The Tantramar

[John Chardine]

This is my first image posted from the Nikon lens that was delivered today (in case you are interested, I'm using it with a Novoflex adapter).

The image is attempting to represent this historic area called "The Tantramar"- and the place I call home. 400 years ago the Acadians dyked this area to exclude the highest tides in the world and produce very productive hay meadows. The hay, which was the gasoline of the day was shipped all over North America. In those days, hay was dried in the field then stacked in hay barns- you can see one on the horizon to the left.

This was a three-image HDR, processed in Photomatix Pro using one of their black and white presents. A small crop was made to the right and bottom. NR was run on the sky and the rest was sharpened in Topaz In Focus. Image was saved at 64% jpeg quality.

With this lens I intend to concentrate on landscapes to see how far I can go. Be brutal, I know you will!

Date: 13 October, 2011, Time: 1258h
Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Lens: Nikon 14-24mm f2.8, @ 21mm
Program: Aperture Priority
ISO 200, 1/320s, f/8
Exp. comp.: HDR, +1.3, -0.7, -2.7
Flash: no flash

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi John, I like the B&W here and the placement of the farm equipment. I might tone down or crop the brightest areas of the sky along the top edge of the frame. I am debating a little more contrast, but with B&W I think that is a personal preference.

[Jay Gould]

Can I ask: why are you using the Nikon and an adapter instead of the 16-35 f/2.8 Canon?

I agree with Andrew's comments.

[Bob Dromgoole]

I like the 21mm perspective and the placement/balance of elements, and agree with Andrew about the top edge,
it distracted my eye quickly.

[John Chardine]

Thanks everyone. I'll apply a gradient to the image to tone down the top highlights (or use some other method).

Jay- Robert asked the same question in another thread but he was suggesting one of the tilt-shift Canons or a Zeiss prime. I'll be honest, I have never been impressed with the reviews of the 16-35 f2.8 so never looked at getting one. This is not to say it's not a great lens. I owned the 17-40 and 24-105 before they were stolen and although I liked them, I was familiar with their limitations. I had used a friend's Nikon 14-24/2.8 on a Canon 5DII and loved the combo. I knew at some stage I would like to own a 14-15mm lens after using the Canon versions, although I knew I wanted one that would produce a flat field. The 14-24 covered my needs. And I don't mind the lack of AF because it is making me slow down and think. The lens needs a FF body to do it justice and ultimately I may get a Nikon body just to keep on the lens but that's in the future, or maybe a used 5DII. Maybe an updated D700 would be a good option too?

[John Chardine]

By the way, I checked the image at work on a Dell LCD monitor and Dell LCD Laptop. Wow, the image looked dark and lacked contrast and punch (checked Dell monitor and it was set to max brightness and contrast). I am shocked and embarrassed at the difference between the Dells and my Macbook Air on which I processed the image. The Dell monitor was calibrated with a Spyder a while back but it's old now and maybe they fade. Many monitors out there are uncalibrated and least one of mine suggests it doesn't matter much anyway, so how does one produce an image that will look pleasing to most people out there?

[Robert Amoruso]

Not getting into the calibration issues but I agree more contrast is warranted as is a crop from the top. Those tweaks will produce a stellar image. I like the composition with the repeating patterns of the hay bales as well as all the textured grass. This scene screams for a B&W treatment - nice work.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi John - I too really like the b&w treatment here and the placement of the farm equipment. Interesting about your choice for the Nikon lens. While the 16-35 I did not get great reviews, I think the 16-35 II does. I have one and love it but to each their own.

One very small nit, you might want to clone out the white truck at the tree line on the left.

Enjoy the new lens. Looking forward to seeing more landscape posts from you.

TFS,
Rachel

[Andrew Aveley]

Great scene and bw conversion. Agree with the others on the crop of the OE area on the top.

[John Chardine]

Thanks again to all for the useful comments.

Rachel- I may not keep the Nikon forever but the lack of AF will force me to think about depth of field and hyperfocal distance. I also want to learn how to use a super-wide, which I've never owned. Who knows what Canon may produce in the future? BTW, the truck on the horizon is the hay barn I was mentioning in the OP.