Valley of Heaven

[bratboy76]

I consider this one of my recent better shots. But i need critics to point out any obvious mistakes, improvements and PP tips. Please be generous and open but i need to see directions to improve . Thanks in advance.


Camera: Canon EOS 400D Digital
Exposure: 0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture: f/22.0
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed : 400

Link to the picture : Valley of Heaven | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[highlydope]

I like the composition, but the color in the mountains and clouds seems a bit unnatural or possibly over-processed to me. If they really do have a purple hue then so be it, but I would personally try to change it.

[John Hendry]

Originally Posted by highlydope

I like the composition, but the color in the mountains and clouds seems a bit unnatural or possibly over-processed to me. If they really do have a purple hue then so be it, but I would personally try to change it.

Have to agree also the plants in the forground are a bit over powering.

Nice work

All the best

[Hill Country Hack]

I like your composition. My eye wanders up the river to the framed mountain. The foreground and midground are well in focus, but it gets soft to the background.

Why did you use f22? I can understand the reason for deeper DOF, but any other? Was it very bright that day? I've read when one gets to the extremes of f stop or focal length, image quality can become an issue.

For my landscapes I tend to stay between f8 and f11, but will go to f16 if very bright out. When I use f16 I follow the sunny 16 rule as a starting point. Sunny 16 is...f16 with ISO/Shutter speed reciprical. For example..f16 and I wanted to have ISO of 100, then I would set my shutter speed to 1/100 and then adjust from there depending on the meter reading and my intention for the capture.

There is a tutorial for hyperfocal point. Take a peek at it.

Otherwise I do like the capture. Good job.

[bratboy76]

Originally Posted by John Hendry

Have to agree also the plants in the forground are a bit over powering.

Nice work

All the best

I kept the foreground because it probably helps to show the distance from the eye (of photographer) to the subject (in this case the lake). Maybe i kept too much of foreground. Thanks for the generosity.

[bratboy76]

Originally Posted by highlydope

I like the composition, but the color in the mountains and clouds seems a bit unnatural or possibly over-processed to me. If they really do have a purple hue then so be it, but I would personally try to change it.

Yes, you are right - I have probably over-processed them in the idea of bringing out the colors of the picture overall - I shoot in RAW and so the color density is huge. But i probably need to selectively process each part of the image - but that sometimes puts me in trouble as each part looks separate. Any suggestions there to know where to stop PP ?

[bratboy76]

Thanks for your generous words. These are totally new thing for me as i am just an amateur. I did peek into that Hyperfocal distance article - quite useful and i must try that soon. But the point i need to write on my forehead is to carry my tripod always with me especially for landscape pics that i need to come out quite well. This was taken without a tripod.

Originally Posted by Hill Country Hack

I like your composition. My eye wanders up the river to the framed mountain. The foreground and midground are well in focus, but it gets soft to the background.

Why did you use f22? I can understand the reason for deeper DOF, but any other? Was it very bright that day? I've read when one gets to the extremes of f stop or focal length, image quality can become an issue.

For my landscapes I tend to stay between f8 and f11, but will go to f16 if very bright out. When I use f16 I follow the sunny 16 rule as a starting point. Sunny 16 is...f16 with ISO/Shutter speed reciprical. For example..f16 and I wanted to have ISO of 100, then I would set my shutter speed to 1/100 and then adjust from there depending on the meter reading and my intention for the capture.

There is a tutorial for hyperfocal point. Take a peek at it.

Otherwise I do like the capture. Good job.