My wife decided to finally buy me a tripod and NDx8 filter for my birthday. I went out and gave some landscape shots a try. This is my first venture into this type of photography, and any help would be greatly appreciated!
A couple of old photos taken while the Amtrak was stopped - somewhere in Colorado, I think?
(And yes, I like that the vertical leans!)
Just a heads up for anyone that may be interested (and as things are slow in the group.....).
This female has arrived at Hamerton. This place rescues animals from all over the world, mainly endangered species, and they breed when they can.
I've photographed Ady a few times now. We get better each time as a team. This image was a fave from our latest session. I hope you like it to.
7 Comments
I like the picture. It looks like an amazing location. I would lighten the overall image just a little, and tone down the white water a little. See if you can get a little detail there. You could probably cut your exposure time by 25%-50% to still get the soft water look, but get a little more detail.
Enjoy your new toys.
Have Fun,
Jeff
I agree with Jeff - the water is overexposed, the foliage under. More importantly, the overall composition could use a bit of work. The eye is drawn to the lightest part of the scene, which is dead center. I would go back when you have better light to tame that contrast, and look for an angle that would draw your viewer through the frame.
Make no mistake though, this is a great first effort, and you have an excellent location to work with.
By the way, if you are down south to shoot, send me a message. I usually stalk deer in South Fork Canyon on the weekends.
Posted a re-edit
Better?
The foliage looks a bit better, but the water is still over-done. A shorter exposure would leave more detail. Also, cropping out the right 1/3 makes it look a bit better, as that side is still so much darker.
I agree with the others - the composition is very nice, but the exposure needs some work. It looks like you have direct sunlight on the water, which means post-processing alone is not going to give you the dynamic range that you need to bring light into the shadows without blowing out the highlights on the water. Since you have a tripod, one option would be to take two shots with the same framing but different exposures (probably 2-3 stops apart). Then you can layer the lighter image over the darker image and use a soft eraser to "paint in" the lower exposure on the water. Then flatten the layers and tweak the contrast as needed. There are youtube tutorials on exposure blending that cover this. Good start!