Thursday's Task

Ken Rennie

Ken Rennie

Well-Known Member
With successful images it should be fairly obvious what attracted the photographer if the most is made of the opportunity. Ken

With this image it was the duck slowly swimming across the scene that has elevated the image above the obvious gentle colours and excellent reflection with the boathouse to attract your eyes. I did take the duck swimming into the scene but at 100 ISO the shutter speed was too slow and the duck wasn't crisp. By the time I had checked the image, upped the ISO and shutter speed the duck was in a good position but swimming out of the scene but I still like image with the slight dicsturbance in the previous almost perfect reflection.
_DSC5353 copy-1cropped from laptop.jpg

In this image it is the late afternoon spring sunshine lighting up the foreground stones and the lone hawthorn tree. A very low viewpoint chosen to both show the tree against the sky and hide the nearby road.
P RennieK Golden Hour at Winskill Stones.jpg

A seascape from Northern Spain this time. We were on holiday and driving along the motorway when I saw the sea stack with waves breaking over it. Off at the next intersection and found a way down onto the beach then experimenting with shutter speeds to get the best shape and texture in the breaking waves. This is my favourite although not the most spectacular as many of the waves were breaking over the top of the stack. This image has many of the aspects that attract me, strong structure, simplicity, drama.
_DSC8867-4 white stroke.jpg
 
John Holbrook

John Holbrook

Well-Known Member
Ken Rennie said:
With successful images it should be fairly obvious what attracted the photographer if the most is made of the opportunity. Ken

With this image it was the duck slowly swimming across the scene that has elevated the image above the obvious gentle colours and excellent reflection with the boathouse to attract your eyes. I did take the duck swimming into the scene but at 100 ISO the shutter speed was too slow and the duck wasn't crisp. By the time I had checked the image, upped the ISO and shutter speed the duck was in a good position but swimming out of the scene but I still like image with the slight dicsturbance in the previous almost perfect reflection.
View attachment 46361
In this image it is the late afternoon spring sunshine lighting up the foreground stones and the lone hawthorn tree. A very low viewpoint chosen to both show the tree against the sky and hide the nearby road.
View attachment 46362
A seascape from Northern Spain this time. We were on holiday and driving along the motorway when I saw the sea stack with waves breaking over it. Off at the next intersection and found a way down onto the beach then experimenting with shutter speeds to get the best shape and texture in the breaking waves. This is my favourite although not the most spectacular as many of the waves were breaking over the top of the stack. This image has many of the aspects that attract me, strong structure, simplicity, drama.
View attachment 46363
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“With successful images it should be fairly obvious what attracted the photographer if the most is made of the opportunity.” I agree Ken, I hoped to elicit thoughts about the process of initial visualization and then capturing that image—successfully emphasizing that element within the frame. As you posted, the mallard and its wake was definitely a bonus to your scene’s composition. Very nice image, by the way! I love your second image with the lone tree and foreground stones.
 
Ken Rennie

Ken Rennie

Well-Known Member
John Holbrook said:
“With successful images it should be fairly obvious what attracted the photographer if the most is made of the opportunity.” I agree Ken, I hoped to elicit thoughts about the process of initial visualization and then capturing that image—successfully emphasizing that element within the frame. As you posted, the mallard and its wake was definitely a bonus to your scene’s composition. Very nice image, by the way! I love your second image with the lone tree and foreground stones.
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John by initial visualization do you mean pre-visualization if so then I only pre-visualize when shooting waterfalls and cascades with all other images I go somewhere when the light looks promising and look for things that attract me. Ken
 
John Holbrook

John Holbrook

Well-Known Member
Ken Rennie said:
John by initial visualization do you mean pre-visualization if so then I only pre-visualize when shooting waterfalls and cascades with all other images I go somewhere when the light looks promising and look for things that attract me. Ken
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I was referring to that moment when one first looks at the landscape, dissecting the visual essence of its elements—then discovering that which causes you to lift the viewfinder to your eye.

I’ve noticed the “pre-visualization” you referred to above yields great waterfall images!
 
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Kyle Jones

Kyle Jones

Moderator
I have a lot of images that I plan. I intentionally head to a site with an image in mind and then move around and look for the compositions that I like best. For this task, I picked images that I had no intention of shooting until I saw something that caught my eye. In both cases I had to stop, unpack my camera gear, and do my best to capture what caught my eye. I would agree with Ken that is should be pretty obvious why the photographer snapped the shutter on the scene, but for me that doesn't take away the fun of finding something unexpected.
 
AlanLichty

AlanLichty

Moderator
I have tons of shots that were planned well in advance of going to the destination but in all cases I knew what to expect and was looking at TPE, maps/satellite imagery, and often tide tables for timing my visit. I first imagined the view I used for the image of Meyers Creek I posted this morning about 5-6 years ago.

If I am standing at a viewpoint looking at a scene I had never observed before I try to think about what elements are in front of me that would make a pleasing frame for the mood of the scene. Single shot wide angle, multi panel panorama, Telephoto, etc.... there are a lot of ways to go and the more the merrier for me :)

Curvy lines like the trail and waterway I posted are always an attraction for me but I rarely spend a lot of time thinking about compositional rules and start shooting whenever The Voices and my Rice Crispies agree I am seeing something worth shooting 😄
 
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