fall pond

[John Chardine]

Thought I'd try this out on folks. I've mulled the image over for quite a while and thought I have it to a point where comment may help further.

Image was made near Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia.

I had to rotate the image and used the pond and trees as level indicators. Light was very flat (raining), so I boosted saturation a little to bring out the fall colours. Still not happy with the pair of trees close to the middle of the image and I really need a cow or a horse in the field!

Canon EOS 40D, 70-200 mm F4 IS @ 75mm
capture date: Thursday, October 9, 2008 2:29:35 PM
exposure program: Aperture Priority
ISO speed: 400
shutter speed: 1/500
aperture: f4.0
exposure bias: -0.3
metering: Pattern
light source: Auto
flash: OFF

[Robert Amoruso]

Hi John,

I think we both are not happy without something on the left balancing the trees out on the right. I would have like to see a bit more room on the right so the FG water was not cut off.

I like the jump my eye makes from the FG right pond, left to the next pond, right to the trees and left to the line of trees on the hill.

If you want to get rid of the haze try local contrast enhancement (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20434)

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey John,
I agree with Robert that Ideally i would have preferred the right side of the pond in the frame. I also went with his suggestion and did the local contrast adjustment with amount 20....radius 20....and threshold 0. This boosted the contrast without taking away from the rainy feel of the image........and I could go either way with it..............leave it or use it.....both seem fine.......I cropped proportionally from the left and top.........to further maximize the strength of the line......and cloned out the post/w reflection........if you are so inclined. Just ideas to explore to your liking. Your self critique was right on.......this would make it stronger.......but the crop does add some balance. Let me know your thoughts.

[John Chardine]

Many thanks guys. I realise one of the most important things I have to do in landscape photography is have good peripheral vision! Part of my problem is that I tend to rush things. In this case I was parked on the side of the road and shot from the car. It wasn't the best place to stop. I plan to return to this area next year and capture it through the seasons. Then I'll be out of the car, in the field, with camera on a tripod! In the meantime I'll work on this image.