Tea

Landscapes like these have to be savoured. You have succeeded in capturing a moment of fantasic light on this brilliant green crop of tea. The patterns are great and although the following can be interpreted as a cliche; this image makes want to walk down that pathway...

Earl Grey is my favourite tea, but apart from that, I also regularly consume mugs of the green variety. Tea is my favourite beverage.

Nice composition. The path leads your eyes right up to the top in a natural way. The colors are rich and pleasing.

While I'd appreciate critiques of any kind and of all aspects of this

image, I would like to know your opinion about the bottom left

quadrant. Does the rock on the left and the pinkish flowers on the

foreground bother you? Is the picture better or worse without them?

Sometimes in a photo, features that disturb the homogeneity of

patterns are great. Here, we have a path going through an

overwhelmingly green tea plantation. Would you have composed it

differently? There are no more tea plants on the right or on the

foreground. Thanks.

 

Peter and Kim, thanks for visiting and commenting.

Hi Niranjan, you have captured a nice lush scene here. In some weeks I will visit Kerala too. I also planed to get to Munnar for taking photos of these tea plantations. Could you give me some advices how to get there etc.? Concerning your picture, there are three different attractive elements in this shot: the patchwork in the background, the path and the flowers in the foreground. One problem is the mutual arrangement and position of these elements. I tried some crops, none of them was satisfying. The path is positioned too close to the right border; the sharp bend of the path in the foreground disturbes the composition in my oppinion. Finally, I have made the experience that a sloped horizon without a suitable counterweight does not work very well. Maybe you have some more shots from different angles, regards, Peter.

Nice scene here - one can really feel the humidity raising up into the scene from the distance, no wonder the path is covered in green stuff - humidity everywhere!

 

PS Incredible colours.

 

For me the green and the patchwork texture of the tea bushes, plus the big stones and perhaps the path are already enough elements for the shot. The flowers and curving path in foreground don't help. I think an alternative view point (on that big rock to the extreme left maybe?) pointing downwards if poss. to the carpet of bushes would be preferable, with just a trace of path somewhere.

 

Just my 2c, of course.

Thanks for showing this one.

Now you've made me thirsty so I'm off...

OK, I love the green tones and the mood of this shot, but I also think that the flowers and path on the foreground are quite distracting. I am uploaded another version without that foreground, but the format has changed.

 

I am also uploading a tigher cropping, playing with patterns and the path to break that mix of tea bushes. What do you think?

 

Second Upload...

hi niranjan, it's a very nice image, and i will add a crop to the discussion. more crops are possible and yours shows a lot of the surrounding in a descriptive manner. I've made a crop from the path. you might consider cropping off the top, but that carries away form your present intention. regards.

The original posting is a wonderful pastoral scene, well balanced and beautifully colored. But I like Hans' crop too. Maybe even better.

I didn´t consider the way Hans has cropped it, and I like it a lot.

Niranjan, wow you've generated a lot of talk with this shot. I'm sure everyone would agree that you've captured a very lovely image. It is so full of possibilities its spawning many creations.

 

I like your origanal shot here but can see why your questioning the lower left. For me though I don't find it distracting due to the path leading me beyond that and through the tea trees. Its well thought out and well composed.

OK, I admit that telling you about my tea drinking habits has absolutely nothing to do with the qualities of your composition. The tendency to stray off-topic is one of my problems, in general...

Although I have to agree that Hans' crop does look good, I'm still with the original up the top. It has more breathing space and any cropped version makes me want to see more beyond the boundaries of the 'improved' aesthetics. The rock at left edge is repeated twice (more or less) further down the hill. So, just an affirmation of my very first impression above. Cheers,

Thanks all for your great comments and suggestions. I like the alternate cropping ideas, esp Charo's second crop and Hans's crop. I am somewhat partial to the original (full frame) because that's the way I remember seeing it. But who cares about that? That's the value of a critique forum -- to see how a neutral observer evaluates an image, uncolored by the thoughts of whoever-fired-the-shutter.

 

Peter, one's got to inject color into a conversation and going off-topic is the best way to do it! I am a coffee guy BTW, but slowly becoming a tea convert. Complex beverage.

Wanna know something funny? I "corrupt" coffee by drinking it with milk. But I would never do that to tea. It has to be enjoyed straight, without anything else added, imo... Thanks for your response!

Peter M, I see your point about the sloped "horizon". Interesting, thanks. I can't fix it however.

 

Most of my alternate takes of this area have people in them, but they subtract significantly from the scene. If they were tea-pickers, it would have been good, however. Sigh.

 

Peter D, coffee must be had with milk and sugar! Beware of the charlatans who drink it black :-)

A nice shot Niranjan. Frankly, I don't feel the bottom left disturbing. It just looks natural but slightly off from the remaining area. The eyes seem to be pulled towards the path and so really not disturbing. But I like the idea of Hans and even that looks pretty. Overall, a nice composition.

I am getting here late but want to add my bit, if I may. The crops are interesting but I think I will stick with my first impression upon seeing the photo, before reading the other comments. I like the flowers and the rock in the picture. The tea planation goes far back into the background. Great DOF, by the way. So, since I have all that background lovely green I seem to want some thing of interest in the foreground. The path is a main feature of this landscape for me. I love the path curving off into the distance and diminishing in size as it goes. How can you tell I have perspectives on the brain lately? :)

 

Also I have this notion stuck in my mind that 'landscape' means rectangular and 'portrait' means vertical.

 

If you get time go to the menue learning at the top of your home page and nature and look up Gloria Hopkins article. I am sure there are others in there too. Ones I have not read yet on composition of landscapes.

Thanks Maggie. I know what you mean, a landscape in "portrait" orientation will be a bit odd :-)

I really love the textures and colors you've captured here. Even before reading your Critique Request the first thing that hit me was that there was too much on the bottom left. I don't think I'd mind a litte bit to help define the area. To me (next to the pattern of the tea plants themselves) the path is the subject of this scene. Instead of focusing on how to crop this, because you have plenty of suggestions on that (some very good IMO), I would say if you have the opportunity to shoot here again I'd shoot from the curve in the path that we see to the bottom right putting the viewer firmly onto the path and more into the image. Regardless this is a very nice shot.