New River Gorge, WV

[spider87]

Hi,

I'm new to photography for the most part. I've played around a lot with my Canon Rebel XT and I purchased and read the new book out by DPS (Photo Nuts and Bolts). However, my next step, I'd say, would be to get some pics on here and see what you guys would change about them since I can't improve without knowing what I'm doing wrong.

I'm currently in the process of building a small studio in the basement for portraits and what not however I need better lighting for it which I will actually be getting tomorrow.

This is a picture I took off of the New River Gorge overlook in WV. It, I would say, is the best of the set. Most got over exposed because I didn't have a way to look and make sure I wasn't over exposing them.

So, how would you improve this pic?



Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Shutter speed: 1/500 sec.
Lens Aperature: F/5.6
Focal Length: 18 mm
Iso: 400
Metering Mode: Pattern

One thing I see, at full size it's a bit blurry but that's like HUGE so I doubt it would ever be used at that level but I figured it could be pointed out anyway.

I'm not really looking for anything specific I just want to see what others think about it. I was trying to get a nice shot of the Gorge that people wanted to look at.

[lonni]

Hi,
Its a nice shot, but i find it a bit boring. There is nothing to it. The hazyness does not work and actually obscures and is distracting, the sky is not blue and there are a few branches on the left hand side at the horizon that are distracting. In short i am pretty sure that everyone with a camera who has beenn in thta spot has the same photo at home.

The image could use a bit of tweaking in photoshop, make it more vibrant or saturate the colours.

Try taking the picture at another time of day, sunset and sunrise would add intrest to the sky, an overcast day or a ND filter would allow you to lengthen exposure adn cut some of that glare.

Alternatively try converting the image to a contrasty black and white and add some grain. That might add another angle

see this image for an example
Volcano by lonni · 365 Project

Sorry if i sounded a bit harsh, i didnt mean to be.

[Ennor]

understsnd that you're new to this but taking lanscape images in the middle of the day generally results in a flat and boring image as Ionni has pointed out. As in the case, it resulted in the sky being over exposed and washed out. the best time for landscape images is either early morning or late afternoon/early evening. The light is at a different angle producing shadows which in turn adds a whole new element to the story. the light in the middle of the day is gerenally, harsh and straight down, If there is cloud activity, even better. Nothing worse that a boring bright blue sky...
Personally, as the sky is washed out i would crop this image to just below the line of the trees discarding the sky altogether and then adjust the levels and curves throwing the emphasis onto the bridge.

see the following images, i hope you don't mind but i had a little play with your image...

[Aleix]

Hello Spider87,

I agree with the comments above, and as a big fan of landscape shooting I'd like to share some tips with you, both related with the picture and not.

1. Sky IS dull. It should preferrably save some clouds, or at least be blue. But this sky is blown out, possibly because of the day time where the picture was taken or because you shot in the direction of the sun. Wait until the golden hour and see what difference it makes! However because you're photographing a valley, it is possible that shooting late in the afternoon the valley appears too dark into the shadows: using a tripod and a graduated ND filter can make wonders against that.

2. When shooting landscapes, a circular polarizer filter can also render great results.

3. Use the lowest ISO possible. At the time you took the shot, I'm sure you could have shot at lower ISO, like 200. This reduces noise.

4. Crop unnecessary or distracting elements, as well as too large empty spaces which add nothing to the picture. Crop or use the clone tool and other Photoshop tools to remove distracting elements like those branches to the left of your picture.

5. Sky is overexposed! Beware of underexposure and overexposure. Learn to read and use your camera histogram when taking shots. Use your camera blink warning for clipped zones (if it has such function), so you can rapidly evaluate exposure after taking a shot.

6. Place interesting elements in the picture and compose accordingly. Use lines to attract attention to certain spots. You might also use shallower DOF to add depth in certain situations.

7. For such a shot, I'd have used a smaller lens aperture, like 8.0 or more. This would have made the picture less blurry and more parts of it in focus; using a tripod can also help reducing blur.

8. Read this tutorial to get some inspiring ideas:
11 Surefire Landscape Photography Tips

Greetings and happy shooting

[spider87]

Thank you all for your comments. And no one was too harsh, I posted it here to see what people thought I should improve not to be babied so your comments were perfect. Ennor, your touchup looks great and Aleix, for the record, I don't know why I didn't use a circular polarizing filter.. I have one and I've read that you can take great shots using them in tandem with sky. I am kicking myself that I didn't use it now that you said that haha.

All in all, thanks for the tips guys!