Learning Landscapes - Foggy morning Scenes

[Brownbear]

Two more so-so images, nevertheless I would like to learn something from these so I can return and try again


Aperture priority, no tripod as these were not planned images.

In this 1st image the building in the fog and the reflections of the boats in the water caught my eye. I thought that the fading boats might lead the eye to the building (a rowing club) but in hindsight I think they lead the eye out of the image.

I feel like something about the composition does not work but I'm not sure what that is?

F 13 SS 1/13 ISO 800 Exp Comp +.67 Focal Length = 70 mm




In this image the morning light on the highrise appealed to me, as did the overall scene of snowy trees and frozen lagoon, with a lone seagull in the foreground. The sky appears to have some noise or banding but all I did in Lightroom was move the white and black points, increase vibrancy and lighten the midtones using the curves tool. Sharpened selectively.


F 11 SS 1/60 ISO 720 Exp Comp -.33



All C&C truly appreciated.

[Geoff F]

With the first image I wonder if there is simply a little too much foreground (water). Would a slight crop of the bottom and right side concentrate things a little better?

But I don't think the second image will work for me without a recognisable sharp foreground subject. At the moment it just looks poorly focused.

[Brownbear]

Thanks Geoff.

I tried that with the first shot but the crop didn't appeal to me, and it seemed odd to crop the reflections of the mast, ie; I thought I should've captured all of the reflections with a little more water so they had room to move?

Could be. I would like to think that I placed my focus a 1/3 of the way in but I just might have focused on the highrise, forgetting the 1/3 rule. Thanks for sharing. I will be better prepared next time.

With the first image I wonder if there is simply a little too much foreground (water). Would a slight crop of the bottom and right side concentrate things a little better?

But I don't think the second image will work for me without a recognisable sharp foreground subject. At the moment it just looks poorly focused.

[Mike Buckley]

I like both of these images. They're more than "so-so" for me. Definite keepers. No problems with focus or boats leading the eye out of the frame. Very nicely done all around.

There are lots of crops that would be effective in the first one, including the framing shown here.

In the second one, I would either remove the bird or I would move it to about one-third of the way into the image from the left frame. The tall buildings are leaning just a little to the left.

[AndrewMcD]

The first shot leaves me wondering what the focal point of the image is. I think it's the building but, as you point out, the boats draw the eye away. The more I read about landscape shots the more I realize that in many of my own efforts the image is too cluttered with stuff. My mantra for shooting landscapes is becoming....simplify, simplify, simplify!

What was the focal length on the shot of the high rise? I'm wondering if the out of focus issue is a bit of blur due to camera movement and a long focal length? I can't seem to find anything in the image that is clearly in focus. Of course it IS a shot in the fog and everything will have a soft appearance...........plus I'm looking at a monitor at work which is less than optimal.

[FootLoose]

Christina, I think the problem you perceive with the first shot is due the subject of the shot - the building - bing on the darker side of the frame. The eye travels across the building and follows the line of boats to the lighter, right hand side and onwards out of the frame.

[chauncey]

I kinda like the "bird that walks on water".

[rpcrowe]

I like the amount of water in the first image because of the reflections... I could stand to crop a bit off the top but, generally like the image pretty well as it is...

[Brownbear]

Mike...

Thank you. I like foggy scenes so I will save these to review again for future. And the next foggy day I will try again.

I will learn to straighten buildings.. Moving a bird, well I will give it a try. I will post an edit this weekend

Andrew...

Yes, the subject was the building, (but truly the fog and the trees, and reflections and I too can see that simplifying scenes is something I need to work on.

The focal length was 72mm. The focal point was either the bench in the far left corner, or perhaps the highrise building. ie; I was concentrating on the light and may have inadvertently switched my focus to the building. (Please see the end of this post about focus)

Greg...

Thank you for explaining the light. That makes perfect sense to me.

Chauncey...

I like my bird walking on water, too. Perhaps I will add few swans.

Richard...

Thank you for addressing the reflections of the masts. Truly appreciated.

Thank you to all for your comments, feedback and helpful advice.

Question on focus for the 2nd image.

I'm confused and wondering why some people are seeing this image as in focus and others as not in focus. I'm also concerned that my own judgement of sharp enough focus in a landscape may be off.


At an aperture of F13 the DOF should be sufficient? However, if I focused on the wrong spot (the building instead of 1/3 way in on the bench) I understand that the focus will be off. And then it is foggy.

When I view the image full size it seems to have front to back focus, including the bench. However the image is definitely soft, and the focus definitely seems to drift away as you move to the right hand side of the image.

Therefore I have posted below a severe crop of the highrise.

Is this image in focus? If not, how do I learn to judge that for myself in a landscape image?

Thank you.

[JBW]

Personal opinion but a little more of the yacht club and a little less of the boats fading away on the right. i never noticed before that you are in my home city of Vancouver!

[NorthernFocus]

Hi, Christina. You need to make up your mind what the images are about. In the first one, IMO the reflections aren't clear enough to add to the image. The interesting elements are boats, building and fog. I'd do a pano crop and lose the water/reflections.

Level the second image and it's good to go. Bird, no bird, either works for me. But it is more of a distraction than an adder IMO.

Don't you love how consistent the feedback is?

[Shadowman]

The first one works for me, I would just try different variations (post-processing techniques) until you find one that suits you. The second one's ok, you could try separating one or more of the trees from the background by darkening it's outer edges for a more 3-dimensional effect.

[Magog]

More atmospheric photos, Christina.

I wonder how shot 1 would look in a portrait crop, of the left hand side? Perhaps centred on the yacht club and the symmetrical mast/reflections?

[Mike Buckley]

For me, the images are sharp. When there is a lot of moisture in the air, it will refract (distort) reflected light. Just as the refracted light of a wine bottle can be both sharp and distorted when shot through another glass object, the same is true for landscape scenes shot with so much moisture in the air. However, the refracted light will create a different look than if there was very little moisture in the air. So, you need to decide whether you like that look or not.

Yes, the subject was the building, (but truly the fog and the trees, and reflections

Which is it? I completely agree with Dan that you need to decide what the subject is before capturing the image. You'll drive yourself crazy in almost all situations if you consider everything in the scene to be the subject. Remember that there can be primary subjects and secondary subjects. There can also be primary subjects and moody characteristics of the light. At this stage of your development, I advise concentrating on the primary subject.

[Kaye Leggett]

I particularly like the first shot - the colours and light are right whereas for me the browns in the second shot lose the foggy mood. My first thought on the first shot was to make this a square image and therefore lose the boats on the right. Just a thought.

[Brownbear]

Hi Brian,

Thank you for sharing. I never would've guessed that this was your home city. Beautiful city and area, with a distinct lack of interesting bugs! I suppose I will have to look harder.

Personal opinion but a little more of the yacht club and a little less of the boats fading away on the right. i never noticed before that you are in my home city of Vancouver!

[Brownbear]

Hi Dan,

Great advice. Thank you for sharing.

The shore line is naturally crooked so I'm not sure what you mean but I will give it a try when I get to these edits.

Yes, and I'm beginning to see how important developing my own vision for an image is.

Hi, Christina. You need to make up your mind what the images are about. In the first one, IMO the reflections aren't clear enough to add to the image. The interesting elements are boats, building and fog. I'd do a pano crop and lose the water/reflections.

Level the second image and it's good to go. Bird, no bird, either works for me. But it is more of a distraction than an adder IMO.

Don't you love how consistent the feedback is?

[Brownbear]

John, John Roach and Kaye

Thank you for the comments, processing and crop suggestions. I will give them a try.

John Roach, yes, I love the soft look and colours of fog and mist.

[Brownbear]

Thanks for sharing Mike... I love the soft look and colours of fog and mist but checking because I was worried that I am not seeing sharpness/focus issues.

This is truly difficult for me. The image for me is big picture and all about the look of the fog and the mist and the colours, but landscapes need to have a clear subject matter hence I made the building the focus of attention. Reflections secondary. I will continue to work on this.

Thank you.

For me, the images are sharp. When there is a lot of moisture in the air, it will refract (distort) reflected light. Just as the refracted light of a wine bottle can be both sharp and distorted when shot through another glass object, the same is true for landscape scenes shot with so much moisture in the air. However, the refracted light will create a different look than if there was very little moisture in the air. So, you need to decide whether you like that look or not.



Which is it? I completely agree with Dan that you need to decide what the subject is before capturing the image. You'll drive yourself crazy in almost all situations if you consider everything in the scene to be the subject. Remember that there can be primary subjects and secondary subjects. There can also be primary subjects and moody characteristics of the light. At this stage of your development, I advise concentrating on the primary subject.

[bnnrcn]

I like #1 and I agree with Kaye about cropping it from the right side