mirkal

Thank you all for your comments dear friends. I have no idea how I got that vignetting on it, I used the right shade so it has to be that my polarizing filter is just too thick? I use to shoot with this lens almost 8 years and it never happens to me. Now, the question is what extremely hot climate can do with the gear. I wasn't very well prepared for this environment, I have to admit that. After one hour shooting my gear got so hot I couldn't even touch it with my hand and I got afraid it can do some irreversible damage to it so I packed and waited until late afternoon and started shooting again. Interestingly, shots taken just before the dusk don’t show same vignetting despite taken with the same lens and same filter (http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=10691262 ). Any ideas why??

Simple and beautiful, perfect composition and very good contrast management. Excellent work.

White Sands National Park, southern New Mexico. Photographed almost some 1 p.m.

and temperature was 46C (114F) in shadow. Sun was virtually cooking myself and my

gear. I gave up after 1 hour when I realized I can't touch anymore a lens without

burning my fingers. Then I saw these plants surviving in such hostile conditions and

thought it is just amazing how strong life can be. Despite of serious struggling I still

believe it is an amazing place worth to go and I love it.

Adam,

It is gorgeous subject indeed. I even like that half and half composition despite you broke here third's rule (which I believe some people are following without discrimination just because it become almost kind of religion in landscape photography). I think actually your half and half composition works perfectly well in this image. There something about the contrast I dislike, I don't know if that is because of my monitor but I have an impression that there is way too much contrast here, mid-tones grey's are almost gone, both white clouds and dark shadows are without details and this is resting to otherwise perfect landscape. Anyway, thank you for posting it, really great place.

 

Excellent real-life photography, I agree it is evoking questions and there is a story behind this picture. Technically perfectly done, composition can’t be better. I like it and a lot, very fine work. 6/7

Johannes,

This is gorgeous image despite I do not have an experience with underwater shooting I guess it is a difficult task to manage such a huge light intensity differences like sun light at sea surface and bright foreground against wreck. You managed it very well and composition is excellent as well. I never realized you can actually use water and move yourself in 3D when you are composing your image and now I see that as a huge advantage in front of say landscape photography where you can work pretty much only in 2D space if no hills are within your location or you have not available a chopper. This picture shot from sea bottom would be boring and little telling, using that third dimension and shooting from higher point it is completely different story and you got gorgeous image. Very well done, congratulations, this is exquisite underwater photography.

 

Richard,

I found this image by accident almost just browsing your portfolio! What a great landscape, I love it all - colors, shapes and forms for these different red beds, contrast with sky and foreground, just fabulous image! I will give you at least 6/6 for this one, great landscape and very well composed! I would like to see in B&W, it has to be quite nice to see these fine transitions of grey tones. You know me - I would shoot it with heavy red filter to high contrast B&W film! However, color works of course on this scene just great.

 

Interesting sky Ricardo, I have to go there one day, looks like fabulous desert area indeed. Was it during winter or summer time??

White sands in late afternoon sunlight just a few moments before sundown. Bright,

snow-white color change to orange-gold tonalities, something really unique, difficult to

see in classic desert areas.

This is gorgeous shot Peter, well composed, great color contrast, really nice shot, sky is just adding that last bit of beauty. Congratulations! Len do toho!

Sondra, congratulations to very well chosen subject and excellent IR light rendition. I like the composition and the way you managed difficult light conditions balancing shadows and highlights on the same scene, really masterpiece. I do IR as well and I can imagine what difficulties you had to deal with here. Regarding 3/3 ratings these commonly came from people who never even posted one single image. I was in the similar situation once with image I honestly didn't consider to deserve such a low rating and I complain to PN. Well, their response was that member never gives better rating and I can be happy to get 3/3 as he/she use to rate even lower. According PN his work is outstanding and at "National Geographic Quality". I still can't understand why such a prominent photographer is not registered and appears as an anonymous user, bit strange don't you think if you supposedly shoot National Geographic quality? No doubts there are really outstanding photos in NG but I would have my doubts to establish commercial magazine photos as a worldwide quality and artistic standard, I believe artistic value of the photography is somewhere else and not only in technically perfect images. Some friends noted also on PN that such low ratings use to appear almost automatically right in the moment you just placed the photo at critique forum, virtually in the same moment your photo appeared to public. Is that not really strange? I agree with Richard’s comment above at this forum that we have to use for these 3/3's, there will be always envious, poison-full people who if can't compete openly with their work they will try at least to degrade other people work but don't worry, outstanding photo will always get so many high ratings that one- man opinion is completely irrelevant. Keep shooting and thank you for sharing with us such an extraordinary image!

Monotonous vegetation-free volcanic sequence in approx. 4,900m altitude (16,080ft)

just about 20 minutes before major snow-storm. I liked white ash tuff contrast against

dark background which became even more pronouced under last sun lit through heavy

clouds just in the moment when I started shoot it. Thank you for your comments.

Richard, this is really funny picture and sad as well. Funny because of that Non swimming advice considering everything is frozen to rock and sad considering that advice is already written also in other language which is not exactly official language in USA. I remember we had two-languages advices twice in our history, once it was during WWII (Slovak and German) and now in southern Slovakia (Hungarian and Slovak). What I learned up today is that it never worked out....

Very nice composition and subject, I like the ice color contrasting with blue on the sky. That piece of ice is also well balancing your composition adding "weight" to central-right portion of the image and balancing heavy clouds in upper left corner. Very well done Marek.

Breathtaking portrait Birte, this is outstanding. Fine nuances in skin color tonality, skin textures both hands and face of that old person praying (?), it is all human testimony indeed, I love it.

Alien's eggs was the first what came to my mind when I saw this lichen in some

4,700m (15,400ft) in Peruvian Andes. This plant is scarce and almost extinct because

local people cut and dry them and use as fuel (it burns longer then coal does).

Unfortunately lichen needs 20 years to grow of that size (0.5m or 1.6ft). Enjoy this

view,there are not to many left.

Peruvian Andes highlands in 4,700m altitude just before a major snow storm. Beautiful

contrast of different volcanic sediments with white ash tuff lit by last sun shine, one

hour later it was all just white under the snow. Thanks for your comments.

John,

Very interesting to see the same scene I have been shooting on last summer and now in winter, what and amazing difference. I pretty much like it, there are only few pictures of this probably the famous scene in Monument Valley with a snow cover, I like your composition and depth of field, and well managed contrast even considering snow is a tricky component. Only what is disturbing me is that nice, peacefully looking blue sky. I would love to see this scene with some heavy, dark-grey clouds adding some action into it. Of course, it is just an idea, this image is well composed indeed.

 

May you please give us some details about your equipment? It looks almost like taken from Hubble or Mt. Palomar telescopes ....

Richard, to be honest I like the previous shot more. This composition with rails starting in lower third of the image....I don't know, I like the same image version where that middle bright path is starting in the corner and all railway is streaming from the corner instead from the lowermost third.

Richard,

You did a great work on this shot how you managed contrast. If I wasn't there with you I would not believe you can get such a smooth contrast on the same scene I struggle with on my slides! Excellent work, well done!

This looks almost as abstract photography or as it was not taken on this planet. Excellent work, I would love to see it with my eyes, well done.

Breathtaking image, the way you managed to get such a interesting foreground and that impressive northern lights illuminated sky is just extraordinary. Stunning image, congratulations!

Composition and color rendition on this image is outstanding. If you would ask rating on it I will give you 7/7

Excellent dramatic sky with extraordinary colors indeed however, subject is more than common. Sunset on the shore, huge depth of field with every single stone in focus up to far horizon, blurred water, golden-hour light, well seen, well done just missing something really exiting and honestly I don’t this image deserving 32 or so 7/7’s, it is really pathetic. Jack Burges suggestion with getting sun into focus and oversaturation colors is evoking a question - maybe it would be better to make this image entirely all in Photoshop? Kind of virtual landscape Jack?? Where are all these "improvements" going, I really don't understand what is the point to enhance extremely images by digital tools. At the end they will all look so perfect and so equal.... and boring, don’t you think?