The path to where?
brvheart
Registered Users Posts: 434 Major grins
I went out today to shoot an old factory, apparently it is frowned upon and not allowed, so I had to leave with no shots. I stopped by a place on my way home that my son calls "Hollywoods" (we never knew the name so we made one up) and snapped these real quick before I got to cold. Taken with my Canon 60D, tripod, -2,0,+2 and photomatix pro, I did not have PS on the mac that I processed on so I will touch them up later in PS. Anyways, I am new to HDR so any feedback would be appreciated - doesnt just have to be "it's over cooked" but any help on composition, if I should have shot lower to the ground, if I had showed at a different angle etc are all helpful for me to grow.
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"Out where the rivers like to run, I stand alone, and take back something worth remembering..."
Three Dog Night
www.northwestnaturalimagery.com
I don't really like the brightness of the first.
Link to my Smugmug site
Thanks Kdog -
Really? Bigger was better? Help me understand what you mean by the scene was pretty good but not great - is that directed at pure subject matter or is there something I could have done that would have made it great? Inquiring minds...cant get better if I am not real sure about the CC - help me please
That being said, you have a nicely detailed path, with NOTHING at the end of it. Ok, to be fair, there's a little patch of green there. Otherwise, there is nothing to hold my interest. When one sees a path with strong leading lines into a vanishing point perspective, it draws your eye in. But what's to see when you get there? Nothing.
Here are links to a few shots of mine that may or may not illustrate the point I'm trying to make about using leading lines to terminate at a point of interest.
http://www.desertilluminations.com/Landscapes/Carrizo-Plain/MG545234tonemapped/1230978387_N9ntP-XL.jpg
http://www.desertilluminations.com/Animals/Bosque-del-Apache/IMG5332/1138866119_b7na4-XL-2.jpg
http://www.desertilluminations.com/Animals/Bosque-del-Apache/IMG5246/1138515669_28y8C-XL-2.jpg
Regards,
-joel
Link to my Smugmug site
Thank you for the feedback - I do understand what you are saying here now that you explained it a bit further. Had I gotten that from your first post I would not have asked to elaborate, but I am glad you did. I do understand the that there is nothing at the end of the path - but simply the entire scene has nothing at the end of the path lol. It is a wetlands with a path that is circular and comes back to where it started - so no matter where I took the shot it would have looked very similar. I guess for me it was more of an exercise for two things -
1. HDR - I love HDR shots and have just started taking them. This was my second attempt.
2. Starting to apply what I have learned from feedback - using leading lines, rule of thirds etc. I feel that until now, I have just been more of a "snap shooter" rather than a composer - meaning point, shoot but having a rather nice camera to do it with. I am now wanting to push myself to get better and learn what really makes that shot work. I think that I have captured that in these two shots - I liked the composure, the leading lines, and the solace in the subject matter.
Do I agree that having nothing at the end is a let down? I can see it both ways - I myself am artistically challenged and dont fully understand everything that makes a frame work, so I am guessing that you are in the majority - I will try to apply that concept next time.
Question - to make the leading lines and path shot work - if there was say a body of water at the end (Ocean, Lake etc) - would that have made the composure more pleasing?
Thank you again for your feedback, it has given me good insight to the view of others with much more experience than myself. I might head back to the same spot soon and see if I overlooked a way to get the wetlands at the end of the path in an optical illusion that makes the path seem to disappear into them. I am guessing that the scene is possibly had I been looking for it :-/
I'm all for breaking rules and trying new things. Most everything I've learned about what makes a good picture I've learned on Dgrin over the past few years and still have a lot to learn myself. We all participate here, apply roughly the same photographic guidelines, and yet we grow independently and develop our own styles. It's part of what makes it fun. There are some photographers whose work I really don't like, and yet there are always a core of people who oogle and coo over their pictures, and that's ok. We like what we like. My advice is that if a particular approach appeals to you then you should continue down that path and work it until it's done. Next time you're in a situation like that, try the different angles. Put the camera right on the dock and snap a shot to see what that looks like, stand up, but angle your camera down so that the horizon is near the top of the frame and the dock is distorted, and see how that looks. Come back another time when the light is different and try that. Which way is that dock facing? East or west? Maybe you can time it so that there's a sun-star at the end of it. It's those little hooks that can turn a mediocre shot into a great one. Continue to post your shots here and see what people like and don't like. I'm almost always amazed at which shots get good feedback and which ones get ignored. It's usually not what I expect. The critiques help me fine tune my work so that it pleases others as well. We all want to do that, otherwise we wouldn't be posting our shots here. But rarely will a shot please everyone, so don't even try.
The important thing is that you've learned how to use your tools. Developing your eye is an ongoing continuum. It is for me anyway.
Link to my Smugmug site
As for the path ... I don't need something at the end. To me it's more a mystery thing. One thing tho ... I was intrigued when you said this path circles around. Did you by chance get a photo with the curve of the path in the distance?
www.Dogdotsphotography.com
With that said; I really like shot # 2 and perhaps going lower might show a bit more texture from the wood and could present a very different scenario.
My personal feeling about the essence of the picture; Emptiness, the Unknown, but sometimes real life is like that.
Well, not in a real circle, it is kinda of a left turn here and right turn there - great idea, I am going to go back watch for a curve
Great idea! I will await the weather to cooperate and see if I can get that one done also! Eh?
Lower I am guessing would produce more texture - I will try that one as well!
Thank you all for the feedback - it is appreciated.