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04-16-2013, 07:33 PM   #1
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Beginner... Critique Please...
Lens: 17-50mm Camera: Pentax K-5 ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: Above 6s Aperture: F22 

Im still fairly new to photography and want to learn the art of landscape photography so i need your help to critique my 2 photos ive taken recently..

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04-16-2013, 08:00 PM   #2
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Might be just me but the water lacks life. The "foggy" effect long exposure gives to water is nice but in this scenario i find a faster shutter speed might have kept it a little more lively.
I am also a beginner so my opinion has to be taken with a grain of salt

Other than that the sand on the beach and the "wood tent" looks great.
04-16-2013, 08:12 PM   #3
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The first one is much stronger. It has something in the foreground of interest, and the colors are more interesting. I really like the long exposure effect, but I've found that it is always best to "bracket" it. I'll usually take 2s, 10s, 20s, and I'm surprised how often the 2s shot is the best one. These seem just a bit too misty. Maybe shoot on a calmer day with shorter shutter.
04-16-2013, 08:31 PM   #4
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good early attempts here and the colors sure are popping. The sand in the first perhaps a little too yellow...but it could just be that golden light.
They both look a bit blurry to me. i cant figure out if it is misplaced focus or some wind movement during the 30sec. I am not a fan of this long of a water exposure unless that is the specific effect you desire. Some light lapping of waved with 2 sec is very nice sometimes.
The second image is almost there but needs something exciting in the foreground to bring it to life. had you identified a similar piece of wood, seaweed, shoe(?), etc and gotten down close and low, you would've had the shot.
keep up the good work!

04-16-2013, 08:43 PM   #5
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Photo 1:

Good:
Composition not too bad.
Sticks add interest
Rocky cliffs add some interest to the background.

Bad:
Seems a little out of focus.
Water looks grey and icky.
Sky also looks a bit grey and murky (not much could be done there)
Sticks and sand look like they've got way too much yellow, it doesn't match with the rest of the image and looks like 2 different images with different lighting, have been stitched.




Photo 2:

Same as above with the water and sky
maybe try moving closer to the rocky formation and have it lead the eye into the frame.
I'd crop most of the bottom off ther image, it's just grey emptiness.
04-16-2013, 08:53 PM   #6
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Thanks for investing trust in this forum.
There are myriad ways to create a landscape image, and really the only way that matters is one that rings true to you. I'm going to riff off your ideas in the first image (which as Koziok says is much stronger) and show you how I would re-engineer it.

I find that the major strength of the image are the layers of color. They are subtle and soothing. These are ingredients of what I call an environmental landscape, something with a touch of Zen within. To me the sticks totally distract, so I would clone these out. I would also rebalance the vertical elements of the shot by cropping off the top 15% of the sky. Now you have four layers of color and depth.

The lower two are pretty nice. The sky I'd experiment with making more uniform and slightly desaturated to fit better with the lower two layers. You can experiment with negative clarity, shadows, contrast in software--Lightroom's GND filters are great for this, but I hope you get my drift.

The middle layer of cliffs and hills I leave to you for experiment with. A darker tone would provide some interesting separation. The nearer cliffs, however, do have some nice earthy orange tones that might look good lightened. Have some fun.

Hope this helps,

M
04-16-2013, 09:01 PM   #7
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Thank you all for the replies im definitely taking your helpful critiques in to improve my photography skills.. Im really enjoying landscape photography.

04-16-2013, 09:30 PM   #8
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Also i just looked up ur EXIF, try shooting with a f7.1-f11 aperture, usually its a little closer to the lenses sweet spot for sharpness.
did you try any of these programs ; Lightroom/onOne effect/Photoshop/Photomatix
Photomatix is especially nice if you want to shoot HDR and combine the photos.
Have a good time! Landscape photography is also what i like most, its lots of fun and these forums sure help a lot to learn a lot!
04-19-2013, 10:04 PM   #9
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Welcome to the forum
I like the first one -- a kind of surreal scene, & the sticks are placed in a good spot to 'anchor' the corner of the image. I do have to agree it doesn't seem quite sharp. I'm not sure if I like the water that blurry, without seeing what it would have looked like if it was less blurry. Although a "rule" is not to put the horizon right in the middle, I don't mind it here. Overall the shot creates a kind of fantasy-landscape effect... would be pretty neat if it was a little sharper -- it's mostly the sand.
#2 is one in which the horizon-in-the-middle rule is more apparent. This one doesn't quite work for me. There doesn't seem to be much of a point of interest in it. Also is it just me or is the horizon tilted a wee bit?
04-22-2013, 03:07 AM   #10
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I prefer the first image.

I would like to see a bit more detail in the sea, its a bit too alien world ish for me like this.
04-22-2013, 05:05 AM   #11
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Others have made valid suggestions for composing, etc. First image is striking, but:
F22 is too small an aperture. For landscapes on APS-C, stick to around F8 to F11 (maximum resolution will be around F8; by F16 you're losing detail to diffraction, F22 is distinctly suboptimal). Use a two or three stop neutral density filter to increase the exposure time as desired. If you don't have one, but do have a CPL that will do in a pinch.
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