Hay Rolls

[DavidM61]

Hello

As with the other photos that I've posted this evening, I am looking for constructive critiques of the photograph, as below, in the sense of composition, impact, focus etc. Although its always nice to know if people like a photo or not (and please feel free to say ) what I am really after is constructive feedback on the image so that I can learn and develop (no pun intended !!) my skills.

Taken using a Nikon D300s with a Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 DC OS lens. Taken at 80mm, f5.6, 1/320s, ISO set at Lo 0.3, -3EV and Cokin P series ND Grad (P.121M). No flash or other lighting, just natural daylight. Some minor tweaking carried in PSE 9, mainly to levels.

Many thanks in advance for constructive comments.

[Geoff F]

Somehow, having the horizon approx half way makes me want to either see a little less of either the sky or the foreground. So that one element is definitely the intended subject instead of both areas competing for attention.

And the white balance seems a little on the green side.

But overall, I see a lot of potential with this scene.

[Donald]

I'm wondering what was behind your decision to place the horizon where it is? In compositional terms, the first thing that would be considered is whether that line should have been on the top horizontal 'thirds' line. However, as has been written many times, there is nothing obligatory of mandatory of the 'rule-of-thirds'.

I think it's a well arranged composition and I like the sky.

[Radu Dinu Cordeanu]

In my opinion they have right.About green you could correct it from the menu of the camera because Nikon has a little more green.The "portrait" shape of the image seems to be not the single choice for a landscape,in which,you was impressed by the sky.If that is right "show us" more sky,if not,show us fewer.
Thanks
Radu

[MilT0s]

I like it.

Although it would be better not to place the horizon in the center I'd suggest placing it not at the third but just off the center.

I like the contrast of the menacing sky to the warm fields with the green transition line.

I think the image apart from color correction needs some sharpening, perhaps selective sharpening of the rolls.

The composition is very nice. My only suggestion there would be to shoot from a bit higher position to increase the space on top of the main roll.

[FrankMi]

Hi David, I don't want to repeat what has already been properly observed but rather to make a footnote about the two guidelines mentioned. Most landscapes look better in the landscape mode and also look better with the horizon close to the 1/3rd line and if you are just starting out, these are solid guideines to follow until you clearly understand the basics of composition.

I don't always follow either of these guidelines but I always start there and for good reason - it works very well for most images. When I do deviate from either guideline I have specific reasons for doing so and in many cases it can create a very powerful image. You don't need to always follow the guidelines but you want to have good reasons for not doing so.

If you are looking for solid photography help, you might want to download the free eBook, Craft & Vision - 11 Ways to Improve Your Photography from this link: http://craftandvision.com/books/craft-and-vision/

Hope this helps!

[Mike Buckley]

I don't have anything to add to the discussion of the sky, but I would like to mention that the gold tones appear overly saturated. That's partly because the other tones are not so saturated. If you didn't post-process it that way, perhaps it's the camera setting that you chose that is the culprit.

Where and when did you capture this image? I ask because it has been at least five years and probably ten years since I have seen rolls of hay that weren't wrapped in plastic.

[andrewaxford]

I think you will find that these bales are in face straw abd I would guess they are oat straw which would give them that yellow colour. The colour usually fades within a couple of days of harvest.

[DavidM61]

Many thanks for all the useful comments, tips and links that you have all provided, they are very much appreciated. I took this in portrait instead of landscape for a couple of reasons, the main one being that I thought it would look better in portrait - but then haven't included enough sky!! Doh!! What I was attempting to get here, and haven't quite succeeded in doing, was a portrait orientated image, with the 'dramatic' sky offsetting the green and gold of the landsacpe. I will try and remember the thirds rule, which I was aware of, but forgot all about in the heat of the moment.

I don't know if this has bearing on the greenness in the image, but I had the white balance set at 5880K.

Mike, I took this photo on 1 Oct this year (this month) while on holiday in the Cotswolds area of England, and just to the right of what is visible in the photo the farmer was collecting the rolls and parcelling them up in plastic wraps!!

Andrew, yes, you are probably correct and that are they are straw rather than hay.

Again, many thanks for all the useful and helpful comments and advice provided.

[Mike Buckley]

For everyone like me who never knew there is a difference between straw and hay: http://www.ehow.com/about_5413261_st...hay-bales.html

[FrankMi]

For everyone like me who never knew there is a difference between straw and hay: http://www.ehow.com/about_5413261_st...hay-bales.html

Neat! Thank you for posting Mike. I learned something new.

[terrib]

For everyone like me who never knew there is a difference between straw and hay: http://www.ehow.com/about_5413261_st...hay-bales.html

And you grew up on a ranch!

[Mike Buckley]

And you grew up on a ranch!

That's just one of the reasons they called it a ranch...not a farm.

[terrib]

David, I like this picture of the straw (which Mike hopefully would not have fed to his cattle on his ranch ). I think you have accomplished what you wanted with the dramatic sky against the greens and golds. And I think you can still do it by cropping out some more sky to move the horizon off center a bit.

I love the image because I can relate to it - memories of watching storm clouds and praying that it didn't rain between the time we cut the hay and could get it baled! What might evoke those emotions even more is a shot of that farmer on his tractor trying to beat the rain.