need to work harder on bringing out what I found fascinating about this landscape. Otherwise, the image might leave the viewer with this "You had to be there" feeling.
I mean it is a lovely photo and I know when you were there it felt amazing and that the photo brings back that feeling for you. For an independent viewer, again it's a good photo but for the critical eye with time to analyze and doesn't have that connection, I made my suggestion to make it a better photo.
genuinely appreciate the suggestions. Thanks.
I like the concept of the little pond working like a hand held mirror. Different from usual reflections in large body of water. Lots of good advice from others. Just a thought.
I like it... especially the higher contrast
hi Georg - amazing location and shot .. as a rookie in this i do like the tree line in the middle and wonder if that needs to be emphasized more (pop it and darken the rest ) with the peak and its reflection framing it ? i cropped it to 4:3
so the reflection is the fore, treeline the mid and the misty peak the background
im here to learn from the experts like yourself
Thanks for engaging with my photo - I really enjoy all the different suggestions (and don't consider myself an expert by any means).
In this case, it seems a different lens would have nailed this composition.
I like this image, Georg. Knowing the area a bit, I wonder if your colours are VERY slightly over-saturated, but you don't want a dull image, either, and this is a matter of taste. For me, the slightly dull colours around the Cradle Mountain area, and the yellow grasses and dark rock, create an almost eerie,slightly bleak atmosphere which makes quite an impact.. You've created a nice feeling in the sky, a luminous, soaring quality to my eye.
I like the composition - perhaps a little less foreground might improve the composition, but those grasses are very visually appealing.
While I don't use nor want anything wider than a 20mm lens, I think a wider view here might be good, to include the whole of the tarn, with a margin either side. If you stepped back, unless you could go higher, the tarn might have largely disappeared from view. I suspect I'd have moved right if possible, and swung the camera left, to make the bluff a little more off-centre to the right above the tarn.
Of course, it is hard to know what freedom you had (apart from time pressure) to move around. I'd certainly take a number of images at a location like this, especially if in a hurry, to have a selection later.
Welcome to the community! You're off to a good start.