Landscape composition (56k warning)

[kndreyn]

Hi folks,

Just getting feet wet on landscape and nature photography and could use a little help with composition.

Here is a scene where a small brook enters a river. It was a hard capture for me because of the large rock right in the middle of things. My idea was a diagonal composition leading from the small brook in the bottom left, moving up and to the right leading to the river. A friend has already told me I should have cropped about 1/3 of the right side off. I'm not so sure I like that. What do you folks think?

http://www.certainty.net/~kndreyn/cukefalls/LG3M7627.jpg

Next question is on waterfalls compositions. Here are a couple that I took, and I had no idea how to frame the waterfalls correctly to make the scene more interesting.

http://www.certainty.net/~kndreyn/cukefalls/LG3M7598.jpg

http://www.certainty.net/~kndreyn/cukefalls/LG3M7608.jpg

Next is this one where the small stream is entering the river.

http://www.certainty.net/~kndreyn/cukefalls/LG3M7632.jpg

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I love POTN!!

[Paul Gerrard]

Well where can i start, Its very difficult to take good landscapes they can be quite boring unless there is something special about them Sky, Colors, Odd shapes Clouds etc. Light is critical, early morning / early evening (long shadows create these interesting shapes ive already mentioned) Conposition of the picture is also a large factor, use of filters, a polerisor would have made a considerable diffrence to your shots. Try manipulating your shots in Photoshop Keep going youll get there

and whats more if you like them then thats fine. dont always listen to critisism remember potography is an art form nothing is perfect.

[Titus213]

Pictures are flat. Looks they were shot at high noon. Looks like a beautiful area though. As to the first, the rock dead center just doesn't work. Off to either side maybe, but not center. Again, flat picture. Washed out. I tried cropping number 1 thru the rock both right and left and still got nothing....

[ChP]

I agree with Titus, the photos look too flat because of the lighting. The colors of the photos contribute to the flatness. Maybe you could use a circular polarizer.

[rammy]

Well done in trying, I think your first shot is interesting and yes you could have done more with the waterfall in the composition.

I agree with others regarding the lighting. This, along with composition are probably the most important factors when taking landscape shots. It is not the case that you should not take a picture if it is midday or over cast or dull, just be wary of the effect the light will have and try and use filters or PP in PS ;)

The first shot is kind of a natural framing shot. That is, you have used the elements in the immediate environment, to frame the boulder. It being smack in the middle does not help as the image is too naturally symmetrical. I think symmetry does work in nature and landscapes, but it must be uniform to make an impact. Try taking the shot with just the river bed and rock. Use a slow shutter to blur the water. What is the scene like from the opposite angle?

With the waterfall shot, try and add some depth to the image. That is, try and get interest at the front of the shot (nearest you), the middle of the shot (place waterfall here) and the back of the shot (find an element for the background). Also use a medium FStop to get front to back sharpnesss and use a ND and ND Grad filter to slow down the light.

[kndreyn]

Thanks Rammy,

That's the kind of information I was looking for here. I did have a polarizer filter with me, but had left it in the truck. I'm starting to see now how midday sunlight washes out pictures. I'll pick up a couple of ND filters the next time I'm at the camera store. They told me I wouldn't need them when I bought the camera. But that's the only way I could have dropped the shutterspeed down low enough to smooth the flow of the water. Thanks again for the help Rammy.