How about some discussion about this one - composition, exposure, light, color, detail etc.

I didn't keep the RAW file but I do have the 40mb TIFF (240 ppi) from which this small image was derived here: http://www.fototime.com/FA30E6144F0128F/orig.tif if anyone would like to re-work it.

Unfortunately I believe the EXIF data was lost when I duplicated the original in Photoshop. I'm not so careless with all of my images but I felt this one was destined for personal use only.

I can recall that I used a Canon 1D MKII with a Canon f2.8 L 24-70 mm wide angle zoom and subsequently cropped the capture. It was very overcast, had rained a little earlier and was toward the end of the day - not the best light in other words. I probably boosted the ISO to the 200-400 range and still had to open up the lens to maybe 4.5 or so??

Given the circumstances, there are a number of issues of which I am aware and there are some positives too. I'm not invested in defending it, but rather more interested in discussing it. Thanks!

Composition/use of frame space – 2 out of 5
I think you relied on the beauty of the scene to do most of the work here. Composition looks like you just saw the shot and pointed your camera in that direction. Composition is something you (at least till you have created the habit) it is something you have to think about.

Colors/White Balance – 3.75 of 5
Pretty close, but a bit off on the colors.

Exposure – 3 of 5
Under exposed enough to not let the colors shine.

Creative use of Aperture/Shutter – Not judged no real use of this here.

Perspective – 3 of 5
Perspective while not a solid piece of the composition is used, maybe a use of aperture here would have given it some depth having some pieces out of focus.

Creativity – 2 of 5
Again, it looks like little forethought went into this capture. My mantra is “walk the scene, and find what captured you before you capture it”. Find your compositional elements and simplify…..render it all down till you isolate what caught your eye.

Emotion – 3
Nice fall scene that wasn’t maximized.

Forethought/Visualization - 1.5
This is the #1 problem with this picture. You didn’t maximize its potential. Include more of the road, or get the road out of the picture….tell its story.

Post processing – 3
A little exposure and contrast work got the colors to sing. Post processing doesn’t have to be complicated, just effective. Curves are often all you need to get a well taken shot to sing.

Now…my critique is not meant to bash your shot or your photography. I don’t like sites that just pat you on the back and send you on your way….you learn NOTHING from those kind of sites. We all are here to learn and grow….and the only way to do this is through truthful yet “to the point” info on where improvements lie.

I hope you take this all in good spirits and post much more as even the fact you were able to see the beauty is the #1 prerequisite for landscape work and you did indeed find it….now just to hone your skills in capturing what captured you.

Look forward to your next picture and post.


Now...here is my edit for color and light only on your existing shot.

I'm not offended in the least by either of your critiques and I think you both hit the nail on the head all around. As mentioned, I had no interest in defending this image and clearly it is an image with a bunch of issues, all of which you have clearly and thoughtfully addressed.

I particularly enjoy (and always learn something from) these "pass around" editing exercises and it seems like they tend to generate more actual photography discussion, which I think is why we're all here. Hopefully others will benefit from the discussion and be encouraged to join in.

So, if one were to set out to make a great fall colors image, this would not be the way to do it. It was a hand-held shot in terrible conditions and in fact, the next day almost all those leaves fell to the ground so even the overall timing was bad. If I had shifted the orientation to include more of the road down there you guys would have choked on the ugly white double-wide and old broken down rusted out truck off to the side.

None the less, while taking an end of the day stroll up that dirt road, and in spite of the appalling conditions, I was captivated by the Aspen leaning out over the road with such immense detail in the depths between and behind them. But you guys immediately saw my mistake (the mistake that can't be blamed on the poor conditions) and it was the kind of mistake that I know I'm prone to make, especially if I'm rushing or just not focused, and a lot of people make the same mistake.

And it was all about your notion, Roman, of walking the scene first to find what is interesting about it and only then start tweaking and fiddling to capture exactly what's best about it. I knew what interested me about the scene, but when I went to shoot it I quickly substituted a whole other set of criteria that had to do with framing the scene to contain as much of the yellow leaves as possible while avoiding the objectionable stuff further down the road. And as a result I ended up with something completely different from what actually attracted me to that scene! So I really appreciate both of your thoughtful observations and hopefully, as a result, I'll be less likely to make that sort of mistake in the future.

As an aside, Roman, I like your objective rating system and I advocate the same approach in my main area of photography, studio shots of custom knives for publication. See here: http://www.customknifecollectorsassociation.com/forumsv3/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=31 What we measure improves, but only if we measure it.

And finally, I too re-edited the above scene which I'll toss in here even though we all agree (I assume) that no amount of post-processing can save an image that was ill conceived to start with. In addition to some of the things you guys did in your edits, I used the lens correction filter to alter the perspective a bit. It turned out to be a lateral move with no net gain - just different.



Thanks again, guys!

My dad used to hand make knives. I just moved, so I when I find the knife my father made for me and mounted in a frame, I will have to take a picture of it for you. Just kinda struck a cord with me when I clicked your link.

And thanks for being patient.....as well as understanding of my review.

Roman