Cottage in the Dales

Driving down through the Yorkshire Dales today I stopped to take a

shot of this delightful cottage. Now seeing it on the screen I can't

help thinking I was positioned too low. Any opinion on the image as it

is will be very welcome. Thanks for looking. Gareth.

Good photo well done  great composition 

I can understand your doubts. I think that more room of the air on the top should give a better composition, in which the nice cottage would be nicer placed. Besides that I like the lovely place very much.

Hi Gareth,

Nice shot. I like the perspective used here.

What jumps out for me is the lovely setting that this cottage is located in.

As a young boy living in upstate New York, I can recall our home was near a little brook that would often have brownish looking water as it traveled downward toward a larger pond. The trout were abundant, and the fishing was quite good just after the Winter thaw.

Best Regards,  Mike

Nice image. I like your point of view, it emphasizes the foreground and creates nice leading lines toward the cottage. Your composition is quite good, but i find the stones in the right lower corner a bit distracting, probably because they are brighter than the rest of the image, i would consider a little burning to darken them.  I would also consider a little contrast adjustments to get more textures and definition in the water. But overall this is a nice image just needing a bit of fine tuning. Regards -michel

Gareth

This is a very nice capture. I see your point though. I myself would have liked to see a bit more sky and the tree on the left in its entirety, perphaps. Also, maybe the stonses on the right distract me just a tad. Otherwise I think this is a lovely image. Congratulations

Raquel

Miami, Florida

Hi Jeremy, thank you for the comment.

Regards

Gareth

Hi Marco, thank you for stopping by.

Regards

Gareth

Hi Mike, the river here is quite full due to heavy rain the day before. Normally it is a lot calmer and a lovely place to go fishing.

Thanks for the comments

Regards

Gareth.

Hi Michel, thanks for the input. I have given it a slight crop and messed around with the contrast and levels a bit. I can't help feel I needed to be to the right and up slightly. The next time I pass through I will stop and have another go, maybe when the trees are in leaf.

Best regards

Gareth.

Hi Raquel, thank you for the comments. I agree with you about the tree, I am already looking forward to shooting this scene again the next time I am in the area.

Best regards

Gareth.

Hi Gareth,

Personally i wouldn't go so far with the contrast i would try to keep the contrast adjustment mostly to the water.  Also in my first comment i had started to suggest cropping the stone to the right but when i tried it i thought it was a shame to lose part of the nice slope of the hill behind which creates another nice leading line.  I would probably keep the stone but burn it a little to darken it so it doesn't attract attention to itself. 

As for the angle of view it is always a matter of taste and artistic expression, for me i do like the low angle and often i seek it in my own images as i find it more interesting, in fact in this case i may have been tempted to go even lower to get more of the water movement in the foreground, using a slower shutter speed to blur it even more.  This is definitely a location to return to at different times and hours.  Try many angles, lower, higher, vertical /horizontal framing.  Regards - michel

Hi Michel, I did take quite a few shots from this position using slower shutter etc but this image in the end was the one I preferred. It was actually quite windy and even on a tripod I had trouble from camera shake at the slower shutter.

You suggested adjusting the contrast in just the water, unfortunately I am not sure how to do that. the same goes for darkening the rock on the right. My editing skills are somewhat limited, however it is through suggestions like yours that help me to explore PS more and learn new things.

Many thanks for your advice, I will play around with this image some more.

Best regards

Gareth.

Hi Gareth

To adjust the contrast for only part of your image you have to make use of the built -in layer mask in PS. I assume you are adjusting contrast through a level adjustment layer or a curve adjustment layer. In both cases when you open/create the adjustment layer you will notice that it comes with a "mask" attached. That's the white square icon next to the level/curve icon. The mask is white which means that whatever adjustment you make will affect the entire image.  But you can "paint" on the mask to hide the adjustments to part of the image. So when you have made the necessary adjustment for the part of the image you want to affect, then you will need to "hide" the adjustment by inverting the mask color to black (making sure the mask is selected by clicking on it and then clicking control "I").  Then you can paint back (in white) the adjustment to the area you want to be affected with a brush. This way you will only change the contrast in the area that you paint white in your image. 

As for burning the simplest way is to do it with the burning tool in your tool palette.  I suggest you make this adjustment on a separate layer so if you are not happy with it you can delete the layer (and start again) and you have not caused any damage to your original image. 

I hope this helps.

Gareth, if you go back to this place you should try a few verticals.  Perhaps a vertical could eliminate the rock in the lower right, include the entire tree, and include a little more stream to provide a strong lead line to the cottage?  Good luck with it.

Michel you have lost me now!

I use the enhance features in PSE9 most of the time. I have yet to learn about layers but I'm working on it.

Hi Jeff, thanks for the tip. I could also use a wider angle lens too, I have an 18-55mm. The 35mm prime is just so much sharper though.

Thanks for stopping by.

Gareth.

Gareth, sorry if i got too technical.  It's actually quite a simple technique, but not so easy to explain.  I would suggest if you are interested to do a google search on layer masks in Photoshop, or check YouTube, there are plenty of free videos that explain this and many other techniques many times better than I can...  Good luck. michel

Gareth, it seems to me your photograph is more about a stream with a cottage in the background than a cottage with a stream running near it.  While the tweaked version is an improvement (assuming your main subject is to be the cottage), the increased saturation still has the stream commanding the primary attention.  If your desire is to have the cottage as the main subject, I think a different composition will be required -- I don't think cropping or contrast adjustment will be sufficient here.  Still, I like the photograph, especially your tweaked version because it eliminates the rock in the lower right corner.

No worries Michel, I'm still new to PS and learning all the time. Thanks for the tips.

Hi Stephen, thanks for stopping by.

I was looking for an overall composition, a general scene not necessarily with a main subject although the water did capture my interest as it was flowing so fast.

I could mess around with this image for ages, but I can't help feeling I was too low. I really think I needed to be on the same level as the cottage and not looking up at it.

This cottage is right in the middle of nowhere but the next time I get chance I will make the effort to shoot this scene again.

Many thanks for your advice

regards

Gareth

A different tweak!

And generous size which shows the perfect technical quality!

Best regards Gareth!

PDE

I don't think you were positioned too low.  Rather, I agree with Marco and Raquel that there should be a tad more space above the cottage.  That said, it's not a deal breaker and you can easily remedy that drawback next time you are on site.  Toning down the rocks on the right should be easy if done with a light hand. (too heavy and you lose the transparency, it then becomes obvious that you've manipulated the image)  'Tweaked 2' doesn't work for me as it eliminates all the great details in the rushing water, a very important element in this composition.  Try to remember the time of day you took your original as the sun's position in this one creates a great lighting pattern on all the featured buildings and land.  Side-back lighting is great for providing a 3D effect and revealing textures.  Best, LM.

Pierre, your visit and compliment is very much appreciated. Thank you.

Regards

Gareth.