Cottonwood Pass

hstrynrdhstrynrd Registered Users Posts: 122 Major grins
edited July 24, 2016 in Landscapes
Shot this 7 shot panorama of Cottonwood Pass (near Buena Vista, CO) this last week. Unfortunately it was a little later in the day and there was a slight breeze at the summit. Trying to get a better handle on landscape photography. C&C welcome and appreciated.

CottonwoodPassWofCDpano2-_zpst9ohlhfc.jpg

Comments

  • StumblebumStumblebum Registered Users Posts: 8,480 Major grins
    edited July 23, 2016
    Nice, but in my view you have some things that can improve. The blue is bit strong as if polarizer was used. The left half of the image has dark blue and right side has light blue, so that needs to be balanced. I would have tried to put emphasis on Mountains and use lake as interesting foreground.....here the grass and sky are bit dominating with sky and mountains bit lost....Cheers!
  • hstrynrdhstrynrd Registered Users Posts: 122 Major grins
    edited July 23, 2016
    Stumblebum wrote: »
    Nice, but in my view you have some things that can improve. The blue is bit strong as if polarizer was used. The left half of the image has dark blue and right side has light blue, so that needs to be balanced. I would have tried to put emphasis on Mountains and use lake as interesting foreground.....here the grass and sky are bit dominating with sky and mountains bit lost....Cheers!

    I did have a circular polarizer on. I had never really used one before so my learning curve is pretty steep. Thanks for the critique.
  • black mambablack mamba Registered Users Posts: 8,323 Major grins
    edited July 23, 2016
    The circular polarizer is an extremely useful device. There's a plethora of material on the internet that can explain it all for you. In your shot here, you got bitten by one of the common " faults " of polarizer use...the sky intensity varying across the frame ( from right or left....depending ). Taz mentions that you might could balance out the difference some. Honestly, that approach requires more computer savvy that I possess. I hope it works for you.

    Your shot interests me for a different, but associated, reason. You'll notice that in the center of the sky element, there is a pretty distinct and abrupt shift from the darker to the lighter blue. I've used a circular polarizer extensively over the years and I've never seen such an abrupt shift. I know you said it was a circular polarizer and I would think so or you could have trouble autofocusing. Was it some sort of " graduated " polarizer? Just curious.

    Learn all you can about polarizing....particularly regarding the circular polarizer.

    Tom
    I always wanted to lie naked on a bearskin rug in front of a fireplace. Cracker Barrel didn't take kindly to it.
  • hstrynrdhstrynrd Registered Users Posts: 122 Major grins
    edited July 23, 2016
    black mamba wrote: »
    The circular polarizer is an extremely useful device. There's a plethora of material on the internet that can explain it all for you. In your shot here, you got bitten by one of the common " faults " of polarizer use...the sky intensity varying across the frame ( from right or left....depending ). Taz mentions that you might could balance out the difference some. Honestly, that approach requires more computer savvy that I possess. I hope it works for you.

    Your shot interests me for a different, but associated, reason. You'll notice that in the center of the sky element, there is a pretty distinct and abrupt shift from the darker to the lighter blue. I've used a circular polarizer extensively over the years and I've never seen such an abrupt shift. I know you said it was a circular polarizer and I would think so or you could have trouble autofocusing. Was it some sort of " graduated " polarizer? Just curious.

    Learn all you can about polarizing....particularly regarding the circular polarizer.

    Tom

    Thanks for the critique. I was definitely using a circular polarizer. I wonder if the shift was due to my angle to the sun and perhaps that explains the drastic shift and graduation of the blue. Time to do some more research and then try it again.
  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,681 moderator
    edited July 24, 2016
    Circular polarizers and panos just don't go together unfortunately due to the gradients in each frame that won't blend. That aside, I love this shot! thumb.gif
    Moderator of Landscapes forum
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  • roaddog52roaddog52 Registered Users Posts: 1,323 Major grins
    edited July 24, 2016
    kdog wrote: »
    Circular polarizers and panos just don't go together unfortunately due to the gradients in each frame that won't blend. That aside, I love this shot! thumb.gif

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  • black mambablack mamba Registered Users Posts: 8,323 Major grins
    edited July 24, 2016
    kdog wrote: »
    Circular polarizers and panos just don't go together unfortunately due to the gradients in each frame that won't blend. That aside, I love this shot! thumb.gif

    Many thanks to you, Joel, for pointing this out. I don't do panos so I have never experienced the negative effects a circular polarizer may likely cause when stitching frames in pano work. I do, of course, encounter the polarizer's effects, both good and bad, in other arenas on a frequent basis.

    Tom
    I always wanted to lie naked on a bearskin rug in front of a fireplace. Cracker Barrel didn't take kindly to it.
  • hstrynrdhstrynrd Registered Users Posts: 122 Major grins
    edited July 24, 2016
    kdog wrote: »
    Circular polarizers and panos just don't go together unfortunately due to the gradients in each frame that won't blend. That aside, I love this shot! thumb.gif

    Thanks for the feedback. Like I said, my learning curve is steep so I appreciate the help. Next time I will remember to take the polarizer off.
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