This was a small farm that the owner let me spend the day on, mainly with the animals but I took a few landscape shots as well. It was so fun and peaceful!
Anything, please!
Is this a composite: No
Nikon D3400
ISO 500
70mm
f/13
1/500
(Handheld)
I know it’s probably looked down upon but I just hit the ml button in Pixelmator photo
Connecticut has some rich farming land and this is a good stab at capturing it. My first paying job was picking tobacco in Sufield Conn. I like the various layers here, from the grass in the LRC to the freshly plowed furrows and the rolling hillsides of trees. I think the image has a fine composition, with a strong horizon line.
Did you do any processing? The sky could use a slight darkening with a mask, perhaps. The hillside trees have some nice color that would benefit from a little saturation and contrast. And the plowed earth could be darkened and enhanced to capture its richness.
[quote=“vanessa, post:1, topic:19637”]
I know it’s probably looked down upon but I just hit the ‘ml’ button in Pixelmator photo, I could be wrong, but everything I’ve tried to look up on how to use this processing tool doesn’t show anyway to do different things with different parts of the image. I pretty much only use it to adjust for exposure, crop, very basic. I don’t like to hit that ‘ml’ button because it seems like cheating but I thought in this instance it looked ok.
I would like to be able to use and understand LR/PS but it doesn’t work to well on my device (an iPad). If I ever get a real computer I might be able to do better with the post process part.
Thanks for your feedback and looking!
You found a nice FG to BG composition. Is there a gradient adjustment in Pixelmator? You could use it to select a sift-edges area of the sky and hills and darken them a bit.
I like the various layers within your composition, it adds a nice sense of depth. Since the sky is bare of any clouds, i would suggest a crop away from the top, removing about half of the sky. I think this would make the layers within the landscape even more prominent looking.
Sounds like a wonderful day! The diagonal sweep of the foreground is nice, but I like that tease of rolling hills in the distance as well. This may not have been an option, given your description, but I find these scenes often improve in the richer light later in the day.
Hi Stephen, Diane, Ed, John!
Thank you for all your suggestions and feedback… so I’m doing 2 more takes. With the curve feature on my app I was able to bring out the clouds more in the distance and I think it might help with the dirt. I also just did a 16:9 crop to take some sky…
Hi John! It was fun especially with the animals! Yeah, I agree it probably would be better in softer light, I was there pretty much during the height of the sun in the middle of summer! My camera doesn’t do well in low light, but since this time I am starting to get a tiny bit better with harsh light as well. I reposted, please let me know what you think, if you have time! Thank you!
Thank you Ed! I reposted with a crop. I did a 16:9 and not original sizing because I didn’t want to loose the trees! How do you think it looks now? I really appreciate your feedback and time! I love your work! I used to live in Massachusetts and would go to the Blue Hills! Beautiful!
Hi Diane! Thank you so much for your interest and feedback! I never heard about a gradient adjustment, so I looked it up and unfortunately my app doesn’t have that. I think there’s a way I can add it though…but, I used the curves feature to bring out the clouds more and make the sky a little darker maybe the dirt too? I reposted 2 different ideas. I would love to hear your feedback! Thank you!
Hi Stephen! I redid the photo and I used the curve feature in my app to bring out the clouds more and it might have darkened the dirt more too, not sure. Let me know what you think! I liked your feedback and story about your days in Connecticut. This is called Nature View Farm in Bridgewater, CT
Thank you Vanessa. Yes, the rework is exactly the type of crop that I had in mind. I think it makes everything in the landscape more powerful. With bald skies like that, conventional wisdom is usually to minimize them.
I like the pano crop – the sky and the scraggly top of the big tree weren’t contributing anything. I like the brighter plowed field in it, too – it had lost too much contrast in the version just above it. Maybe there is some way to darken the sky and keep the FG as it is?
Sounds like you are very limited in the app, but do keep your raw files for when you have better tools.
Thanks! Yeah, I’m glad at least I can shoot Raw and hopefully some of my photos are salvageable! I’m hoping I can figure out how to make my app better I’ve read that it can be done!
Hi Vanessa, the first redo of the image is a nice improvement, it darkened the sky and enriched the darker tones of plowed area . I am not not familiar with your processing app Pixelmator.
I have to strongly disagree with a few of the comments on the pano version. I am not a fan. That version of the image is, to my eyes, very unbalanced. The plowed field is so dominant in its size as a wide diagonal swath through the image that only the full horizontal field of sky can peacefully compete and balance it. The larger tree on the left side visually connects both elements for the viewer. While I am not usually attracted to a lifeless pale sky in landscapes, there is some visual interest with the cloud cover along the horizon. And in this case, the sky is a big part of the story, complimenting the large sweep of land. The original composition was right on target. The pano version does not tell the same "pioneer farmland " story as the original.
Just my thoughts…Trust your instincts. and keep shooting !
Hi Stephen! Thanks for your thoughts. I do agree with you that I like the full version better as well. I didn’t like cropping out that tree and it did look strange to me but I thought it was only because I had been there. I can tell this is an art. Because everyone has different tastes and preferences. Doesn’t make them right or wrong. But it’s really educational to get feedback and learn how to use the tools I have! Thank you
