The best time to photograph the hills of the Palouse region of Washington State is when the sun is at a low angle to the land. This shot was taken towards evening, as the light coming from the right casts shadows on the left side of each mound in the landscape. This brings out the texture of the landscape, which can not be appreciated when photographing here during harsh, midday light.
Feedback Requests
General feedback on this image would be appreciated, including any suggestions and how it might be improved upon. Thanks.
Pertinent Technical Details
Canon EOS 70D with 150-600mm lens @150mm
f/8, 1/640 sec @ ISO 1000
Processed in Lightroom/localized dodging and burning using a brush.
@Ted_Forman this is such a classy looking image. You are right, the low angle of the light is what really makes these lines stand out. I’m really looking hard for issues with this, because it really flows. Only two little things I can think of: The crop at the top seems a little cut off. But I’m sure it’s because the land goes on and on, and you have the frame this some how. Other little thing is the small, white truck at the left edge of the frame. Maybe that could go. The others look like part of the landscape. Very nicely done.
Very nice textures in the hills along with a wide variety of color. The low angle light works well to delineate the shadows.
I agree with @patrick6 regarding the crop and the truck. If I had one nit, it would be the saturation is little too strong. You might consider dialing it back.
A superlative photo, Ted! You’ve captured the interplay of light and shadow perfectly. Personally, I would have retouched the cars and the white building in the horizontal centre line.
Thank you @patrick6@Preston_Birdwell and @Robert_Buergisser for your comments and suggestions. I found them very helpful and returned to the image and re-edited it. I adjusted the crop, slightly reduced the overall saturation and cloned out the vehicles and poles that were present in the middle of the image. I also darkened the white structure so it appears less of a distraction.
YES! Really like the flow through the image. I forgot to say, I did like the position of that building in the upper center. Now it really becomes the focus of the image with the lines all around it. Nice.
Ted: I love the scene and every time I see an image from the Palouse I rue the chances I missed to photograph this area when I lived in Spokane in the early 80’s. I was into photographing my kids then and nature photography was not in my thinking. For me this is almost two shots in one. The prominent FG taking up about 40% of the frame doesn’t work for me. I find the upper 2/3 of the image the most compelling and think if viewing this same scene I would have shot it in landscape orientation with much less of the bright green FG. Just my 2 cents. >=))>
I see your point Bill. I actually shot several frames of this scene, and have a tighter shot in landscape orientation, with the building more prominent in the frame. I’ve included that one below. I just chose to post the portrait orientation to get some feedback on that one. Thanks for your comments. Much appreciated.
