Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I've never used an I-pad, or a smart phone for that matter, lol. I received your pm and replied. A new day tomorrow; gotta go rest my eyes now. Thanks!

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Take care and sleep tight. Got your email, but not either PM. I'll give it to the AM. Maybe there is some sort of problem at my end.

Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

This is just a quick edit MadMike. There are some real clever dudes who hang out here it might also like to attempt an edit to suit their taste. If your lucky someone will swamp it with a texture for you!!

My edit was designed to bring out some detail and give it some depth whilst concentrating the attention on the middle of the frame. Not convinced it needs a crop as the trees form a natural frame which just needs making less obvious. Others may think differently and edit accordingly.

(Download)

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

EXCELLENT! Your treatment in PP made quite a positive difference. Whatever you did definitely brought out the red in the scene as well as the detail in the rock formations. As for the trees framing the scene - that was deliberate on my part. I just did not notice that I had a stray" tree on the left until Linda pointed it out. I have a tendency to frame pretty much everything I shoot withh something - birds with trees/bushes/graasses, mountains with trees or clouds. On and on it goes. Seems to be my "signature". It actually gets boring and predictible.

Calling it quits for tonight. It's only 9:30PM here now, but I was up at 5AM! Thank you for your suggestions and help.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

I read with interest your approach to pp. I can completely understand that. Billy mentioned that pp can add a lot to a RAW image. He's right. He is also spot on about moving in baby steps.

As for your image. I think that you made absolutely the right decision about where to put the top of the canyon. There is not that much going on in the sky. So, you included very little of the sky and that is a good choice . You are using the trees as a natural frame and that can work also. My thoughts on that are to make sure that you don't have bits of foliage hanging disjointedly from the top of the photos. In the case of this photo, the trees are included and you can see where the foliage comes from. This is, in my opinion , very well done. The image is sharp and you have good depth of field. I think you went a bit too far in your edit of the scene. The colors have gone to that "not quite real" area. There seems to be a blue cast to the photo that is absent in the first one. Linda mentioned that "somewhere in the middle is probably where you want to be". That sounds right to me. I'm glad to see you tackle a landscape. They can be very rewarding. Redwing has posted some very nice landscapes here recently. viewing his posts might give you some ideas. You have a nice image, that could be worked into being a very nice image. I'm happy to see you in this section and am looking forward to more images. Thank you for posting.
erich

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Thank you so much for your support and very helpful suggestions. I really tried to get the composition/framing "right" in camera. Good to know I mostly got it right. You and Linda are spot on about the "somewhere in between" comment.

I have done landscapes in the past, but none were deliberate or serious attempts at composing or exposing properly. They were more of the type of I was there shooting my usual subjects and decided to take a shot of the scenery. None of them were even halfway decent. A couple of weks ago, I went out to East Point Lighthouse with the intention of working on shooting the lighthouse rather than my usal bird shots out there. I stayed focused (pun intended) and got what I think are some decent images. However, PP is definitely needed and right now that is beyond my skill set. Baby steps! Of course it helped that the tide was finally right and I was able to get over the rocks and onto the sand in front of the lighthouse. Mother Nature's cooperation is needed at times!

Fortunately I am in an area with lots of opportunity for landscapes - not very dramatic opportunities, but will make for good practice. My goal is to get out there and consciously shoot landscapes.

ozdude Loc: Brisbane Australia

Mike you must have picked the toughest location for your first attempt of landscape. Personally I don't think I have viewed an image of the canyon that I truly like in colour.
To PP this monster would be an emotional drain and I am not about to attempt it. I suggest that if you want to pursue landscape you should start with a location that is less iconic.
These guys on FYC are the gurus you seek for achieving any photographic goals you have.
Mark

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

I'm going to weigh into this discussion, actually against my better judgement! I call the Canyon "the Lady," so I try to treat her with all the respect and honor she deserves. I think most people over-process their images of her. I think her natural beauty is almost overwhelming and there is no need to over-contrast, over-saturate. I also think there is no bad light there - just different light. Some of it is flatter than others, but it's all beautiful.

I think your original image is quite nice and very natural. If you add too much contrast, you deepen the shadows, and while that adds drama, it's not necessarily a better image, IMHO. As for the cropping, I did several versions, and I think minimal off the left - just enough to get rid of that errant tree. And, depending on what you want from the image, you might not want to do that at all. If the tiny bit of tree is left in, it brings the eye (and the mind) back to the foreground. If you take it out, the eye (and the mind) is allowed to stay in the background and vastness of the image as you exit left. It depends on what you want the viewer's mind to do.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Being a landscape photography lover, I'm fascinated by discussion of the light and colors of an area when from the pov of someone who lives there vs a one-time visitor vs those who have never been.

Mike, if you missed the topic in January, check out R.G.'s discussion/share called "Normalisation"

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-436618-1.html

Tropical heat and humidity, dry desert air, the angle of sun at latitudes far from the equator - even the amount of open sky that feels comfortable or attractive vs. boring...all so interesting to hear the different points of view and what one sees as normal, why another doesn't. When researching moonrise for Minnie, I even learned that my twilight is longer (depending on season) than those in southern U.S.

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Hi, madmike, and welcome to FYC. I hope we'll see your work frequently as you progress on your journey!
You can accomplish respectable PP in Photoshop, much of it just in Adobe Camera Raw (even if your captured images are JPEGS) , and you can get involved with a variety flip-switch plug-ins like Topaz or Effx or others of that sort,

and...

You can accomplish quite a bit using one of several image processing apps on your IPad. Below is the result of four minutes, 25 seconds (yeah; I timed it) using "Photogene" on my iPad. Touched up "clarity", "Exposure", "Contrast" and "saturation" and localized some of those effects with the treatment brush.

I particularly liked your use of the foreground evergreen foliage to provide internal framing...always a great enhancer of depth!

There are lots of other possibilities.

Best regards,
Dave

(Download)

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Thank you, Dave.

I have no idea what app I have on my iPad. It's whatever came on it. For sure, there is no treatment brush. I am definitely going to check out the one you just used. That is about the extent of what I am willing to do as far as PP is concerned at this stage.

Thank you again for your very helpful comments/information.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Thanks for that link, Linda. I actually printed out the OP portion of it. Very thought provoking.

I also love landscapes - looking at them, rather than photographing them! Funny thing is that I was going through some of my dad's things a couple of months ago and came across 3 very nice framed landscapes taken on St. Thomas several decades ago. I really liked them, and then realized that I had taken them in 1972 with my dad's treasured range finder camera. He was nice enough to allow me to borrow it to take on my honeymoon. So I guess that at some time in the past, I enjoyed shooting landscapes. That must have been the case, because those 3 were taken at the crack of dawn. They were of a fisherman taking his small boat out. I recall waiting and waiting until the composition was just right. The fisherman and boat can be seen carefully FRAMED BY PALM FRONDS! Apparently, I still have that frame it in foliage bug. Some of my recent lazily taken images of Alaskan glaciers and mountains have them framed by some sort of trees or shrubs!

Maybe finding the framed photos I took and gave to my father all those years ago reawakened my interest in actually shooting landscapes. Thanks, Dad!

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Well, about your weighing in on this discussion - I am glad you did. And my opinion on that is the only one that matters. After all, this thread IS all about ME! (kidding of course about the all about me part)

It was really good to hear your take on shooting the GC. You are so right about the light there. Here at home, I am fairly accustomed to frequently changing light over the ocean. The light changes at the GC were very different from what I am used to seeing here at home. While we were there, the light shifted and changed several times. Unfortunately, I was only there for a couple of hours. My 3 companions really rushed me, so I am amazed I got any decent images. Unlike shooting wildlife, which has become second nature, shooting landscapes takes a considerable amount of thought and effort. We are planning to go west again in the near future to see Bryce and Zion, and of course, I really want to go back to see "the Lady". Maybe the next time, I will be able to spend a couple of days and do some hiking to get a different perspective than from the rims.

I am in agreement with you as regards the cropping off the left. In all honesty, I did not even notice those extra pieces until Linda pointed them out. My intent was to keep the viewer's eye in the image. The subject matter was so much more vast than my camera could capture. I just recalled that I did pull out my Sony P&S to take a few panoramas. Need to see what came out of that experiment. Forgot about it until just now!

As for PP goes, personally I prefer the more natural look. The less is more approach, if you will. Though, I do agree that my image did need a bit of help to make it look more like what my eyes experienced.

Thank you again for your comments, and please feel free to chime in whenever the spirit moves you. I happen to be a fan of yours!

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Hi, Mike,
The two image processing apps most iPad users seem to rely on are "Photogene" and "Aviary"

When on my desktop photoprocessor I'm using Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop, so am most comfortable with Photogene on the iPad. Photogene does have the added benefit of permitting use of a "brush" to localize application of a desired effect. Brighten? Darken? Change contrast? Change color temp? Sharpen? With a "brush" of variable size and edge feathering and strength of effect you can easily and discretely apply the desired changes.

Many find Aviary to be a bit more intuitive, yet allowing pretty fine control of a wide variety of image characteristics. It does not, however, provide for use of a "brush" to localize desired effects.

Check out YouTube for tutorial on both these apps.

Best regards,

Dave

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Mike, thank you so much for sharing the memories of your father and taking the St Thomas photos. Very special!