2014 Critque #1 Albion Basion

[Utah Baker]

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Most recent outing to Albion Basin, Ut. I was pleased with this one, but let me know what you think, taken hand held with the Lumix Panasonic, so just a jpeg.

[autzig]

Janice, I like this one better than the cloud shots. You have a nice foreground with the colorful flowers, the sunlit meadow next, the trees and then the mountain. It makes the viewer feel like he is actually there, so your composition is really nice. The lighting is nice too, with the shade in the foreground and sun in the meadow and on the trees.

There are some things I don't like about it though. The first is the sky. You can't help that it is cloudy but I think that by increasing the contrast, you could make them more distinctive rather than the blob of white on the right. I also don't like the cut off tree on the right side. Check the edges of your shot in the viewfinder before exposing the shot. It may be that your viewfinder doesn't show you the scene at 100% and that's why that tree is there but it should be gone.

Overall, this is a very nice photo that I think you could make better without too much effort in Lightroom.

Al

[Utah Baker]

Hi Al, thanks for your comments! I went back and adjusted the contrast slide all the way up, previously I had it just at +55. Don't know if it made a great deal of difference. Details, details, details, sooo nice to have an extra pair of eyes! I did not even notice the tree on the right side, but took care of that as well. I have not been anywhere all year, so had nothing to take photos of any interest, nose to the grind stone, maybe that's the same boat everyones been in! Hopefully with Autumn approaching and trips being planned we'll see somemore activiy here. Great to hear from you!

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[Andy]

Hi Janice: Al's comments are, as usual, very insightful. I will add: most consumer level cameras, including, many DSLR cameras, have viewfinders and LCD backs that do not see everything the lens sees (when they do, we refer to it as 100% coverage). I always tried to learn the difference between what I saw and what was being captured so I could "plan" for it. I tried to remember I could crop but not add (these days my cameras have 100% coverage).

This point also underscores the value of shooting from a tripod whenever possible. This gives you time to set the image up in the viewfinder, and then mentally step back and look at the edges, the geometry of composition, any distractions, etc. Much more difficult to do handheld.

Moving the overall sliders (like the contrast slider) is a bit of a blunt instrument. It affects every part of the image. Are you using Lightroom? The clarity slider may give you a more fine tuned result (its not a contrast adjustment). Also, it will really benefit you to learn to isolate areas of the image. You can then adjust contrast in just those areas. I would like to work just the sky in this image, by itself.

[Utah Baker]

Hi Andy, yes I am working in LR5, just learning it, actually more experimenting! I have read some you tube instructions, but just dabbling and by the time I get to go back and spend some time at it, I have to got back and reread! After complaining about not getting to go anywhere this yet this year, we just got back from driving a car back to our son in Tenn., took a little detour to Mt. Rushmore and a few other stops. Looking forward to dowloading the pictures and see if there is anything worth sharing. Thanks as always, Janice