Gulf Islands

[Dave Leroy]

This is a shot looking west across the Straight of Georgia to the Gulf Islands just south of Vancouver, BC.
50D, 70/200mm at 127mm, f/5.6, 1/1000, EC +1.5 and IO400. I wondered about the birds, Snow Geese, and also about putting a bit of colour in the reeds. In hindsight a bit more dof may have helped a bit. Dave

[Dave Mills]

Hi Dave, Agree that shooting at a higher fstop would have made the reeds sharp. When shooting landscapes I personally don't go lower than f16. I wanted to show you a different approach to your image by making it a vertical. I thought the birds were a point of interest and I wanted to make them a bit more dominant. I selected the sky and added a S/H adj to bring out more detail and added more saturation. I then selected the bottom and lightened the reeds.Finally, I cropped a bit off the top..

[Robert Amoruso]

Dave,

I like what Dave Mills suggested with the vertical crop.

I noticed sharpening halo around the birds. Get rid of it by applying mask and painting over the birds. As they are black against the bright sky, they will look black.

If you have bent down just a bit, the sliver of bright water between the mountains and the reeds could be eliminated. As is, it is a distraction. Or if you had gone higher and exposed a clean wider line of the water, it may have added additional layering and depth to the image.

I do like the expansive sky and feel you composed the clouds well with many strong diagonal lines.

[Dave Leroy]

Thanks again. I think what both of you have been saying, is that for landscapes it is generally best to have everything in focus. Which is fine with a 500mm, just means a little different approach from a shorter lens.
Yes, I know what you mean by that thin strip of water, and I could have gotten lower easy enough.
And I am glad that the birds worked as part of this photo, which was my feeling as well in this case.
Dave