All Dutch, where there are no mountains

On a summer morning

What technical feedback would you like if any?

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

All feedback is welcome

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)

If you would like your image to be eligible for a feature on the NPN Instagram (@NaturePhotoNet), add the tag ‘ig’ and leave your Instagram username below.
2 Likes

I guess we are going to have to call you “the old Dutch Master, Ben van der Sande”.
Who need mountains when you have stuff like this to shoot?

This image has such a wonderful painterly look to it. The light and colors are very warm and inviting, and the windmill and horses fit right into this pastoral scene. I also like the way you included a bit of sky above the clouds in in the URC.

My suggestions for tweaks would be to slightly increase luminosity overall, to burn the yellow grass in the LRC (to make the horses stand out better), and to slightly dodge the horses, the green grass and the windmill. Here is a rework with my comments.

1 Like

Ben,
I think @Ed_McGuirk is absolutely right in calling you the “old Dutch Master” as this scene has a wonderful inviting feel to it. This is one of those scenes that reminds me of a wonderful painting hanging on the wall. The subtle light is exquisite and you have captured it perfectly. I think @Ed_McGuirk’s couple of small tweaks have elevated an already beautiful image another notch. Nicely done.

1 Like

This scene has an excellent composition and exudes atmosphere - when the photo “takes you there” you know it is a good one! When looking at it I just felt that it was a little too yellow in cast so I downloaded it and played in Photoshop/Lightroom for a little, and found that there is almost no blue component in the whole image (I don’t mean just things coloured blue), and I wondered whether this was how it actually was or if this was the result of editing choices, and then wondered whether that was what made me react how I did. Of course, everything is subjective and in the end you have an excellent image, and I like Ed’s “tweaks” also. Greetings from UK - makes me want to get up and go there!

Ben,
I am really enjoying this one. I visited this region one time many years ago and this scene takes me back to that enjoyable visit. The lush green well kept farms are a beautiful thing to see and you have presented them beautifully.

@Ed_McGuirk, Ed, thank you for your nice words and the rework. I appreciate your attention to my work.
@Ed_Lowe, Ed, You are so right in your comment. But " old dutch master" is a bit too much. Old 73 yes ! Thank you Ed.
@philip1, Philip, thank you for your observations . My intention with images is not necessarily to show the real thing. I like as Ed Mc Guirk in some images the painterly approach .
@Alan_Kreyger. Alan,Glad you enjoying my image and that it brings your memory back.

Ben, this has a strong “Dutch Master painting” feeling. It’s a lovely, warm, bucolic scene with the horses and windmill placed perfectly.

@Mark_Seaver, Mark thank you for your nice comment. I am trying to make more of these images. Until now I did mainly trees.