Request critique

[satya_v_rao]

[jordan2240]

Framing is nice, but it pretty much just looks like a vacation snapshot.  

[Ricochetrider]

I agree this looks very much the snapshot, like it was s hot through the window from the passenger seat.

Photos of this sort can be puled off without a lot of trouble but IMO require a more deliberate approach to capture a more meaningful view. But your light is nice here and I like the leading lines that sort of flow into the mountains beyond. 

[mikemorrellNL]

Hi @satya_v_rao,

I personally really like this 'road trip' photo! In the same way that scenes from 'road trip' movies are not always sharp and just give a sense of the 'road trip'. I am aware that - especially on this forum - if (for example) individual 'stills' from movies were (anonymously) selected, they would be 'assessed' as individual photos. So I see your photo as just one 'still' from your road trip.

From this photo (and your other photos), I think you have a good 'eye' for photogenic locations and scenes. I think it's great that you contribute to the 'Critique Forum'!

As others have said, it's very difficult to take a 'good' photo through the windscreen of a moving auto. Sure, I do it too as do many others. They're important to us as a 'reminder' of where we've been on our travels. They're usually not our 'best' photos in terms of things like sharpness, composition, etc. Things like the windscreen, movement and being in the auto get in the way 😉. Focusing through glass is difficult at the best of times!

So please don't stop taking photos in your auto! Just be aware that these might not turn out to be your 'best' photos (whatever the 'content' of the photo might be). But they will be absolutely fine as a 'reminder' of your travels!

I'm not sure whether it was legal or safe for you to stop on the '(hard) shoulder' where you took the shot. Probably not. But maybe there was a gas pump or exit nearby, where you could have briefly stopped, got out of the car and got the shot you wanted. Without a windscreen in front of the camera and without movement.
My 2 cts: Don't sweat it. This photo is a wonderful reminder of this magnificent scenery and your travels. Is it a 'PN masterpiece'? No, for the reasons I and others have given (a quick snapshot through a windscreen in a moving auto).

I'm not sure whether this helps or hinders you but an eye-opener for me some years ago was that it's not the (interesting) 'content' that makes a 'good' photograph, but the 'attention' that the photograph pays in 'creating' the photograph (out of the 'content'). So in this case, stopping your auto somewhere, composing (any) photo with the mountains in the background and taking the time to 'create' one or more 'interesting' photos would IMHO  have deliver you better quality photos than the ones shot through the windscreen of a moving auto.

But photos shot through the windscreen of a moving auto can be 'interesting' too!

Mike

 

 

[dcstep]

Color balance is too blue and too much road in the frame. Surely you could have found a better perspective as you drove, pulled off the road, stepped out of the car and gotten a much better shot. Is this laziness, or is this telling a story that I'm not seeing?

[satya_v_rao]

On 1/30/2023 at 7:11 PM, Ricochetrider said:

I agree this looks very much the snapshot, like it was s hot through the window from the passenger seat.

Photos of this sort can be puled off without a lot of trouble but IMO require a more deliberate approach to capture a more meaningful view. But your light is nice here and I like the leading lines that sort of flow into the mountains beyond. 

Thks

[satya_v_rao]

On 1/30/2023 at 11:26 PM, mikemorrellNL said:

Hi @satya_v_rao,

I personally really like this 'road trip' photo! In the same way that scenes from 'road trip' movies are not always sharp and just give a sense of the 'road trip'. I am aware that - especially on this forum - if (for example) individual 'stills' from movies were (anonymously) selected, they would be 'assessed' as individual photos. So I see your photo as just one 'still' from your road trip.

From this photo (and your other photos), I think you have a good 'eye' for photogenic locations and scenes. I think it's great that you contribute to the 'Critique Forum'!

As others have said, it's very difficult to take a 'good' photo through the windscreen of a moving auto. Sure, I do it too as do many others. They're important to us as a 'reminder' of where we've been on our travels. They're usually not our 'best' photos in terms of things like sharpness, composition, etc. Things like the windscreen, movement and being in the auto get in the way 😉. Focusing through glass is difficult at the best of times!

So please don't stop taking photos in your auto! Just be aware that these might not turn out to be your 'best' photos (whatever the 'content' of the photo might be). But they will be absolutely fine as a 'reminder' of your travels!

I'm not sure whether it was legal or safe for you to stop on the '(hard) shoulder' where you took the shot. Probably not. But maybe there was a gas pump or exit nearby, where you could have briefly stopped, got out of the car and got the shot you wanted. Without a windscreen in front of the camera and without movement.
My 2 cts: Don't sweat it. This photo is a wonderful reminder of this magnificent scenery and your travels. Is it a 'PN masterpiece'? No, for the reasons I and others have given (a quick snapshot through a windscreen in a moving auto).

I'm not sure whether this helps or hinders you but an eye-opener for me some years ago was that it's not the (interesting) 'content' that makes a 'good' photograph, but the 'attention' that the photograph pays in 'creating' the photograph (out of the 'content'). So in this case, stopping your auto somewhere, composing (any) photo with the mountains in the background and taking the time to 'create' one or more 'interesting' photos would IMHO  have deliver you better quality photos than the ones shot through the windscreen of a moving auto.

But photos shot through the windscreen of a moving auto can be 'interesting' too!

Mike

 

 

Hi MikemorreIINL

Thanks for your observations. Yes that was shot from the front window of a moving car. At the most a record shot of the road trip to keep in memory.  As you know, its always fun to keep busy with camera,  while travelling on exotic locations.  As you have kindly suggested, I keep attempting. Also I keep submitting for your critique. Thks n Rgds

[satya_v_rao]

On 1/27/2023 at 4:55 AM, jordan2240 said:

Framing is nice, but it pretty much just looks like a vacation snapshot.  

Yes, you are right. Thks

[satya_v_rao]

On 1/30/2023 at 11:31 PM, dcstep said:

Color balance is too blue and too much road in the frame. Surely you could have found a better perspective as you drove, pulled off the road, stepped out of the car and gotten a much better shot. Is this laziness, or is this telling a story that I'm not seeing?

Hi dcstep

Thks for your apt  observation. I have taken the shot in 'Auto' colour balance. I thought Auto would be better than 'Direct daylight' but even it turned out more blue. Much as I would have liked to step down and shoot, the vehicles were not allowed to stop anywhere around this road. That was a disappointment for photographers. Rgds

[AlanKlein]

On my road trip to the Southwest, I set up my camera on the dashboard on top of a little sandbag so it wouldn't flop around.  I'd turn it on 4K movie mode from time to time especially when travelling from one spot to another.  You could see a small part of the dash so everyone could tell where the camera was. When I got home, I made a video with all the stills of the great national parks we visited.  The dash camera movements acted as a transition in the movie as we jumped from place to place.  It also gave me a chance to comment while we were driving about what was happening and where we were going next.  I could also add annotations.  The picture below is a still frame from the movie clip.

As an aside, because I include 16:9 standard video frames, I switch my camera to 16:9 for still shots to eliminate all those black bars you would get when transitioning from stills from movie clips.

Nice shot. Vacation photos are wonderful memories.

 

 

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by AlanKlein

[dcstep]

On 2/6/2023 at 11:54 PM, satya_v_rao said:

Hi dcstep

Thks for your apt  observation. I have taken the shot in 'Auto' colour balance. I thought Auto would be better than 'Direct daylight' but even it turned out more blue. Much as I would have liked to step down and shoot, the vehicles were not allowed to stop anywhere around this road. That was a disappointment for photographers. Rgds

If you're serious about your photography, then you should consider shooting in RAW and controlling color balance during RAW conversion.