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Vincent Grafhorst
07-31-2008, 12:46 AM
Seeing the palm trees dotted on the far horizon in the wide open grassy plains of the Makgadikgadi NP at sunrise, I tried something different by using a very long focal length.

Makgadikgadi National Park, Njuca Hills, Botswana.

Handheld from car roof.

Camera Model Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/3200
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation +1 2/3
ISO Speed 1600
Lens EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x
Focal Length 700.0 mm

Vincent Grafhorst
www.khwaiphotography.com (http://www.khwaiphotography.com)

Robert Amoruso
07-31-2008, 06:58 AM
Vincent,

I like the unyielding color of the image - it says HOT. The almost in the middle of the frame horizon makes the image a bit too static. The trees on the horizon act as a center of interest but I feel may be a bit to small to hold a viewer's attention. I do like how you have a large group of trees on the right and a single tree on the left - it balances the image but also adds tension.

For me, an image like this is about feel and mode and the light does that but the horizon location bothers me. I tried a recrop and posted it here. I did it two ways, as shown and then with all the FG and the sky a sliver. I like the one shown better. To me the crop strengthens the image by eliminating a FG w/o a lot of visual interest, accentuating the trees by making them more predominate in the FG and still maintaining the feel of the original image.

Roman Kurywczak
07-31-2008, 09:09 AM
Hi Vincent,
I agree with Robert's whole first paragraph and couldn't say it any better. Where I disagree with him (hey it happens......although not often!) is on the crop. I like the grasses as it gives the image a feeling of vastness. I'm not thrilled with th sky.........although it does convey the feeling of "hot". I tried darkening the sky some.......bringing out the soft white clouds a bit more........and I was OK with that.........but felt it took a bit too much of the feel away......same was true for a contrast boost........but i still agree with Robert that something isn't quite right with the proportions..........I'll work on it if I get a chance and see if i can come up with anything..........on that note........way to use the long lens to compose a landsape.

Vincent Grafhorst
07-31-2008, 10:21 AM
Hi guys, thanks for your comments. I agree with the horizon being too centred, that is what bothers me about this image as well, but I just did not know how to crop. The way you have reposted here Robert is a no go for me, since what I like about this image most is the FG grasses (and the trees on the horizon). Yet I also did not want to loose the white slivers of clouds in the sky... I am curious whether you can come up with something Roman.

Btw I am always impressed by the way both of you take your critiqueing so seriously and go the extra mile to help others to become better photographers. I applaud you for that and thanks!

Robert Amoruso
07-31-2008, 10:45 AM
Vincent and Roman,

This is the other version of the crop I experimented with. Each crop is vastly different. I chose the version above as I like the look of "HOT" in the sky. It did not matter to me that there was little/no detail. The sliver of land acts as an anchor and the trees now become more prominent in the image.

The version here displays the vastness (as Roman noted) best and when added with the backlighting of the grasses makes for a good looking image.

I can go either way but still like the first version a bit over the second. Of course in the end it is Vincent's decision as to what his vision is for the image.

Roman Kurywczak
07-31-2008, 06:28 PM
OK Vincent,
It took a while but here's a few to ponder. The first I will post here is darkening of the sky a bit and slight crop. The 2nd version.......which requires a choice of whether you are comfortable with it.............I moved the clouds down into the frame........and then cropped to a pano. You can probably mix and match both. Let me know what you think.

Roman Kurywczak
07-31-2008, 06:29 PM
2nd one.........& might be one I like best.

Vincent Grafhorst
07-31-2008, 11:10 PM
Thanks for the effort Roman. I agree I do like the second one best, but I always prefer not to do any major Photoshopping such as moving subjects. In this case I might consider however...
Cheers

Sabyasachi Patra
08-01-2008, 10:43 AM
Btw I am always impressed by the way both of you take your critiqueing so seriously and go the extra mile to help others to become better photographers. I applaud you for that and thanks!

I agree with Vincent. The difference between this site and others is the critiques. I agree with the horizon being centred. I am intrigued by the light. Did you set the white balance differently or the actual temp was like that.

Vincent Grafhorst
08-02-2008, 03:24 AM
I am intrigued by the light. Did you set the white balance differently or the actual temp was like that.

Sabyasachi, I shot this at Auto WB and the camera decided on 4700K, but I did warm it up to 5200K. Actually looking at that now, I may try another conversion with a bit less warming up though.