Landscape 2014

[ValeryD]

Cogito! I really like last shot.

[Greg Beetham]

I like the lone duck on the water at sunset too.
The broken ice looks treacherous Valery.
Yeah I like the 'local' too.
Greg

[Kalainen]

When I first got in to digital photography there was a lot of comment in magazines and online about not wanting to do too much processing, and having to get things right in the camera rather than doing post processing. It gave me the impression that there was a school of thought saying post processing was bad. Since then I've decided that, for myself, I'm making pictures. The camera, and the light coming in to the camera, are part of that process of making a picture. Post processing in software is another part of the process. I'll do as much of either part as is necessary to get the end result I want. I read a good quote the other day, attributed to Ansell Adams. It went something along the lines of "the negative from the camera is the equivalent of the musical score, and the print is the equivalent of the performance". I thought that was a neat analogy; the RAW files from the camera are potential, which we interpret as we want.

I feel excatly the same way, but couldn't have said it better! It's certainly a good analogy.

As a slight counter to my own argument, as I am making pictures of the natural world, if my interpretation goes too far then the picture will lack realism and can spoil the end result. I therefore always appreciate comments which say when I have perhaps gone a bit too far .

Yep, it's a fine balance and difficult to decide how far one should strecth the original image. My thought have been that if I can see the post processing then it's too much - but it gets harder and harder because the more you know the more you see what has been done to image!

Your comment about a style is an interesting one. I'm not sure that I've got one. I'm probably still learning so much as I go along that it is a moving target.

At least from the pictures I've seen here, I can recognize yours without seeing your screen name, so I guess it's coming - until one learns a new trick, hah!

-Toni

--
Toni Ahvenainen (1976)
Year of the Alpha - 52 Weeks of Sony Alpha Photography: http://www.yearofthealpha.com
Flickr-account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/109262328@N06/

[viewfinder]

bluebell time leicestershire

[viewfinder]

borough wood Ratby leicestershire

[Cogito]

Thank you Valey, Greg. Thouble is you have to drive to get there, which tends to restrict the drinking! This is over my right shoulder when immortalising the local.

[sury]

Nice shots Ray. Tony, too bad, few puffy clouds would have made the shot even better.

Sury

[Cogito]

I love bluebells, Ray! For the closeup, maybe you could have closed the lens down from f2.8 - increase the (ISO from 100?) to get all the blossoms in focus and the green stalk as well? Apart from that lovely shot.

Ah Sury! Here we dream of cloudless days.

[Birma]

Lovely Bluebell shots Viewfinder - I like the shallow dof in the first one with the okay balls in the background . Off to check my local patch today. Hope I haven't missed them while away in Scotland.

Love the ramshackle pub, Tony. I expect the beer tastes all the better

[Birma]

Still going through the Isle of Skye post processing log-jam . Here are two from locations on the Isle of Skye that I have not visited before (in the 20 or so years I have been going there!).

The first is Loch Coruisk. This is a pretty popular destination and I can think of no reason why I have not put in the effort (a short boat ride for us) to get there before. It is an absolutely stunning place. The Cuillin mountains almost circle this deep fresh water Loch that was an inspiration for Sir Walter Scott, as well as J.M.W. Turner. We were lucky to visit on such an sunny day - others have gone before us and not bean able to see a thing due to deep mist. If you're going to Skye then you must try to visit. The boat trip is definitely the easiest method as it is a fairly serious walk on foot by any other route.

My pictures do not do justice to this awesome place. Here are a few lines from Scott's 1815 poem Lord of the Isles:

“Rarely human eye has known
A scene so stern as that dread lake,
With its dark ledge of barren stone...”

2014 Skye Easter - Head Of Loch Coruisk by Birm, on Flickr

The next picture is not so epic, and just another Hebridean sunset . This is a from a place called Milovaig on the Northwest tip of the Isle of Skye. I have always been drawn to Neist Point in this area, but that is so popular at sunset that I decided to look for alternatives this time. I found this spot where the sunset rays seemed to split the rocks in the bay.

2014 Skye Easter - Milovaig Sunset 2 by Birm, on Flickr

Loch Coruisk with Nex 6 and SEL 16-50

Milovaig Sunset with A99 and SAL 28-75

[viewfinder]

thx for all pics on there all great i like this shot with a micro sam 30mm [ c mos ] crop cheap plastic mount but a decent lens for price @ 2.8 100 iso

[Greg Beetham]

Birma despite the nice lake that is some bleak looking landscape, makes an impressive scene though, sort of like if the moon had an atmosphere and water.
You did a good job with the gap in the rock at sunset, worked quite well. For some reason I find myself wanting the water to be sharp in that one…I have no idea why though, maybe it’s the sharp glints I’m missing from the water perhaps.

The lens seems pretty good viewfinder, the single bluebell seems sharp if a bit busy in the background perhaps, the path through the wood and bluebells is a nice view but does the photo look sort of like a double image or something or is my old eyesight playing up.

That’s a vintage cottage Tony, I bet it’s seen some life and times go by, looks like it won’t be long before it needs a bit of TLC on the roof.
Greg

Ps I was speaking with DA today, he’s fine, just been snowed under doing three things at once.

[Birma]

Thanks Greg . I was a bit stuck with the water due to slow shutter speeds and so I decided to slow it down even more with a ND filter. Perhaps I should have pumped up the ISO and got the water sharp. Something to think about for next time.

Good to hear DA is ok, but busy!

[sury]

Nice ones there gents. Here are a few from recent weekend jaunt to central California.

The first one is just before sunset looking westwards. Second and third are looking South
as sun sets on Morro Rock, near Morro Bay, California. First time in a while shot in RAW
and processed in LR.





[url=https://flic.kr/p/nmLEtE]

[Birma]

Beautiful views Sury. I particularly like number 3. Love the light and the flowers in the foreground