Eastern Sierra Photos

[PixelPusher]

I am very early in this new hobby. This was an attempt at taking something more than just vacation snapshots. With a wife and two kids along, it is pretty hard to stay anywhere more than a few minutes and wait for the right light and composition etc....;)

I got all my tips from POTN for landscape shots and at least shot in the morning or late afternoon, F stops between 16 - 20 with circular multi-coated polarizer with heavy tripod.

Please critique, especially on composition and how to make it more interesting. Someday I would like to take a photograph!

#1 South Lake outside of Bishop
http://www.lifetomotion.com/4web/pic1.jpg

#2 Museum in Mammoth
http://www.lifetomotion.com/4web/pic3.jpg

#3 Convict lake from a boat
http://www.lifetomotion.com/4web/pic4.jpg

#4 Convict lake from the shore (love the color of the water)
http://www.lifetomotion.com/4web/pic5.jpg

#5 Lake Mary
http://www.lifetomotion.com/4web/pic6.jpg

[masterwillems]

Number one has a good exposed sky, but the rest is a little under exposed for my likings.

2,3,4 has some hot spots.

Number 5 has a good exposure and if you would crop out the bottom I think it would be more interesting (dont like the stones, bushes, and person in the picture.)

If you want to make allot of scenery shots, maybe an investment in GND filters would be an idea, a CPL is more for removing unwanted reflections.

[BigAlz1]

You shots are good but they have a cast to them and are a bit on the dull side. Just spend a bit more time in PP and you'll be real happy with your shoots. Happier I should say.
This is a really quick bump of detail and cast removal.

http://i646.photobucket.com/albums/uu185/BigAlz1/pic6-as-Smart-Object-1.jpg

[Robert_Lay]

My comments will be based entirely on the histograms of the pictures.

Your first shot is correct in the highlights, but the mid to dark tones are too dark, giving the appearance of blocked up shadows and very low contrast for the darker tones.

Your second shot has both blown out highlights and blocked up shadows. The mid range contrast is not too bad but is low. The dynamic range of this scene is beyond what you can capture without HDR processing.

Your 3rd shot has very little contrast in the deeper shadows and the white point is set a little too high. The highlights could be a tad higher, and the deepest shadows are blocked up.

The 4th shot also has the white point set a little too high while the black point is about right. However, the lower range of tones from 0 to mid-range could be spread out a little higher to give better mid range contrast.

Your 5th shot has the same characteristics as the 4th shot.

The edit by BigAlz1 is going in the right direction but was badly overdone - the highlights are now badly blown out.

All of these problems could have been alleviated by recognizing at the outset that you were working with scenes having exceptionally high dynamic range. There are at least two strategies for combating this problem - 1) At a minimum, shoot in RAW mode, and 2) Use HDR processing. These scenes were all excellent candidates for HDR.

Another workaround is to employ a graduated neutral density filter that lowers the sky values by a full f-stop. This would not be of much help in the 2nd scene but would help in the others.

Check the following link for similar situation which was handled beautifully!
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=731346

[PixelPusher]

Thanks for the tips Robert, I noticed that some of the best landscape photos that I have seen here are using neutral density filters. I will see about getting one of those on my next outing.

I really battled with the first photo, the ranges in the cloud I wanted to keep. It really caught my attention and pulled my interest. But in doing so the trees all looked so dark. Making the trees lighter made the cloud blown out. Is this where a neutral density filter helps?

Thanks

[JWitmer]

I love that area. Me and my dad always end up camping at Mono Village and Convict.

[Robert_Lay]

Thanks for the tips Robert, I noticed that some of the best landscape photos that I have seen here are using neutral density filters. I will see about getting one of those on my next outing.

I really battled with the first photo, the ranges in the cloud I wanted to keep. It really caught my attention and pulled my interest. But in doing so the trees all looked so dark. Making the trees lighter made the cloud blown out. Is this where a neutral density filter helps?

Thanks
No - it's not the neutral density that is relevant in this case; it's the gradient.

The main purpose of ND filters is to just knock down the brightness of the scene right across the board - usually in aid of being able to use a longer exposure.

A Gradient filter is designed to produce more and more reduction of brightness in the upper part of the scene (or lower and lower attenuation of the light in the lower portion of the scene. The word "neutral" refers to the characteristic of not being color sensitive. That is, "neutral" as opposed to being red, green or blue.

[BigAlz1]

AH, I wasn;t paying attention Bob to the clouds in the sky. Dang your good, I may re-do it just for the fact I am upset at myself for missing that part of the detail. But I agree I liked the shots wel enough and they all need just a little push in the right direction.