[bucfan1234]

This is more of a seascape than a landscape in which I strayed from the rule of thirds a bit in an effort to highlight the symmetry of the dunes that frame the u shaped path down to the water and the three angled tracks of footsteps leading to it.. This was taken mid morning as the fog hanging over the ocean was burning off. I was going for contrasty film look here, something like a fine grained 400 speed film, on a shot that was shot in BW mode on the camera then tweaked in LR. As always, your comments and constructive criticism are welcome.

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Last edited by bucfan1234; 01-15-2013 at 12:39 PM.

[Alliecat]

Hey.... were you here?? It looks quite like somewhere nearby! Complete with hazy horizon.
I like it; I think it's ok to break the "rules" if you have a good reason for it & know why you're doing it Putting the gap right in the middle does lead your eye directly to the centre of the photo, so I think you accomplished the symmetry thing. I like the textures in the sand & grass. I wonder if a polarizing filter would give a little more definition or contrast between the streaks of cloud & the 'blue' sky.
I like the little clump of grass in the bottom right too. Kind of anchors the scene.
If this is someplace you can easily go back to, depending what direction you're facing, you might get some very nice star trails over the water with this same foreground. It's what I did with my similar-looking place

[groesener]

I'm no expert by any means with the rule of thirds, but I think you did just fine. Your focus is on the gap, and it is one-third up from the bottom, and centered. The whole idea of the rule of thirds, as I interpret it, is to encourage the viewer to see what you found interesting by placing it there. This photo accomplishes that nicely.

The photo leaves me wanting something. Can't quite explain what. If you had stood higher and captured more foreground by virtue of a sharper angle, or dropped a little lower and caught more of the clear sky, perhaps that would have been it, but I can't say for sure. It might be too that the black and white is leaving me hungry for the richness of the sand color subtleties. Here in Oregon our sand varies a lot from place to place, and sometimes within the same field of view. I'm still working on capturing it in a worthy shot. It's elusive. I really like this V, though, and I'm glad you shot it.

[smf]

It is excellent as presented. Thanks very much for posting it.

[bucfan1234]

Hey.... were you here?? It looks quite like somewhere nearby! Complete with hazy horizon.
I like it; I think it's ok to break the "rules" if you have a good reason for it & know why you're doing it Putting the gap right in the middle does lead your eye directly to the centre of the photo, so I think you accomplished the symmetry thing. I like the textures in the sand & grass. I wonder if a polarizing filter would give a little more definition or contrast between the streaks of cloud & the 'blue' sky.
I like the little clump of grass in the bottom right too. Kind of anchors the scene.
If this is someplace you can easily go back to, depending what direction you're facing, you might get some very nice star trails over the water with this same foreground. It's what I did with my similar-looking place

Just a bit south of you.

Thanks for the kind words about the photo, and for the suggestions. I have a CP in the bag, and I will try it next time out.

I like the idea of going back to get star trails, but I know next to nothing about astrophotography so I have no idea if it would would be good. I can get back there without too much effort, and I was facing south when I took the photo. Is facing south any good for star trails?

[bucfan1234]

I'm no expert by any means with the rule of thirds, but I think you did just fine. Your focus is on the gap, and it is one-third up from the bottom, and centered. The whole idea of the rule of thirds, as I interpret it, is to encourage the viewer to see what you found interesting by placing it there. This photo accomplishes that nicely.

The photo leaves me wanting something. Can't quite explain what. If you had stood higher and captured more foreground by virtue of a sharper angle, or dropped a little lower and caught more of the clear sky, perhaps that would have been it, but I can't say for sure. It might be too that the black and white is leaving me hungry for the richness of the sand color subtleties. Here in Oregon our sand varies a lot from place to place, and sometimes within the same field of view. I'm still working on capturing it in a worthy shot. It's elusive. I really like this V, though, and I'm glad you shot it.

Thanks! Standing higher in the spot was not really an option because the ground falls away a bit from where I stood. Maybe a wider angled lens could help to accomplish what you suggested. I will try it if I go back out there.

That is an awesome observation about the colors of the sand, and though ours tends to be more consistant. Color may be worth a try out there, and I do like the colors this lens makes when paired with my K-r. I actually made the trip to shoot some film in on old Franka camera and I brought the K-r along because I only get 8 shots per roll at 6x9. To keep with the goal I shot in BW JPEG, and I don't even know if I can retrieve a color version??

[bucfan1234]

It is excellent as presented. Thanks very much for posting it.

Thank you!

[Alliecat]

I like the idea of going back to get star trails, but I know next to nothing about astrophotography so I have no idea if it would would be good. I can get back there without too much effort, and I was facing south when I took the photo. Is facing south any good for star trails?

North with Polaris in the shot gives you circular trails around it. South will give you long curved streaks across the sky, plus perhaps a bright-cloudy area of the Milky Way. You can do shorter exposures facing south, & still have good-length trails. Stars closer to Polaris make shorter streaks in the same length exposure.
On 200 film I shot half an hour at f4-ish in both directions. You can extrapolate for your camera or look up some ideas online. Use as wide an angle as you have, with most of the scene being the sky & just a little of the ground at the bottom. Use a flashlight to light the grass & sand & you get a cool foreground -- just shine it around moving slowly over the ground for a few minutes. Make sure you stay behind the camera if you don't want flare.
There are threads on the forum with lots more info, just search "astrophotography". I liked this book. It's mostly about film though; there are many on digital. I'm just getting started with it, & it's too cold now. Looking forward to spring It looks like you have a good spot for it too.

[bucfan1234]

Thanks for taking the time to give me some advice. I am going to give it a try.