Capital Reef

slowpez · 10-28-2009, 01:31 PM

Since these options aren't given I thought I would print them separately:
Exposure: 1/5 Aperture: f/18.0

C&C please. I think it is pretty good but so far I have been pretty wrong on my assessment. It is hard when the old eyesight goes!

Click on image for larger size

*Ash* · 10-28-2009, 01:53 PM

A popular spot for shots.
This one's OK but doesn't have a striking feature that entices the eye to look deeper into the image.
Unfortunately the shadows take away from the detail of the monument and some of the foreground, which could be dodged to improve that.
You seemed to have used a CP-L which deepened part of the sky but not the whole sky (that's the only thing I don't like about CPLs), so PP to correct/smoothen this would be good.
The image is sharp, but beware of diffraction creeping in to soften the image, so the choice of f/18 may not have been necessary when f/8-11 for a landscape would have sufficed.
Otherwise a decent result.

slowpez · 10-28-2009, 02:16 PM

Originally Posted by Ash

A popular spot for shots.
This one's OK but doesn't have a striking feature that entices the eye to look deeper into the image.
Unfortunately the shadows take away from the detail of the monument and some of the foreground, which could be dodged to improve that.
You seemed to have used a CP-L which deepened part of the sky but not the whole sky (that's the only thing I don't like about CPLs), so PP to correct/smoothen this would be good.
The image is sharp, but beware of diffraction creeping in to soften the image, so the choice of f/18 may not have been necessary when f/8-11 for a landscape would have sufficed.
Otherwise a decent result.

Thanks Ash that was really helpful. I used the book "Understanding Exposure" and thought that you needed F-22 for landscapes. I have been taking more pictures with F-16 and less but just don't understand why this is good for landscapes. Seems the depth of field would be decreased too much or does it not make any difference in a landscape?
Thanks for any help, Susan

**Ole** · 10-29-2009, 03:50 PM

My eye disappears out to the right when looking at your photo. I would crop from the right so that the bush gets moved all the way to the edge (and then some - the branches that stick out to the right need to go). I think that a crop like that will make the eye go from the bush up the slope to the key feature, and that you'll have a pleasing photograph as a result.

K-9 · 10-30-2009, 07:37 AM

As for f22, it depends on what is in the foreground and background and what you want focused. For everything to be sharp, you may have to use that aperture. Here, you do have some bushes in the foreground, but if you shot just beyond them, you could have shot the mountain with f8 and it would work fine.

slowpez · 11-04-2009, 12:16 PM

Thanks Ole and K-9. Helpful comments all around. After all this time I just wish I was doing better. So much to learn and so little time. The crop idea is a good one Ole and I'll definetely give it a shot.
Susan (WIFI has been spotty so I never know when I will get back to the forums so forgive if my response time seems a bit slow)

**Damn Brit** · 11-04-2009, 08:12 PM

Hi Susan, long time no speak. It's worth knowing, with a wide angle lens, you will have much more DOF than with a longer focal length, so you don't need to shut down the aperture as much.

slowpez · 11-11-2009, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by Damn Brit

Hi Susan, long time no speak. It's worth knowing, with a wide angle lens, you will have much more DOF than with a longer focal length, so you don't need to shut down the aperture as much.

Hey Gary, six months is a long time to spend on the road and WiFi is really spotty. We should get home next week and clean up the RV so we can head out again the first of December. Thanks for the info on DOF. I really feel I took some really good photos this time out but some really bad ones as well. The good news is, my hubby is going to get me a new camera. Now if I can just talk him into the K-7.

**Damn Brit** · 11-11-2009, 03:57 PM

Originally Posted by slowpez

Hey Gary, six months is a long time to spend on the road and WiFi is really spotty. We should get home next week and clean up the RV so we can head out again the first of December. Thanks for the info on DOF. I really feel I took some really good photos this time out but some really bad ones as well. The good news is, my hubby is going to get me a new camera. Now if I can just talk him into the K-7.

Or a K-x and some glass.

Where's your next trip going to take you? We just had a few days in Yosemite, my first time, absolutely beautiful. I have the NAtional Parks bug now.

goddo31 · 11-13-2009, 07:52 AM

Hi,
I'm not as 'qualified' as the other people who have replied in this thread, but thought I would mention a couple of things.

- First is that you have received some good comments

- I like the lighting and the colours in this image. I'm guessing this was taken late afternoon?
- I agree with Ole in particular about the composition. I think I can see a small trail to the bottom left of the image, perhaps this could have helped as a lead in line
- I also think that maybe placing the highest point of the rock formation closer to a 'rule of thirds' intersection point may help.

Just my thoughts, take them or discard as you will

slowpez · 11-16-2009, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by Damn Brit

Or a K-x and some glass. Where's your next trip going to take you? We just had a few days in Yosemite, my first time, absolutely beautiful. I have the NAtional Parks bug now.

We have been to 37 National Parks so far and hope to continue the journey. Not sure where we will be going next. Just got back home today and after six months on the road we are thinking short trips. The great lakes region or New England maybe. Off again on the first of December for a few weeks at the beach. Our favorite time to go.

Thanks for the comments goddo31. Believe it or not, I do think I have the shot from a different angle with that path leading in as you suggested. I'll have to try and find it if I ever find time to go through all those pictures I took. I really do appreciate help from everyone. This forum has really been such a great help to me.
Susan

MRRiley · 11-20-2009, 04:12 PM

The foreground bush does nothing helpful for this image. In fact, it hurts it because it tends to stop your visual scan in it's tracks. I'd crop the entire bottom 2/5ths of the image (just above the yellow bush) and treat this as a panorama. A subsequent 1/5th crop from the right places the outcrop in a pleasing position and also eliminates much of the problem with the sky saturation.

Mike

p.s. Ole's crop suggestion works too, but I still get stuck on the bush...

slowpez · 11-21-2009, 08:24 AM

Thanks for your suggestion Mike, Crop it is and it does definetely look better. Thanks again everyone, Susan