Critique - Path to Yellowstone Lake (Constructive Criticism Welcome)

[MontanaZoo]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliez_pics/1336934862/

Camera - Canon Digital Rebel xTi
Date Taken - Sept 2, 2007
Lens - Canon EF 70-300 USM IS w/Lens Hood
ISO - 200
White balance - AWB (since I didn't understand white balance then)

Intention - It was a beautiful late summer day where the dry grass looked gleaming gold and I was trying to contrast that with the blue lake and mountains in an interesting way.

Questions -

Composition - Would being lower to the ground or framing this out with something naturally occurring made this a more interesting shot? Any other ideas?

Exposure - What exposure would be the most creatively correct or interesting?

Focus - It was 95 degrees and I had my dog on a leash when I took this so a tripod was impractical, but I know that would have helped.

White balance - Would changing the white balance to another setting have given the shot the golden glow that I could see with my naked eye?

Filters - I probably had my polarizing filter on, could that have worked against me or for me with the blues in the water? Any other filters that would have been interesting?

 

[crazydadguy]

I think lowering your point of view a foot or two might have made a more interesting shot. It is still a nice shot overall though. Some tweaking in a photo editor of your choice might still bring out some of those golden tones. I think your exposure is about as good as you can get and still not lose any details. You have the sky, the clouds are not blown out, there isn't alot of detail in the mountains, but there probably wasnt anyway with the distance involved. You didn't center your horizon in the middle of the shot, so good job there as well. Overall, good pic I think.

 

[RBennett]

Ok.... I'll be the first to bite. I REALLY love the colors that you were able to show off with this. Since I'm still VERY new to photography, the only two suggestions that I have is this: It might have made for an interesting shot to get lower to the ground and shoot towards the water. The downside of that, is especially since your dog was with you, he probably would have licked the lens! Secondly: again to show off the colors, I might have worked with the depth of field a little bit so you get less detail and it shows off more of the color. Not a LOT out of focus, but a little bit. The downside of that is, I don't know what you would have used to focus on. Each time I give a critique I try to show the flip side of it so that it doesn't sound one-sided.
How'd I do??
BTW..... NICE SHOT!!!!

 

[MontanaZoo]

Thanks for the critiques! Really interesting ideas....I'll definitely have to try changing the focus around and see what happens when the depth of field changes. Yeah, I like getting on the ground for shots like this but with the dog (and umm in full view of a restaurant full of people ...I know, I'm a chicken) it'd be difficult. I tried that earlier this summer but then found out that it was a horrible tick season....I swear I just need waders or something.

 

[AndrewWG]

This is a very nice photo! From MY point of view, I would think that if there was a subject in the path such as an animal of some sort or something like that, it would have made a spectacular shot. However, you can't control mother nature and have her put animals where you want them.

Personally, I just think that a path (converging lines) should lead to a subject of some sort. The path here just kind of fizzles out and the lake and mountains are lost to me. It is almost like the path should be one picture and the lake and mountains another.

Just my 2 cents.

disclaimer: I am certainly not a professional photographer so take my critique lightly.

 

[MontanaZoo]

This is a very nice photo! From MY point of view, I would think that if there was a subject in the path such as an animal of some sort or something like that, it would have made a spectacular shot. However, you can't control mother nature and have her put animals where you want them.

Personally, I just think that a path (converging lines) should lead to a subject of some sort. The path here just kind of fizzles out and the lake and mountains are lost to me. It is almost like the path should be one picture and the lake and mountains another.

Just my 2 cents.

disclaimer: I am certainly not a professional photographer so take my critique lightly.

Don't worry, critique away....I like that idea...for instance, I should have seen if I could find a perspective to show where the trail ends up maybe at a beach or cabin or something since the photo ends up having a lot of foreground and a lot of background but kind of loses it's way in the middle....thanks!

 

[DVC Jen]

I like the idea of getting a lower as well. For me it seems like the path just ends at the point where it curves and that keeps the eye from flowing right to the rest of the photo. You can't control that though - but I am wondering if getting lower would have given the illusion of the path going all the way to the end. It may not have made a difference.


Do you have photoshop or elements? There are some awesome actions out there that can be purchased for only a few dollars and they could really boost your colors and give it the golden glow you saw when you took it.

I really think your photo is interesting. I also think it is easy for us to sit back and tell you what we would have done differently - or what we think you should have tried. I am constantly looking at my own photos thinking - if only I would have done this - or I should I tried that. Harder to hear it sometimes from someone else.

It is very gutsy of you to put yourself out there like that. I also think it is one of the best ways to learn and train yourself to think of all the things ya think of AFTER the shot - while you are taking the shot.

 

[Quicklabs]

e

Do you have photoshop or elements? There are some awesome actions out there that can be purchased for only a few dollars and they could really boost your colors and give it the golden glow you saw when you took it.

 

[Suburbanmom]

Like everyone above me, I think it's a pretty good shot too. I'm not crazy about the trees on the left, as I think I'd prefer a clean border...maybe standing a little to one side or the other to get rid of them, but then maybe you are already cropping something out on the right. They compete for my attention, when the focus of the photo is clearly the road. I do think the colors could be punched up a little bit in post processing, but not too much...they are already beautiful. All is all, a pleasing photo.

 

[InsertWittyNameHere]

This is a very nice photo! From MY point of view, I would think that if there was a subject in the path such as an animal of some sort or something like that, it would have made a spectacular shot. However, you can't control mother nature and have her put animals where you want them.

Personally, I just think that a path (converging lines) should lead to a subject of some sort. The path here just kind of fizzles out and the lake and mountains are lost to me. It is almost like the path should be one picture and the lake and mountains another.

Just my 2 cents.

disclaimer: I am certainly not a professional photographer so take my critique lightly.

I agree with your first paragraph. Since the dog was with the OP, incorporating it onto the road may have made it more interesting and added a personal touch.


Using the lake and mountain as a backdrop and the road as the focal point of the pic was a clever idea.

 

[MontanaZoo]

Thanks everyone for the critique. Anyone ever use a haze filter? I was looking at the photo and wondering what kind of effect that would have had. I don't think I had my polarizing filter on either. I do have Photoshop Elements and can punch up the color in post processing. I wonder if the time of day had an effect too...like if I had hit it right before dusk if the colors would be more punched up in the picture....

 

[scoolover]

I think that the first guy that walked it was drunk. Although a straight path would make for a less interesting picture.

If I took it, I would be proud.

 

[Experiment_626]

Thanks everyone for the critique. Anyone ever use a haze filter? I was looking at the photo and wondering what kind of effect that would have had. I don't think I had my polarizing filter on either.

If you're thinking about the haze over the mountains, I think the polarizer would do the most effective job of mitigating that. A "haze" filter, as far as I know, is just another name for a UV or skylight filter. As far as I've ever been able to see, the effect those have on atmospheric haze is negligible. It is scattered light, so I think you could cut it to some degree with a polarizer.

I like the photo. In shots like this, I always prefer to have some sort of quasi-framing element in the foreground. However, I don't think you'd have much luck getting a tree or boulder to spring up on command, so you worked with what nature provided.

You could fool around with white balance settings to emphasize the red-gold hues of the grass, but unless you made a selection, it would be at the expense of the blues. I suppose you could then sing an ironic ditty you could call "I Don't Have the Blues."

My wife says I'm silly. I have no earthly idea what she's nattering on about -- Ow! Quit it, she-devil!

SSB

 

[DVC Jen]

e

Quicklabs - here is the site I have purchases quite a few actions from.

http://ezactions.com/Default.aspx

I have only gone the a la carte route and bought a few at a time.

This is the midnight action that has got to be one of my all time favorites. I kinda go crazy with it sometimes (haven't tried it on any Disney pictures yet - wonder how it would look).

here is the original -

and here is the same photo with the midnight action

I realize this look may not appeal to everyone - but I personally love it. There are so many different actions at that site - that do so many different things. Someone really photoshop savvy could do the same thing themselves - but I am not that photoshop savvy.

 

[MontanaZoo]

I like the photo. In shots like this, I always prefer to have some sort of quasi-framing element in the foreground. However, I don't think you'd have much luck getting a tree or boulder to spring up on command, so you worked with what nature provided.

Oh if only I had that power....think how cool that would be

 

[DueyDooDah]

I have to agree with Andrew on subject matter, and I too think a polarizer would have helped with the haze. To add, you can make this photo pop a bit by adding a bit of contrast and bumping up the saturation, maybe even a touch of vibrance. I played with it and found that a B&W conversion also gives you a nice effect, although you may need to crop a bit to get the right mood.

All-in-all, it's well-balanced, good use of RoT, love how the road sstarts in the corner and works its way up and to the left, and I appreciate that the fact you took the time to straighten the photo, whether in camera or via editing.

 

[dr_zero]

I cant see the pic where I am at now but will look at it later BUT on a side note check out the neat sheet
http://www.theneatsheet.com/index.asp
You can lay in on the ground to cut down on the dirt and it waterproof so you can get out in the dew and the rocks around the beach etc.

 

[MontanaZoo]

I have to agree with Andrew on subject matter, and I too think a polarizer would have helped with the haze. To add, you can make this photo pop a bit by adding a bit of contrast and bumping up the saturation, maybe even a touch of vibrance. I played with it and found that a B&W conversion also gives you a nice effect, although you may need to crop a bit to get the right mood.

All-in-all, it's well-balanced, good use of RoT, love how the road sstarts in the corner and works its way up and to the left, and I appreciate that the fact you took the time to straighten the photo, whether in camera or via editing.

Thanks, nice critique! I have to work at keeping the horizon straight since I've learned that I naturally hold my camera a little tilted. I was just working to line it up in the viewer but recently noticed that the little plate for my tripod has a level on it.

Ok, now I want to go back to Yellowstone and try out different angles. There are a series of pretty cheap cabins to rent right in this area that actually have electricity (recharging batteries) and bathrooms with showers. I keep thinking it would be great to rent one for a weekend or a week and be able to really search out the best locations and be able to be there for dawn and dusk.

 

[thomas998]

two things...

You mentioned you had a polarizing filter... If it was on the camera did you adjust it?

I'm not a fan of the way you focused the picture....It looks like you focused on very close to the start of the trail, I'm not sure what f-stop you were using looks to me like it was not stopped down that much. My thought would have been to either stop the camera down as much as I could since you had a tripod and could shoot a long exposure, so that everything was a little more infocus... or if you only wanted some of it in focus I think I might have tried to get the sweet spot about mid-way up the road so the trail closest and furthest from you would be blurred.

 

[MontanaZoo]

two things...

You mentioned you had a polarizing filter... If it was on the camera did you adjust it?

I'm not a fan of the way you focused the picture....It looks like you focused on very close to the start of the trail, I'm not sure what f-stop you were using looks to me like it was not stopped down that much. My thought would have been to either stop the camera down as much as I could since you had a tripod and could shoot a long exposure, so that everything was a little more infocus... or if you only wanted some of it in focus I think I might have tried to get the sweet spot about mid-way up the road so the trail closest and furthest from you would be blurred.

Yep, I don't think I had the polarizing filter on...will do next time! Thanks for the critique! And I do always forget to adjust it if it is on.