Landscape Photography

[fazersharp]

I think it needs a bit of this -----------
 

[VNA - BMW Wank]

With film, the camera is just a light tight box - the lens is king.

With digital, the lens is still very important, but no longer is the camera just a light tight box, the sensor counts too.  My 5D2 sensor is light years ahead of my G1 sensor, which doesn't even compete with my 5D1 sensor.  I need that GH3.

Nor does film or digital see what we see.  It just doesn't.  So treat it as data.

My favourite photography was b&w, I could spend 3 or 4 hrs in the darkroom trying to get one display print just so.  Paper flashing, split filter printing, dodging and burning and using toners to get the right result.  Expose and process for a flat boring neg, then work your magic in the darkroom.

Nor is it necessarily about what you saw, it's about how you felt, emotion, what you want others to see.

I stick to the old rule of never to add or take away anything that wasn't there when you took the snap (the odd bit of rubbish, or dust mark expected)

Final rule is, if somebody asks what darkroom or photoshop technique you used to get the result, well it makes you wonder........have I gone too far.  Has too look natural.  A bit like JJ Cale, lots of endless cleaver studio sound work to create the most wonderful natural sounding recordings.

Oh yeah I miss my old darkroom.  Oh to shoot b&w film again.

[midden]

The view down my street

Good to see someone complies with the rules.  this is sure to please Mr Crisp 

[red98]

Oi, no bikes! 

oppps.....still a good piccie 

[Hedgetrimmer]

The view down my street

Good to see someone complies with the rules.  this is sure to please Mr Crisp 

 
Actually midden, I've been trying to think what hills those might be in the background....don't know tho.
 
Fazersharp - B &W eh? Hadn't thought of that. Not bad, not bad.....
 
VNA, have you had any of your work published? Seems as good as some that I have seen in books, calendars etc. Or have you got a website you show/sell your work on?

[slimwilly]

Mendips!!!

[evesdad]

Nick the bit to the right that looks like a small volcano is Morlais Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morlais_Castle) near Merthyr Tydfil. Anything on the left of the picture is just about in the brecon beacons national park.A view from my back garden

[fazersharp]

Fazersharp - B &W eh? Hadn't thought of that. Not bad, not bad.....

Its not just a straight B/W convert as each of those layers of landscape hills have had different amounts of contrast- lightening, darkening and then the sky has had a lot of work done in the clouds, as VNA said it should look good but the viewer should not necessarily see that anything has been done

[Kosmic Kartman]

River Thames from Greenwich.


DSC_0169 by Trackart Images Adrian Barnard, on Flickr

Sorento, Italy.

Minerva Hotel, Sorrento, Italy by Trackart Images Adrian Barnard, on Flickr


Back Garden by Trackart Images Adrian Barnard, on Flickr

[mr self destruct]

I do love a good sunset me. 


These were taken on holiday with my iphone or a little compact I have, so no advanced settings/editing here, just the right shot at the right time.


Shell Island:









On a boat on the Norfolk Broads:





And like I said, it's all about the timing. 

[CRH]

....what a ..crack..er

[unfazed]

It's a bummer

[unfazed]

Here is a rarity, a Road Viaduct, Rail Viaduct and Aquaduct in line. The only one in Ireland and England as far as I am aware. It is in Monsterevin Co.Kildare crossing the river Barrow.

[ChrisJH]

walking the dog in the park one morning took this on the phone

[Tori]

Unfazed's two bikes in the snow is my favourite, although a little too blue I feel


Some nice shots here, though some could benefit from filters (ie, bring out that beautiful sky, but still ahve interest in your foreground, rather than darkness)


One from mondays storm, just as the light was fading.





Hdr, composite of 5 images.



This is using a half grad filter.



One with an ND Grad



A few more of my landscapes here: [size=78%]https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.197250140344626.44661.187533181316322&type=3[/size] amongst lots of other things

[slimwilly]

Fantastic pic's ,well done

[Hedgetrimmer]

I was kinda hoping you'd post a couple of shots here Tori, that's some nice work there. I love good landscape work from an appreciation point of view as much as anything.
Do you have any recommendations for some inexpensive software I could try, just to improve some of mine? I mean, it's only a cheap digi snapper, and I really can't afford the time and expense to get the kind of results yourself and VNA get, but I was impressed by how Fazersharp was able to enhance those that I posted here, and would like to be able to have a bit of a play with that myself.

[unfazed]

Have to agree with you Nick, love landscapes myself and in reply to Tori about the Serows in the Snow, blue suited the day its was -5C when the picture was taken. 
Here is one of Glandore Harbour in West Cork taken outside the fishing village of Union Hall with the trawlers tied up at the pier in Keelbeg.

[VNA - BMW Wank]

Duncan Ban MacIntyre's hoose'

Duncan Ban MacIntyre 1724 - 1812.  One of the most renowned of the Scottish Gaelic poets.   
 
This is his old house in the Auch Glen (Gleann Ach-innis Chalein) 
 
MacIntyre hated sheep, the sheep which caused so many to be cleared from their homes.
 
"My blessing be upon the foxes, that they hunt the sheep, The sheep with the brockit faces that have made confusion in all the world."
 
Today the remains of the house are used as a sheep fank.

Took this snap as I was making way back out after 'climbing' Beinn Mhanach.




Nick, you could try The Gimp - http://www.gimp.org/   I've never tried - keep meaning to though - it's the free alternative to photoshop, I'm told it's very powerful but it might also mean a steep learning curve.  I assume there's plenty of guides out there, but finding the right one is the tick.

For anybody starting at photoshop wondering what the heck to do with it I'd recommend Scott Kelby's 7 point photoshop system book.  If you can excuse the terrible American  English and his OTT processing it is a great shortcut to becoming a photoshop shark.  His processing is OTT in my opinion but his technique, knowledge and step by step tutoring are excellent.  Just where he turns it up to 100%, I just turn it up 10%.  You download his images that he works on in the book and follow it all step by step.  Brilliant. 

[Tori]

Nick, gimp is an ok program for free. Photoshop takes a lot of learning. Lightroom is probably what I'd recommend, even an earlier copy, maybe 3, would be pennies on eBay now. I use it for 90% of my editing. Plus, if you ever need a hand with Lightroom, I know it backwards, so I'm always happy to help
Thanks for the nice comments, much appreciated. It's nice when folk like what you do.

[Hedgetrimmer]

Took this snap as I was making way back out after 'climbing' Beinn Mhanach.




Nick, you could try The Gimp - http://www.gimp.org/   I've never tried - keep meaning to though - it's the free alternative to photoshop, I'm told it's very powerful but it might also mean a steep learning curve.  I assume there's plenty of guides out there, but finding the right one is the tick.

For anybody starting at photoshop wondering what the heck to do with it I'd recommend Scott Kelby's 7 point photoshop system book.  If you can excuse the terrible American  English and his OTT processing it is a great shortcut to becoming a photoshop shark.  His processing is OTT in my opinion but his technique, knowledge and step by step tutoring are excellent.  Just where he turns it up to 100%, I just turn it up 10%.  You download his images that he works on in the book and follow it all step by step.  Brilliant.

 
That pic - time to pitch the tent! 
   "the gimp"?! You'll have Exupnut posting on this in a minute! 
 
Seriously tho, that kind of weather I don't mind in the hills - as long as it doesn't settle in for days. It's when the rain eases and the clouds begin to clear I find that you want the camera ready.
 
And that shot is just the kind of thing to inspire a watercolour - a perfect composition for it.
 
Thanks for the tips, it'll give me something to look at through the winter.
 
Oh, and just saw your post Tori, thanks for that too, looks like I'm going to be busy! 

[VNA - BMW Wank]

Just a wee snow flurry Nick at about this time last year, but I think it worked well for the snap.

Don't under estimate the power of the gimp.

I use Lightroom to catalogue my raw files and to set up the raw files up for use in photoshop.
Presumably it can be used on jpeg and tiff files - Tori?

Everything I do starts as a raw file so I wouldn't know.

Certainly if it can, it's a great way to import and catalogue your files and the develop module has the basic controls you need to set up and image and is very easy to use.

There are of course free alternatives.  But not something I've looked into. 

Photoshop is a pig, but Kelby's 7 point system book can turn anybody into a shark.  It's a step by step dummies guide and it works. 

I did look at that shot of yours.  The exposure looks OK but there's a lot of noise which makes doing much with it difficult.  That may just be the shortcoming of a basic compact - dunno.

There's some really good compact and small system camera out there that produce nice clean low noise shots.  A Canon g15 for less than 300 quid for example.  I think it's got a decent sized one inch sensor, so noise levels should be low.

I'm using a Panasonic G1 for my walking shots, it's got a 4/3rds sensor (decent size).  You can get the much more up to date and much better G5 with a kit lens for about 350 quid I think.  I got one because it's compact and light, plus there are good optics available.  There's an EVF (electronic viewfinder) rather than an optical viewfinder.  It's basically an SLR with the pentaprism and mirror box stripped out, which is why it's so compact and in turn the lens sitting closer to the camera allows for physically smaller lens. 

My G1 is the first generation, I think Panasonic were dipping their toes in the water with a new concept and the sensor is not the greatest.   So I'm itching to upgrade to the GH3 which has a much sweeter sensor. 

Blah blah blah blah blah ............................

[Hedgetrimmer]

Well, I'd be starting from absolute basics, so some of the terminology I don't understand. I can grasp that raw files contain the data from the sensor, but beyond that it gets a little confusing. I also noticed when browsing earlier today that some of the software packages limit what you can do with JPEG format, which is what my little snapper produces. A lot to learn. Can you recommend a good book on the subject for total beginners, something that perhaps explains the terminology in layman's terms?
 
Unfortunately, I'm not really in the position to start buying camera kit while I'm paying off the bike (bike always comes first for me!). But I also noticed that although, as Tori said, Lightroom 3 is cheaper, surprisingly not by much compared to lightroom 5. So any advantage for an amateur like myself, one over the other, and bearing in mind my camera's limitations? But will have to look at other options you've mentioned too.
 
Just really want to play with what I already produce to get started, I don't know if I'll ever take it much further. Dip a toe, so to speak.

[VNA - BMW Wank]

When you shoot raw you just record data from the sensor.
When you shoot say, jpeg, the camera is making decisions on what to do with the data in order for it to become a digital image.

The advantage is shooting raw is that I make the decisions after the shot has been taken rather than the camera when the shot is taken.
You get a bit more flexibility in what you can do with a raw file and how much correction it will take before it turns to mush.

But raw is not available on all cameras, though it is becoming increasingly popular on more advanced compacts etc.

But you don't need to worry about raw.  Though if you buy Lightroom make sure it will handle jpeg and tiff files.

If you just wanna dip a toe why not read up on and try some of the free software out there.

Though Lightroom pricing, unlike photoshop, is not unreasonable.

A quick google;

Top ten free image editors - http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/best-free-photo-editing-software-10-top-image-editors-you-should-try-1135489 

[VNA - BMW Wank]

Time for another snap.

Is roadscape allowed?

The main trunk road through South Harris;