Foggy Morning . . . Sunny Afternoon

[Kathy O]

What a great day, it was foggy this morning (I have been wanting to experiment with shooting in the fog) so I revisited a nearby river and shot some photo's and then spent the rest of the day until mid afternoon driving around the countryside! Here are some photos that I shot . . . all advice and comments are welcome -- that is how I learn!!

Kathy

FOGGY MORNING





SUNNY AFTERNOON




I am thinking maybe I should crop this photo vertically -- what do you think? The horse was begging me to take its picture!!

[Bobobird]

1 and 2 are really cool shots. Love 'em.

[Kathy O]

Thanks Bobo!!

Kathy

[Geoff F]

With those foggy shots, Kathy, you have an area of sharp focus in the foreground; that makes all the difference. So often, foggy scenes just look out of focus because there isn't a good 'reference point' like these have.

And the trouble with the horse, is that it's head is at the wrong end. If it was facing the other way around this would have been a really excellent image.

As it is, I suppose you could try to concentrate more on the horse and crop to, say, 4 x 5 ratio or crop much tighter at 5 x 4.

The bridge photos look fine to me.

ps. How do you get sunny afternoons; it just stays dull and misty all day long where I live. But perhaps summer will arrive shortly, at least it isn't bitterly cold with strong winds.

[mariaramil]

Hi Kathy;
I love the horse... but I read you were driving around all day in the car? Why? If you find such a lovely subject and they have nothing better to do, try and hang about until you've explored it as much as you can. You could try cropping closer, getting the sky out of the picture (it looks a bit too bright), getting the horse backlit, standing in different backgrounds...


Mind you, you now know where the horse lives... so you could try again in different lights, see what you come up with .. take some carrots with you, if it helps...

Just my opinion

[russellsnr]

Hi, I like the first although I feel there is a lot of wasted space at the back also like the horse but please clone out the old grey object to the left.
Russ

[Loose Canon]

Hi Kathy!

I can’t think of any better way to spend a day and the places you visited look pretty relaxing!

For me the problem with shooting in fog is that it never seems to come out like I see it. If I shoot in shut-out fog as you have here, my shots have a tendency to look a little washed out. I like to shoot from a vantage point above the fog and/or when it is layered or low to the ground so that there is something in the background that isn’t covered by the fog. Its hard to resist the moodiness a foggy scene conveys. However, as Geoff mentioned, you have some good reference points going on to help matters.

So one thing I have found that helps my perceived problem is slapping a Curves adjustment layer on and giving it a nice “S” curve. This helps bring out some contrast and helps that “washed out” look that happens to me. I might also consider adding a Levels layer to these as well.

Of course, you could always use a layer mask to selectively or partially add the adjustments rather than add them globally as well.

[Kathy O]

Hi Kathy;
I love the horse... but I read you were driving around all day in the car? Why? If you find such a lovely subject and they have nothing better to do, try and hang about until you've explored it as much as you can. You could try cropping closer, getting the sky out of the picture (it looks a bit too bright), getting the horse backlit, standing in different backgrounds...


Mind you, you now know where the horse lives... so you could try again in different lights, see what you come up with .. take some carrots with you, if it helps...

Just my opinion

Maria,
I live in town, I have no clue who the horse belongs to so I did not want to trespass on their property, I was driving along a country road and there was this horse and pond so I stopped and snapped some photo's from the road. Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

kathy

[Kathy O]

With those foggy shots, Kathy, you have an area of sharp focus in the foreground; that makes all the difference. So often, foggy scenes just look out of focus because there isn't a good 'reference point' like these have.

And the trouble with the horse, is that it's head is at the wrong end. If it was facing the other way around this would have been a really excellent image.

As it is, I suppose you could try to concentrate more on the horse and crop to, say, 4 x 5 ratio or crop much tighter at 5 x 4.

The bridge photos look fine to me.

ps. How do you get sunny afternoons; it just stays dull and misty all day long where I live. But perhaps summer will arrive shortly, at least it isn't bitterly cold with strong winds.

Thanks for the advice and comments Geoff, they are very much appreciated!!

Kathy

[Kathy O]

Hi Kathy!

I can’t think of any better way to spend a day and the places you visited look pretty relaxing!

For me the problem with shooting in fog is that it never seems to come out like I see it. If I shoot in shut-out fog as you have here, my shots have a tendency to look a little washed out. I like to shoot from a vantage point above the fog and/or when it is layered or low to the ground so that there is something in the background that isn’t covered by the fog. Its hard to resist the moodiness a foggy scene conveys. However, as Geoff mentioned, you have some good reference points going on to help matters.

So one thing I have found that helps my perceived problem is slapping a Curves adjustment layer on and giving it a nice “S” curve. This helps bring out some contrast and helps that “washed out” look that happens to me. I might also consider adding a Levels layer to these as well.

Of course, you could always use a layer mask to selectively or partially add the adjustments rather than add them globally as well.

Thanks for all the insight and information you provided me with -- I learn so much from people like you who take the time to look and give advice on my photos. Thanks again!

Kathy