Landscapes of Afghanistan

ADMIT Photography

Here are a couple landscapes I've taken during my deployment to Afghanistan including my first attempts at HDR photography. As always comments and critiques are welcome!

1.
<img src="http://www.admitphotography.com/photos/i-GkCD3C6/0/XL/i-GkCD3C6-XL.jpg"&gt;

2.
<img src="http://www.admitphotography.com/photos/i-bWJmqhq/0/XL/i-bWJmqhq-XL.jpg"&gt;

3.
<img src="http://www.admitphotography.com/photos/i-CdtTh4N/0/XL/i-CdtTh4N-XL.jpg"&gt;

4. HDR attempt 1
<img src="http://www.admitphotography.com/photos/i-w4hBF2p/0/XL/i-w4hBF2p-XL.jpg"&gt;

5. HDR attempt 2
<img src="http://www.admitphotography.com/photos/i-Dp3R9kH/0/XL/i-Dp3R9kH-XL.jpg"&gt;

6.
<img src="http://www.admitphotography.com/photos/i-mxjdMgH/0/XL/i-mxjdMgH-XL.jpg"&gt;

7.
<img src="http://www.admitphotography.com/photos/i-Tj6b7sc/0/XL/i-Tj6b7sc-XL.jpg"&gt;

ADMIT Photography

Anyone?

kdog

The lighting looks pretty drab in most of them. Plus there doesn't appear to be a focal point in any of them with the exception of #3, and possibly 6 and 7, but it's hard to tell because they're posted so small. These images are tiny on my 1920x1280 monitor. I tried going to your Smuggie account directly to view them larger, but you don't allow that. Maybe my eyes are just too old, but I can barely make out any details at all in your panos. Maybe repost them larger and/or with links to view them in larger sizes.

squirl033

you've captured a feeling of desolation and a very poor country, though i'm not sure if that was your intent. but beyond that,b there's not much there to hold my interest. i'm not a big fan of shots of distant mountains with nothing else in them.

Eia

I would like to see them bigger - to at least bring out some detail in the landscape. The mountain range in #2 is beautiful. It looks like it could be a scene in the western usa. The houses sure blend in well with their landscape! Interesting!

ADMIT Photography

Thanks for the comments so far. As requested I've made the photos bigger to the XL size.

Here is a link directly to my Military gallery hosting these photos. All photos in that gallery are from my deployment. I don't know if it will work for you all or not but it's worth a shot.

KDog: What do you suggest for the lighting? They all looked good on every monitor I've used. Are they just coming across dark to you?

kdog

They do present a lot better in the larger size. The exposures look fine. By bland lighting, I mean it's flat and without any color and contrast. There's just no interest in the lighting. Good landscapes shots require more than going someplace interesting and snapping a shot. It means understand the location and making the effort to be there at a precise moment when something interesting is happening. The golden hours of one hour before sunrise and one hour after sunset make the best photos. And even then that doesn't guarantee a good picture. You're also at the mercy of what mother nature hands you that day. Very often it takes many attempts before one finally gets what they want out of a particular scene. Think of what your #6 and 7 panos would look like with dramatic skies, or maybe a sunstar peeking over one side of the mountain range.

Here's a link to one of my own photos for illustration. It's all about the light.

http://www.desertilluminations.com/Landscapes/Valley-of-Fire/13199031_PvXB5B/960046185_#959997265_WU7aw-XL-LB

ADMIT Photography

I see what your saying. But as luck would have it I only had limited time to shoot as I was on a job and just stopped to get this panoramic shot so I couldn't stick around for the dramatic lighting I would have liked. However I've actually printed #6 out and currently have it hanging in my office. It looks quite nice and I get nothing but complements on it. But I agree it would look allot better with a more dramatic sky.

We're you able to get into my gallery with the link provided?

kdog

I just tried the link now, and yes I can get in fine. #6 looks great at X3 and Original sizes. There's a lot of detail in that shot, nice work. It could have been better, but I do understand about time constraints. Oh boy, do I.