Rural Florida

[Harold Davis]

ran into this scene yesterday morning while touring an old ranch in southwest florida. used the ole bigma right out the car window. during post processing, i removed one power pole and a few lines, used a graduated nd filter on the sky and a few tonal adjustments. i'm just wondering how i might be able to improve on stuff like this when i run into these situations. what would you have done different. compositionwise, i only straightened it and cropped some off the bottom for more of a pano. i did, however, leave some essence of cattle on the road!!:)

D300, bigma at 100mm, f/10, 1/800s, -0.3EV, ISO 1000

thanks for looking. your comments are most appreciated!

[Dave Mills]

Hi Harold,Even lighting with interesting subject matter. The road placement is well handled and managed to get some detail out of the sky. I feel the image could use a crop on the left just past the first large tree. The picture does look a bit altered. Did you use Nik tonal adj? Otherwise well handled and no other suggestions on how to improve compositionally...

[Harold Davis]

i did use the tonal contrast adj in nik. i like what it did to the shadows in the trees and it helped bring out the detail in the sky. there is a fine line to walk using it. can get the HDR look from it really quick!!!

thanks for helping!!

[Dave Mills]

I thought you might have...I've used the filter also for certain images and I like the effect. It does have a way of pulling detail like S/H....

[Bill Ragan]

Hi Harold; I live in Florida and I travel it quite a bit. I've seen scenes like the one you photographed from time to time. I'm glad that you stopped to take the photo which to me showed how some parts of Florida are just aging in place. I also wanted to add that recently I've aquired a taste for electric lines and light poles in photos because they seem to add a perspective of age and industrialism.

[Harold Davis]

thanks, bill. you bring up a good point. actually glad i disclosed that info now. something to think about next time!!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey H,
Well....first lets talk about comp......I like what you did here like Dave with the balance of the road and water tower? I'm ok with the OP trees too but the crop suggestion would also work. In this case, the HDR look works for me as the light wasn't enough to make anything dramatic.....so IMO you made lemonade out of lemons! ......and I am glad you removed the telephone poles too!
Now.....the huge secret on how to improve......revisit the location as often as you can in different lighting conditions! That's it! I don't think you could improve the comp much and it is very interesting......what isn't all that.....is the light......so if you got more dramatic light.....the scene would be very different. I rmember a story of one of my idols....Galen Rowell.....having a vista in his back yard and not being able to get the image he wanted for 20 something years......one day conditions were right and he literally ran/hiked to the location just to capture the light as it happened. He said it was one of his favorite images.
More than any photography discipline the clouds and dramatic light play a huge role in the final outcome of an image. What seperates the good and very good to great.....is the light ....the light......the light! Revisiting locations many times is the only way to ensure that you capture something truly amazing. This location has huge potential.....keep it in mind and revisit it often!
Oh....BTW.....I'm heading down to your neck of the wood on the PM of March 4, ...through the am of the 7th. Will PM you.

[Harold Davis]

thanks, roman! yep, as you could tell, dull, boring overcast conditions.

will be looking forward to getting together!!!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Oh....did I mention I'm bringing that other landscape mod.....DMills?

[Harold Davis]

uh oh......that could be trouble!!!! you three with marcellini will be like the three stooges!!!:D

[Dave Mills]

As long as I'm not Curley....

[Harold Davis]

As long as I'm not Curley....
roman fits that bill!!!!
:D

[Roman Kurywczak]

Ouch......oh wait....he was the funny one!