The valley of San Nicolas Rionegro Colombia

[Catalina]

The valley of San Nicolás Rionegro Colom

I am not sure about a tree and the red light on the left corner.
Please comment.
Thank you.

[Donald]

Catalina

I think I would have liked to see more of the tree into the frame in order to add interest.

A diffilfult with the image is that is quite under-exposed. I think you have taken the meter reading from the sky and, as a result, the foreground is very dark. There is, however, some detail retained in the foreground.

I do not know how you rate your post-processing skills and whether you know how to use levels and/or use dodge and burn techniques. These are tools that would allow you to lighten the foreground.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Catalina,

Viewed large, the whole image looks to be out of focus, but on composition, either go with Donald's suggestion, or crop tighter to get a view just of the more distant village lights and hills behind - however, due to the focus issue, this latter option is not possible I'm afraid.

That said, I believe you are not downsizing and sharpening yourself, before uploading to TinyPic? (are you?)
From the full size (reported in EXIF) 3008 x 2000 px, if downsized (to say 700px wide in this case) and sharpened, the image presented here would appear much better.

Hope that helps,

[Catalina]

Dave: Sure, for future one's I own a tripod now, that I will use, so it should be sharp. Your version looks nicer. Let me tell you that although a class of three hours seems long, I am going to take post processing next year.
I am not sure about basic photography II. I think it would be important. But they are not as nice with the comments as you are and I find that I have a thin skin. So I am not sure if I want to take more, but I will try, to have thick skin so I can learn more of a hobbie that is so nice.
I know that although I know the rules I have to internalize them and take pictures and pictures so I will learn.
I am so amazed how do you teach. Thanks. Sincerely, Catalina.

[rpcrowe]

Catalina...

Your tripod will certainly help you get sharper images.

When you are shooting at very slow shutter speeds with a tripod try the following:

Use mirror lock-up if your camera has that capability.
Locking the mirror up prevents the slight camera movement that is possible even when you are tripod mounted...

Use a remote release: ebay has both cable and non cable releases at very cheap prices. Either would help. The reason for using a remote release is that you sometimes move the camera a little bit when pressing the shutter button and the remote release will prevent this movement.

If you don't have a remote release handy, use your self timer to trip the shutter. This will allow the camera movement caused by pressing the shutter to settle down. However, it slows down your shooting by having to wait for the self-timer to trigger the shutter.

One other thing that I have found to be extremely handy when shooting in dark areas is to carry a small flashlight. The flashlight will help you see your camera settings and to find a small item like a CF card that you may have dropped.

Buena suerte con su fotografía.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Catalina,

It does sound as if, combined with continuing to be active here, the Post Processing course would be of more practical benefit to you. (and let us help with the taking skills)

Here's an idea of how a smaller, sharpened picture can look better;


From the original even larger image, I think it could look a bit better - I have sorta 'overcooked' this one to make the point the 'improvement' is best seen on the landscape and trees than the lights

Here's the original from above;


For purposes of comparison, do not click the images to view in the Lightbox because then the size difference will hide the sharpness difference.

Cheers,

[FrankMi]

Wow, Catalina! I didn't realize until Dave brought out the detail in some of the darker areas, just how dramatic a scene you have there. It is certainly a wonderful composition that is worth going back several times to get the sharpness, lighting, and sky looking 'just right'. It must have been absolutely breathtaking to have been there to get this image!