The colours of snow

[Suzanne]

Gareth really really inspired me the other day. He had a beautiful shot of a bench in the sunset with snow. There were gorgeous blues and yellows in the snow. As a painter these are the things I just love. Gareth, I saw paintings in your photos! Wonderful brush strokes! And it made me want to try to capture the color of snow on my own.
Fortunately it had just snowed.

This is on the drive to the stable for me. Ive always thought it was kind of funny because its just out in the middle of this giant field. But i thought the red really enhanced the blues.

I would love to here what you all think. Technically I need all the help I can get. LOL so any comment is welcomed with gratitude.

I had to do a little pp on the sky because it was very gray and looked odd, but I thought it also looked odd to crop the sky out. Thoughts?

Then there was just this moment that I caught, and in person it was so amazingly beautiful, but I cant figure out what the heck is wrong with the photo. It just doesn't seem right. I did a little pp to see what I could do, but i couldn't figure it out. I did this one in B&W.

[Donald]

but I cant figure out what the heck is wrong with the photo. It just doesn't seem right. I did a little pp to see what I could do, but i couldn't figure it out.

Suzanne

What is it you're thinking is wrong?

A few horses or some other interest to break up the flat empty space in that field just below that bank right in the foreground and on or about the left hand third vertical (rule of thirds) would have been nice. Where the sun is shining through the cloud, it is very blown. And the tree on the right could have been more into the frame a bit. But apart from that I'm not sure that there's anything wrong. There's lovely tone, shape and texture

[Suzanne]

Suzanne

What is it you're thinking is wrong?

Where the sun is shining through the cloud, it is very blown.

Thank you Donald. Can you explain what you mean by blown??
I'm not sure it just felt like something was wrong. It was such a beautiful moment, with God rays streaming down and everything. It just didnt seem right. And I can't quite put my finger on it.

Yes I do wish the tree was more in frame. I stopped in the middle of the snowy road to take it quick before any cars came along. LOL I'm afraid I didnt spend as much time as I would have liked composing it. I wonder if i'd gotten down a little lower, making the mid ground a little shallower that might have helped. :/ just not sure.

Donald, do you ever have those moments when you feel like you just couldn't capture what was really there?

[Donald]

Thank you Donald. Can you explain what you mean by blown??

That the histogram is jammed up against the right hand side; i.e. the highlight is blown. It has gone to total white. There is no detail recoverable from that part of the image.

The 'rule' is that you should have the white clipping point just touching the lightest part of the image. But, of course, all rules are made to be broken. So, if something is not central to, or dominant in, the image, you can get away with it being blown. However, I think that this particular feature in your image is both too significant (in terms of its size and location) and important to be blown as it is. Others, of course, may disagree.

Donald, do you ever have those moments when you feel like you just couldn't capture what was really there?

Constantly. I'm getting better at realising when I just need to put the camera back in the bag and enjoy the scene in front of me, in the knowledge that I cannot reproduce what I am experiencing in a two-dimensional pictorial representation. I say it that way because I have learned, I think, that what I'm experiencing may be made up of a number of elements - the scene itself, the noise of animals or birds, my mood, the weather, etc. Not all of these may be possible to capture in a visual image.

I know we all get into the thing about seeing the scene and firing off the shutter. Sometimes that's what needed and it works. But, more and more, I believe that it is important to find your location and then just stand there - looking and listening. Feel it, taste it, smell it ... and then decide whether you can do it justice in a picture. And that's why I always go out on my own. If my partner or anyone else was with me, they'd be very, very bored.

[tb72]

Hi suzanne,

I watched your 2 pictures. My favorite is the second one. The slight improvement that I suggest is to remove (cloan out) with the PS stamp the 2 small vertical pieces of wood at the ground level.

Conecrning the first one the composition is interesting I see 2 problems which are the sky which is not adequate for such landscape picture and the bad light

[wilgk]

I really like the angle of the ground and the 'splash of Red' in #1.

[Suzanne]

Thank you very much Thierry and Kay. I will play around with the clone stamp, Thierry. I think I see what you mean.
Perhaps some more attempts at creative cropping for #1. I was not happy with the sky either. Good suggestions.

[PopsPhotos]

Suzanne, expose for the subject.

In the first one, the subject is not the sky, so the overblown highlights don't matter, that much. Yes, they are blown, but that can be muted/mitigated a bit with some selective processing. The subject is the red bridge and its contrast with the snow. That is marvelous. I think I'd increase the contrast on the background mountain just a little.

On the second one, expose for the subject. Here, the subject is God's light. Expose to emphasize the contrast of the rays to the clouds in both color and contrast. This will darken the foreground a great deal, but the foreground is not the subject. I will often purposely expose a shot like that focused to throw the foreground fuzzy. They are a most difficult shot, though.

Pops

[Sahil]

Constantly. I'm getting better at realising when I just need to put the camera back in the bag and enjoy the scene in front of me, in the knowledge that I cannot reproduce what I am experiencing in a two-dimensional pictorial representation. I say it that way because I have learned, I think, that what I'm experiencing may be made up of a number of elements - the scene itself, the noise of animals or birds, my mood, the weather, etc. Not all of these may be possible to capture in a visual image.

I know we all get into the thing about seeing the scene and firing off the shutter. Sometimes that's what needed and it works. But, more and more, I believe that it is important to find your location and then just stand there - looking and listening. Feel it, taste it, smell it ... and then decide whether you can do it justice in a picture.

Well said, Donald. I was having the same conversation with one of my bosses today, That what may appeal to you while being there, might not appeal in the picture. Its difficult to capture the mood in the picture, everytime.

[Radu Dinu Cordeanu]

Hi,
May be something like that.....could......be.....



Thanks for understanding
Radu Dinu

[Suzanne]

Thank you Pops.
Radu that is an interesting suggestion. I may play around with the idea a bit more. Thank you.

[dragonaxe]

I'm honoured my pictures had such a big impression on you

Both of yours are very cool! especially #1. I might have been tempted to get a little closer to the bridge, so it was more of a focal point, and maybe have the opportunity to "look down" on it a little.....so all of the railings have the white snow behind them (only a very minor point). But I love the soft "plumpness" of your snow!!!

#2 is eye-catching! and I really like what Radu has done, in adding the second tree (how did you do that, Radu? is it really just one huge clone stamp?).

My brother's in Boston, and it's just started snowing there, so I'm sure you'll have more than enough opportunity to get more snow-practice!! Make the most of it

[Suzanne]

Thank you Gareth!!!

I couldn't get any higher with out tromping through the snow and that would have ruined the pristine quality. But I see what your saying. Although...... having thoughts about getting on top of my truck. LOL

[PopsPhotos]

Getting on top of your truck is not a truely unique idea, Suzanne. It works. I not only shoot from the bed of my pickup, I also carry a two- or three-step stool/ladder in the back, which gets me even higher. (Don't try to carry a step ladder, though. It doesn't work well. Trust me. )



Pops