Tranquil lakes

[Hilary Hann]

Outback Australia (at least where I am) is a completely different landscape this year due to exceptional rains. Driving through an area which at this time of year should be red sand, dotted salt bushes and blazing skies we were amazed to see thigh high feathery grasses hiding the mobs of kangaroos which you only see if they get spooked and start bounding. Emus are easily seen as their heads sway above the grass.

This expanse of water is on the edge of a more permanent lake but the water reaches far into the surrounding land. An overcast day with only an occasional glimpse of sunlight. My husband took a wider view and has produced a beautiful HDR image but he never seems to have time to post his images. His is much nicer.

7D; 300 IS f4; ISO400; f14; 1/80 Manual exp, Tripod, Grad ND filter

[Jay Gould]

Hillary, very nice! Where in the outback was it shot? We live full-time in an off-road caravan in Australia towed by an F450.

[Robert Amoruso]

Hilary,

Nice to see you posting here. I like this a lot. Placement of tree just right. I like the fact the darker cloud rests above the tall tree and does not intersect it. Though not a deal breaker, if it was possible to get higher such as on top of your vehicle you possibly could have separated the tops of the near grasses from the more distance ones wih sand.

[Dave Mills]

Hi Hllary. Overall I like the image. Good tree placement within the frame.I know this is nitpicking but I might have moved a hair to the left so the tree's left branch wasn't merging with the backround. Hard to notice this when your shooting.If this were mine I would crop off a third of the dark sky. Agree with comments above...

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Hilary,
Excellent advice above for both in the field and further tweaking in PP'ing. This still has a nice overall look to it. Nicely done!

[Robert Amoruso]

Good catch Dave on the tree merge. Totally missed that one. iPad not always the best way to look at images.

[Hilary Hann]

Hillary, very nice! Where in the outback was it shot? We live full-time in an off-road caravan in Australia towed by an F450.
A grey nomad? Excellent, you must have low stress levels and get to see wonderful landscapes. This was just out of Menindee in far western NSW. I was scouting Kinchega National Park for a future landscape/wildlife/bird trip but all the roads were closed due to rain.


Hilary,

Nice to see you posting here. I like this a lot. Placement of tree just right. I like the fact the darker cloud rests above the tall tree and does not intersect it. Though not a deal breaker, if it was possible to get higher such as on top of your vehicle you possibly could have separated the tops of the near grasses from the more distance ones wih sand.
Thanks Robert, I love landscapes but find it the hardest of all the nature disciplines. A pleasant landscape isn't going to get you anywhere, and getting that landscape which turns heads is so difficult. Everyone lives with landscapes around them, so to capture and show something different, distinctive, imaginative, above and beyond the ordinary, is, in my view, very very hard. If we photograph an animal, often the cuteness of it, or the rarity, or the activity of the individual defines the success of the image. With landscapes, it is as it is so you have light and weather and time of year and your own talent and technique to make something extraordinary.
I fall short more often than not so don't post here as often as I would like to be able to! :e3
As far as the grasses goes, I tried a few different heights but as for climbing on top of the 4x4, my husband would have killed me! :t3 When we have the roof top tent on, of course it is possible to shoot from that platform but we didn't have it with us. Next time.


I know this is nitpicking but I might have moved a hair to the left so the tree's left branch wasn't merging with the backround. Hard to notice this when your shooting.If this were mine I would crop off a third of the dark sky.
I didn't notice the merging branch and could have moved. Thanks for pointing it out as it makes it me more observant next time … hopefully. :S3:


Good catch Dave on the tree merge. Totally missed that one. iPad not always the best way to look at images.
Better than my iPhone! :w3

Thanks everyone for the feedback, I appreciate it all greatly.

[Richard Lovison]

Hilary,

I like the composition with the placement of the tree and the colors in the image. Beautifully done. If it were mine I would add just a bit more sharpening overall.

Richard

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Richard.

[Ed Cordes]

I really like the various horizontal layers. The tree is perfectly placed. On my monitor the colors appear kind of pastel and I like it.