Lately I have been visiting Ireland quite a lot - I love the quiet and tranquil landscape vistas. Weather is always a problem (Pentax may be weather resistant but I'm not), nevertheless light can be amazing before and after the rain.

Those pictures were shot handheld with the Pentax K-1 and the DFA 24-70mm, somewhere along the Castlebar river on the trail from Castlebar to the National Museum of Ireland Country Life.

[Hattifnatt]

Beautiful series, I really love #3 the best, it reminds me of Middle Earth

Thank you!

A very nice set, I haven't been up that way in a long time, reminds me of walking down by the banks of the Maine River near Castlemaine (where Austrailia's Wild Colonial boy and my late very much loved Mother in Law originated). Oculus would need to visit this part of the world to know that the lighting can be very surprising and you really don't need to do much pp. I note from your profile that you are a Geophysicist may I suggest that you look up the works of George Victor Du Noyer 1817 - 1869, although an artist he worked for the Geographical Survey of Ireland, his sketches of the Geography of the time are really beautiful, there was an exhibition of his work in the National Gallery of Ireland back in 1995 and you could probably still find some of his works there, a paperback catalogue was published at the time and you never know the odd copy might still be available.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into his work.

Our light is quite different to any place else, possibly due to being on the edge of the Atlantic.

Well I thought it's just me but it seems that I'm not alone in this regard. I've been to a lot of places, but I think indeed the light in Ireland is quite unique.

I'm glad you are not opposed to criticisms. If the only purpose of sharing pictures is to receive adulation then the entire endeavor is vain and we remain forever mired in mediocrity. I like to post in this forum because I've received very helpful criticism here, and because written responses are the modus operandi (not little blue thumbs of empty approbation).

I'll be honest and admit I won't mind receiving adulation )) but I think I have quite a long road ahead of me before actually deserving it, if I ever will. That being said, I think every kind of criticism (yes, even non constructive kind) is helpful because it gives you some information about how others view your work. But non constructive criticism is rare on this forum (at least in my experience).

[John Huzar]

I think they are beautiful,does it really matters if the image is 100% correct from technical point of view?? Do you love someone because it's a perfect person or you just love that person because it's perfect in your eyes?

[Sandy Hancock]

Fantastic series. The processing fits with your vision, and that's what matters.
You're making me want to use my DFA24-70 more, and return to Ireland

[wgosma]

Lately I have been visiting Ireland quite a lot - I love the quiet and tranquil landscape vistas. Weather is always a problem (Pentax may be weather resistant but I'm not), nevertheless light can be amazing before and after the rain.

Those pictures were shot handheld with the Pentax K-1 and the DFA 24-70mm, somewhere along the Castlebar river on the trail from Castlebar to the National Museum of Ireland Country Life.

Impressive photos...such beautiful scenery and the light is to die for - nice shooting!

[Dewman]

Beautiful images, one and all. YOUR finished products are magnificent.... and I envy your chance to visit that part of the world. I've always thought it was in very poor taste to criticize anyone's work on "Post Your Photos." I was taught that if you can't say something good, then don't say anything at all. Cosmin, what YOU saw in your mind's eye might be something completely different that what someone else saw. YOU were there, THEY weren't! I loved the PP in your photos and I'd love to learn how you managed it.


Good upbringing taught me that some things are best left unsaid.

[dcmsox2004]

beautiful captures of this magical land... thanks for sharing, dave m

[photomax7]

As Fries said...your post processing has a distinctive look...if we all did similar work this site would be the worse off for it...I like your treatments.

[Hattifnatt]

I think they are beautiful,does it really matters if the image is 100% correct from technical point of view?? Do you love someone because it's a perfect person or you just love that person because it's perfect in your eyes?

That's a nice analogy, thank you!

Fantastic series. The processing fits with your vision, and that's what matters. You're making me want to use my DFA24-70 more, and return to Ireland

Thank you. I think the WR of DFA 24-70 comes extremely handy, considering the weather in Ireland. Where will you be going? if I'm in the same region at the time of your visit, maybe we can team up for a beer at least

Impressive photos...such beautiful scenery and the light is to die for - nice shooting!

Beautiful images, one and all. YOUR finished products are magnificent.... and I envy your chance to visit that part of the world. I've always thought it was in very poor taste to criticize anyone's work on "Post Your Photos." I was taught that if you can't say something good, then don't say anything at all. Cosmin, what YOU saw in your mind's eye might be something completely different that what someone else saw. YOU were there, THEY weren't! I loved the PP in your photos and I'd love to learn how you managed it.

beautiful captures of this magical land... thanks for sharing, dave m

As Fries said...your post processing has a distinctive look...if we all did similar work this site would be the worse off for it...I like your treatments.

Thank you all. My processing workflow for landscapes is quite simple and usually it takes me less than 5 minutes (if it takes more than I consider dropping the frame altogether). First I use Lightroom where I apply the the lens profile and corrections, some cropping if needed, set the WB, bump up the exposure (sometimes), bump up the shadows and bring down the highlights to my taste. I don't alter the colors in any way. After this I apply some noise reduction (sometimes I skip this step because usually I'm shooting at ISO 100). Then I apply some sharpening (using Nik Presharpener) and continue with Nik Color Efex, where most of the times I use some combination of detail extractor and graduated neutral density filters, and maybe warm my photos a little bit. Back to Lightroom, sometimes I do some minor cloning, if I have dirt spots on the sensor or lens which I didn't notice before post-processing.