Great Smoky Mountains Panorama

I shot this handheld and it is composed of 7 or 8 shots. Merged them in Photoshop. I'm new to panoramas and would like any comments or critiques. Thanks.

After looking at this one twice, let's discuss your pano; here are some questions and thoughts to consider and/or answer if so desired :

1) What makes this interesting to you?

2) What is the "subject" of this panorama?

3) What are you wanting the viewer to see or get out of this image?

4) Viewing the EXIF info, you shot this at 2:14pm, 1/200th sec @ f/8 for the composite images. Understanding you shot this handheld, do you think you could have increased the f-stop (f/11 - f/16 or middle range of the lens) and reduced the shutter speed a bit (1/15th - 1/60th sec)?

5) Did you do PP on the individual shots prior to creating the panorama in PS? If so, do you think you can pull more detail out of the clouds or add a grad filter to the image in software?

6) Was there anything in the foreground that might be interesting to lead the viewer into the scene?

7) Could shooting from a lower angle have changed the vision of the image?

KoalaCowboy wrote in post #16964335
After looking at this one twice, let's discuss your pano; here are some questions and thoughts to consider and/or answer if so desired :

1) What makes this interesting to you?

2) What is the "subject" of this panorama?

3) What are you wanting the viewer to see or get out of this image?

4) Viewing the EXIF info, you shot this at 2:14pm, 1/200th sec @ f/8 for the composite images. Understanding you shot this handheld, do you think you could have increased the f-stop (f/11 - f/16 or middle range of the lens) and reduced the shutter speed a bit (1/15th - 1/60th sec)?

5) Did you do PP on the individual shots prior to creating the panorama in PS? If so, do you think you can pull more detail out of the clouds or add a grad filter to the image in software?

6) Was there anything in the foreground that might be interesting to lead the viewer into the scene?

7) Could shooting from a lower angle have changed the vision of the image?

Thank you very much for your response, KoalaCowboy. 1) There are several things that make this interesting to me. I like the way the valley flows into the distance and winds through the frame from left to right. I also like the high, misty clouds and the natural beauty of a mountainous forest, 2) the subject would be the mountains and associated valley, 3) I would hope the viewer would get a sense of the beauty of the Smoky Mountains, 4) I probably could have stopped the lens down a little more and shot a slower shutter speed, 5), I did not do PP on the original shots before combining in PS….I did PP the image a little once it was combined. I will revisit the originals and see what I can do, 6) The foreground was more trees (like the ones in lower right of image) and I chose to crop the photo to leave them out, 7) I was on a walkway and could not have easily shot from a significantly lower image. I could, however, have moved significantly to the right. Thanks again for your thoughtful response. You have given me several things to consider for next time.

fishbio wrote in post #16964860
Thank you very much for your response, KoalaCowboy. 1) There are several things that make this interesting to me. I like the way the valley flows into the distance and winds through the frame from left to right. I also like the high, misty clouds and the natural beauty of a mountainous forest, 2) the subject would be the mountains and associated valley, 3) I would hope the viewer would get a sense of the beauty of the Smoky Mountains, 4) I probably could have stopped the lens down a little more and shot a slower shutter speed, 5), I did not do PP on the original shots before combining in PS….I did PP the image a little once it was combined. I will revisit the originals and see what I can do, 6) The foreground was more trees (like the ones in lower right of image) and I chose to crop the photo to leave them out, 7) I was on a walkway and could not have easily shot from a significantly lower image. I could, however, have moved significantly to the right. Thanks again for your thoughtful response. You have given me several things to consider for next time.

Glad I could provide some thoughts to consider for future image creation!

(knew this was the Smokey Mountains, just wasn't sure 'where'. Will be passing through Great Smokey Mountain NP on the last leg of my 2014 Fall Colors trip [2-1/2 weeks through upper midwest, New England states, WV, western NC and eastern TN]).

KoalaCowboy wrote in post #16964905

Glad I could provide some thoughts to consider for future image creation!

(knew this was the Smokey Mountains, just wasn't sure 'where'. Will be passing through Great Smokey Mountain NP on the last leg of my 2014 Fall Colors trip [2-1/2 weeks through upper midwest, New England states, WV, western NC and eastern TN]).

Sounds like a nice trip! This scene was along Hwy 441 between Gatlinburg, TN and Cherokee, NC. There are several scenic overlooks along this route.

Concur! Have a campsite booked (Smokemont CG) for one overnight (so I'll arrive mid-afternoon, catch sunset, then sunrise and morning before heading off to my next stop)