dave.englund

Has potential, but needs work. Selected adjustment of levels for the city area, too many dark shadows there currently. Also, selected adjustment of the sky. Perhaps a digital graduated ND filter to darken it, or apply a digital filter to give it some more even color. Keep 'em coming!

A really great foreground element. I sooo like the color and texture of the rocks! I can see the point on the horizon, but it almost looks like earth curvature, so it's not bothering me too much. Wouldn't hurt to try though. Congrats!

A very neat place and wonderfully captured. Congrats!

Thanks much Carlos:-)

 

Mark, I appreciate your comments. I have very mixed feelings about this shot myself. There were a couple of shots I got from pull-offs on the road down from the Tower. Getting a better vantage point would have required climbing up a bit of a hill, as a result there was a significant part of that hill that I had to crop out of this shot. I do like the burnt tree, and it would be nice to find a way to include it where it doesn't over-power or compete with the Tower. Next time to the Tower I will be doing more hiking;-)

Outstanding image. Great transfer of the character of that tough old tree. What texture! Congrats.

Thanks for your comments:-)

Thanks for drawing it to my attention. I am sooo poor at titling images. This is a hot spring from Yellowstone. And the colorful runoff is made up of various kinds of microorganisms called "thermophiles." The alkalines and silicates that are also in the water are slowly replacing the cells of the wood in the trees that the runoff encapsulates - they are quite literally in the process of becoming petrified wood. You are also quite correct in thinking it deserves a call to the EPA, in fact much of Yellowstone could fall into that category, but in this case the guilty party is nature itself!

The reflections move this into being a very abstract image. I really like they way you framed/cropped this. Nicely done!

Thank you for your comments:-)

To be sure, it is sharper and more vibrant overall. A really fine composition and very interesting subject matter. Congrats!

Thank you for your comments:-)

Hey Bill, I am really enjoying this foggy scene and it's pastel colors. The lavender appearance of the fog is very interesting! The tree makes for an interesting subject in its own right. But a theme of curves definitely brings additional interest - in the rolling hills, and also in the trunk and branches of the tree. Nicely done.

Bill, very nice composition and colors. I'm especially enjoying the reflections in the water droplets!

I very much like the subject and composition. I just find it feeling a tad fuzzy in the foreground and details of the building. Still, it's a wonderful perspective.

I think it looks very good. My only wish is that the person was up closer to the first lamp post and looking out at the ocean.

Please leave comments:-)

It's a memorable ride up the narrow winding road that leads through several tunnels, and this one with a great view of the four presidents. It was even more memorable standing in the middle of the road with my tripod setup, hearing a car horn beep to alert other on-coming cars, and having to quickly duck to one side or the other while the car passed by, then reset-up and snap off a couple more images. Now that's an adventure!

 

This day at Rushmore started out with the mountain in a thick fog. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the folks who were piling off buses and lining up to have their pictures taken with the four presidents, and there wasn't a hint of the four gents behind them - just a thick white fog. That was their photo-op at Rushmore, back on the buses and off they went. I on the other hand had the luxury of wasting an hour or two until the fog lifted. While I waited I browsed the gift shop, where I ran into an old fella selling a book he'd authored ("Mount Rushmore Past, Present & More" by Guy F. Baily and Joyce E. Bailey). While I was visiting with Mr. Baily, he told me about the special view through one of the tunnels, and it registered in my mind as something I just had to check out. So, while this shot is not terribly original, its still one of the unique viewpoints of this amazing sculpture.

 

By the way, the book is a great read about the history and making of Mount Rushmore. You can waste $40 on a lot of other things that will be quickly forgotten. I bought Mr. Baily's book and I'm glad I did.

I like the comp., the detail, and the textured water with below the surface highlights.

Yes, I like it very much. I like the curved lines of the water drenched road, as well as the straight lines of the barn and fence. I'm also enjoying the various colors - green, gold, red, white, orange. The only thing is, I'd be tempted to crop out most of the first large puddle and see what the effect is.

A wonderful image. I am enjoying the distinctive highlights of the flower set against the surrounding shadows. Congrats!

Me too! Great shot, and nice work!!

On my return trip home I couldn't resist stopping again to capture a

few more images of the Tower. Thank you for your comments:-)

Thank you Pierre. Yes, I always have a polarizer on since I do mostly landscape. On this trip I was also in the habit of using a Cokin P-Series holder on the front of my wide-angle lens. And I almost always had two graduated ND filters, and one warming filter in the holder. Since I shoot RAW in standard mode (no in-camera processing) I use Photoshop Elements to do my post-processing adjustments on levels, shadows/highlights, color balance, etc. Also, I am finding out that each lens has it's own set of "sweet spots." That is, for each focal length there is a combination of focus point and f/stop that produces the best DOF overall. I don't believe the general "rule" anymore that high f/stops (f/22 or f/32) are the way to go. In fact, they often produce poor results because of diffraction (here's an article by Bob Atkins). At 36mm and f/13 this image was nearby the sweet spot;-)

While it's not my kind of image I think it's an outstanding image. A very simple, yet powerful composition. Excellently executed!

Thanks Tony! It definitely took some work to get to this vantage point, but it was worth the effort;-)

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Chris, it's a great place isn't it! And you're a much braver man than I. You wouldn't get me on a ladder higher than six feet! Ha!