[IsaacT]

I have been trying to grow in my eye for landscapes as of late and I would really like some constructive criticism. Please let me know what you like(and why), and also what you dislike(why and how you would improve it). I will link some of my favorite recent pictures for your assistance with. All of these were night photographs except for the one taken in the overcast morning.

Thank you,
Isaac

Had to hike out 3 miles in the middle of the night for this and the next picture. Was just a little dangerous and definitely had a few moments of adrenaline rush.




this was taken out in Llano. Weather app told me it would be clear, but it was definitely NOT. So I made the most of it.


Thank you all again! I look forward to getting some great advice from people much more experienced than I.

------------------------------------------------------------EDIT-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are the edits based on you all's recommendations. I couldn't center the one with the road really, partially due to the way the road is and partly because of dealing with parallax. If I crop it, it is still decentered.
But I did clone out the glare in the tree pic and bring out some shadows(although I still like it a bit dark on the left) and I changed the road pic to B&W.





Thanks for all of the advice!

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Last edited by IsaacT; 02-01-2015 at 08:25 PM.

[tuco]

I'd say only the last two are landscapes.

[jgblodgett]

The first two have some fantastic texture!! I especially like the depth of the first one!! Very cool

[Daniel Miller]

I like the first photo quite a bit, especially the balance, and the contrast in texture between the water and rocks.

[IsaacT]

Tuco, what would you call the first two? I suppose the city ones would be classified under cityscapes?

[Miguel]

First, I'd suggest you seek feedback on only a couple of images at a time. Tracking back to multiple images can be tricky over the length of a thread of disparate responses.

I like the first two because they are the most creative and reflect the energy you put into them. Sounds like a memorable hike. The first one has nice movement of the reflective water. I'd work on bringing out some more detail in the darkest areas facing the viewer. Generally, having pure black blocks is not preferable, especially when you have some neat grey tones in the same image.
I'd also clone out the flare artifacts in the upper center of the shot.
The second one is less engaging to me as it seems like you are filling the frame with too much. A wider angle perspective would have helped. Also those blocky areas facing the viewer need judicious lightening.

The cityscapes seem more like student work. I've seen these shots before. You need to correct the perspective on the tall building too.

The park shot has nice colors, but that shot gets taken three hundred times per year. Having the dock appearing randomly in a key real estate part of the shot makes this a snapshot.

The Llano shot is OK, but I don't know what the subject of the picture is. I'm generally not a fan of roads in landscape shots unless your context is modern anti-landscape documentation. Also, to me, clouds are much more photogenic than clear skies. The added depth and dimension make an exponential difference in color and form.

M

[TaoMaas]

I like 1, 2, and 6 although I think they could stand to be tweaked. 3 & 4 are decent cityscapes, but beg for more unique viewpoints. I like #5, but almost think it could have been a vertical with just the dock and distant shore. There's not a lot in the left side of the frame to hold me. Just my opinions...your mileage may vary.

[IsaacT]

I pulled images 3-5 so as to reduce the workload and only keep my favorites. Thank you all for the responses so far. I will look at the 1st photo again in light room and see what further edits would look like.

[Dlanor Sekao]

Quite frankly....the first two are terrific ! The last one....well....stick to things you know....LIKE THE FIRST TWO !

[IsaacT]

What kind of photography would you all categorize the first two as?

[joerotheray]

First two are smashing. On the third I thought B&W would do it more justice.

[Dlanor Sekao]

this was taken out in Llano. .

This wasn't by any chance just off I-10 was it ? Or right around that area ? I have been all over the Llano for turtle pics. In fact just downstream from Junction Texas on the Llano...I accidentally buried a Spotmatic about 20 years ago...lol

[IsaacT]

Ha! No, it was a county road just off of Hwy 29 about 10 miles past llano. I am from Austin, so 29 is the easiest way for me to get out there.

[kadajawi]

I love them. The only thing disturbing me about the first one is the lens flare... that can be photoshopped away. And the last one should be more centered... you can see that it's a bit on the left of the road. Otherwise it's pretty magical.

[DK77]

Interesting stuff! I love the processing on the first two. Very different, moody but punchy at the same time. The light is what makes those shots, that's not to say the composition isn't good as well. I have a hard time critiquing them, but if I had to suggest something I would just say to keep exploring that style, and look for more and more interesting compositions, strong shapes and patterns and subjects.

For the road photo, it bothers me that you're close to, but not quite in the center of the road. I'm a big fan of symmetry in a shot like that. As many times as I've photographed roads and shot them from different angles, I just haven't found anything that beats putting it in the dead center. I don't know if you're heard or seen Rick Sammon talk before - he's a great teacher of photography - one of his "Sammonisms" is "dead center is deadly". In the case of shooting in the middle of a road this takes on a more literal meaning - especially during a long exposure, but my job is to critique the photo, not the process of creating it, and I feel that roads are one of the exceptions to the otherwise sound "dead center is deadly" advice.

Other than that, not too much to say - maybe there's a greenish tint to the sky?