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Finally bit the bullet & became a subscriber (yes, I'm very

very "cheap") and figured this was as good a time as any to ask for a

critique.

 

Not sure if I should be happy with this shot or not... I think I shot

an f/11 or higher to get a god DOF, but it was also a hair on the

windy side, plus it looks like I may have focused a little too much

on the lower part of the shot. Was hoping to get a more or

less "sharp" shot on all parts. Not sure I did. What should I have

done? Focus on the distant trees? Use a smaller aperture? Somehow

use a higher shutter speed (raise the ISO?)? Any thoughts critiques

etc... appreciated

one other thing... I don't remember messing with the saturation that much (maybe an increase of "10") Does this look over saturated or overly contrasty? Would anyone do it more low-key? Thanks

A wide lens (or the wide setting on your zoom) might bring the whole frame sharp at f11, where a long lens would have to be stopped down more. Of course it also depends heavily the relative distance of the nearest and furthest object to your camera. Looks like you used something nearer the tele end of your zoom here with a fairly mid-distant nearest object, so f11 might be a little large an aperture; it's hard to say without being there. The problem with this sort of shot is the increasing need for a tripod, the smaller an aperture you want & the longer the FL gets, if you see what I mean. In any event, use your DOF indicator (assuming the Canon has one) for a rough preview.

I like your shot! The DOF is just enough here to stop the trees looking outrageously soft, but in truth I like the way you have sharpness in the FG, near-sharpness around the trees and a soft BG. Creates depth, appears more natural. Compositionally, a lower angle might have been better, but that's a minor nit. It's really well framed & laid out. Saturation doesn't look boosted, such that I'd maybe not have noticed had you not mentioned it.

Thinking about sharpness again, it looks like it was overcast that day..? F11 might well have given you a slightly shaky result. Upping the ISO enough to shoot at 1/160+ is a good idea; with this example a little grain would have been relatively unnoticeable.

Finally, a GOOD lengthy response to a question! There is a god!! :-). I did use a tripod, but you got it right on the conditions. Somewhere near the 80-100mm on my zoom (was trying to internally crop out power lines), and early morning overcast. If I get a next time, I'll try for a 200ISO and a shorter focal length/lower angle. Thank you again!!

You might like to get into understanding what the hyperfocal distance is and why it matters. For years I just focussed 1/3 into the scene and stopped down - there is a better way!

Best wishes, Mick.

Yikes, looks like math!! I was an English major for a reason :-)

 

Thanks for the tips, it'll take me a while to get a real hold on that but looks useful in a big way.

Hi Jeff, you have a great portfolio but I picked on this lovely shot because ... actually I don't know why - I guess it's just my kind of landscape!

To give my view on your questions:

DoF. I think it's impossible to get foreground and background really sharp in the conditiond you describe - you need a fairly short exposure if there is any wind so you cant just stop down to F32 (even if that's possible with your lens). Anyway you get some loss of sharpness at very small apertures due to diffraction and pushing up the "film speed" causes noise and degradation of colour. In this situation I would nowadays (with digital capture), if possible, take 2 shots (or even 3), one focussed on the background and one on the foreground (and if necessary one on any especially important subject at mid-distance). It then takes just a minute or two to combine them in PS.

Contrast / saturation. The colour is a bit saturated but this is part of the attraction of the scene. The only problem is that the red channel has become over-saturated, losing detail in the mid-ground flowers ... so I would adjust saturation on a duplicate layer and then erase it with a soft brush in any areas that are over-done. Alternitavely just boost the saturation in colours other than red. (BTW it's well worth turnong OFF any sturation or sharpness boosting effect in the camera processing so you have full control of it.) The other thing that looks a bit unreal is the darkness of the shadow areas of the mid-ground trees - you would expect some atmosphere-haze at that distance. So I think really dark shadows should be reserved for the foreground.

Best wishes, Jonathan

The good news is; I think I shot this in RAW, so should have no problem re-editing as I get better in photoshop (if I remember right, I hadn't yet learned that hue/saturation can be adjusted for each color area) pheww.. The bad news is; I probably won't be back in this part of the world for at least another year so doubt I can reshoot versions for a blend. As it is, I'm pretty sure that I shot around 3 shots with separate fstops, but even under the best circumstances I usually end up moving the tripod on each adjustment so I'd probably go bannana's trying to merge the three. Might be worth taking a look at though. As to the tree shadows, I agree. I have a nasty habit of hitting everything pretty hard with "levels" & probably went over the top a little bringing out those contrasts. I VERY MUCH appreciate your comments, & see that I have tons to learn. Wish me luck & stop by whenever you please. Always a pleasure!

Nice shot ! Good colors and perspective. Did you went to the "Pousada Santa Maria do Marvao ? At sunset, the view to the valley and surroundings is quite breathtaking...Congratulations for your portfolio and it's always a pleasure to see one's country through foreigner eyes ! Best regards,

 

Unfortunately no. As you can maybe tell from my photos in Marvao itself, I was there at about 8A.M. or so on a Sunday so nothing was open and the fog was thick enough to cut almost (no views this time) However, I will almost certainly go back again and look forward to trying the Pousada. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to do so again whenever you get the chance