Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Oh wow, Jim, what a stunning image! Super impact for me. Thanks for posting!

jim hill Loc: Springfield, IL

Thanks Linda,

I don't think it seems as wide as others posted her but then it's center cropped.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

I'm a bit of a UWA fanatic. I think the success of using one of these lenses is to have lines for the eye to follow. It is also important to have a subject in the shot on which to focus. I find the apple shot very nice because it presents the eye with an immediate point of interest, but you have lines behind to give depth to the image. It would not have been nearly as successful without the converging row in the back.

The second shot is pleasant, but you have the foreground plants fighting the mountain and trees as a main subject.

Here are a few of my favorite UWA shots. They are all HDR, but never mind that. In the first Yosemite shot, I think the plant at the bottom grabs the eye, being prominent, and then the eye is pulled by the lit mountain behind, so there is a forced vertical perspective.

The fallen gravestone in Berlin of course works because of the light, and the row converging behind. The UWA emphasizes the main subject by exaggerating its perspective.

The shot in Bodie works because of the light on both sides, but the eye is drawn by the walls back to the door behind. Like your apple shot--something flat behind would not have worked as well.

The China shot should not really work well, but I think that fact that it is divided into three sections (fruit seller, restaurant, man outside with flag) helps it.

The Mt. Fuji shot is pretty obvious...Like the graveyard shot, but with the main subject small in the back instead of prominent in the front. The lines of the lake lead the eye back to the subject hiding in the distance.

yosemite

(Download)

Berlin graveyard

(Download)

ghost town

(Download)

Beijing street

(Download)

Mt Fuji

(Download)

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Thank you so much for sharing these fascinating images. The China shot is downright wonderful, though my familiarity with Yosemite and Bodie makes me like them just as well. I know those scenes so that helps me figure out what you did. I don't do justice to my wide angle lens, I tend to use it just to cram more stuff in the frame instead of to formulate the composition effectively as you do (a shortcoming I have yet to overcome).

I really appreciate the explanations you gave, which may help me muddle through using my wide angle better. Thanks for sharing here, come back and see us!

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Toby, thank you so much for posting these, along with taking the time to describe how you feel they are successful. All are wonderful and inspiring.

I plan to spend a large part of today browsing your website!

I also very much appreciate your visiting the FYC forum and this topic as I see you don't post much on UHH; I hope that will change soon :) Again, very grateful for your time and expertise.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

Nice to find this section. I will keep an eye here and try to join the discussion.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Welcome Toby, it's great to have you here and thank you for your wisdom! S-

Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

We have never spoken my friend but I was advised to visit your web site by another Hog many months ago and as a rather bad exponent of HDR myself became a fan of yours immediately.
Folks this mans work absolutely rocks!!!
Welcome aboard the FYC train please visit and ctitique. The opinion of someone with your ability would be most welcome.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

Thanks to all for the warm welcome and kind words. I am basically an "auto-didact"--I just do what feels right in my gut in terms of composition. I haven't studied any of the rules, but in observing photos, some things strike me, and so I try to find things that strike me in the viewfinder. All of the critique and analysis comes later...

That being said, I am happy to tell you what I feel about photos, both mine and yours. I do have some technical knowledge, which I am always happy to share.

One thing that has happened for me is that I have begun to experiment. I'm liking these days to be surprised by the result, trying different things that give a result much different than that seen through the viewfinder.

HDR is that to some extent--it definitely gives control of tonalities that go beyond the normal snapshot. I've done a massive amount of experimentation with HDR, and pretty much tried all the proggys out there. I'd be happy to share what I know about it if anyone is a fan of HDR.

Past that, I have recently been trying slow shutter stuff. This is just a load of fun, with a success rate of about 1%, but that is the beauty of digital--all you pay for is the electricity to charge the battery ;)

When I have time I'll start a thread about that.

Pixelpixie88 Loc: Northern Minnesota

Thank you for your offer of help. Your HDR photos in this thread are beautiful. I could sit and look at them all day! It's not that they are done so well, which they are, but I really like the subject matter too. (China..food..)
I have always had a desire to try some HDR...you are inspiring me to get a software program. I do use LR. but have not tried the HDR yet.
Have thought about getting PhotoMatix.

Welcome and I know we all will love getting more photos from you!

Marsha



quote=kymarto]Thanks to all for the warm welcome and kind words. I am basically an "auto-didact"--I just do what feels right in my gut in terms of composition. I haven't studied any of the rules, but in observing photos, some things strike me, and so I try to find things that strike me in the viewfinder. All of the critique and analysis comes later...

That being said, I am happy to tell you what I feel about photos, both mine and yours. I do have some technical knowledge, which I am always happy to share.

One thing that has happened for me is that I have begun to experiment. I'm liking these days to be surprised by the result, trying different things that give a result much different than that seen through the viewfinder.

HDR is that to some extent--it definitely gives control of tonalities that go beyond the normal snapshot. I've done a massive amount of experimentation with HDR, and pretty much tried all the proggys out there. I'd be happy to share what I know about it if anyone is a fan of HDR.

Past that, I have recently been trying slow shutter stuff. This is just a load of fun, with a success rate of about 1%, but that is the beauty of digital--all you pay for is the electricity to charge the battery ;)

When I have time I'll start a thread about that.[/quote]

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

Some people dislike HDR, but people who like it (like me) really like it...

I am happy to give the benefit of my experience with HDR if people are interested. A few years ago, it was very difficult to get HDR images looking good. I would sometimes spend hours with a Wacom tablet carefully getting rid of the halos that plagued HDR images, (where the edges of light areas are too dark and vice-versa). New algorithms make it much, much easier.

There are still issues, like ghosting, but some programs have pretty efficient deghosting. Perhaps I'll do some tutorials on HDR if folks would like that.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I don't know if you have visited UHH's HDR forum. Link is below. Maybe we can recruit some folks from there if you post your tutorials in FYC :)

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-107-1.html

They have some locked topics at the top of the forum, posted in 2012.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

It would be highly appreciated. The problems you mention still haunt some of us, especially the dreaded halos. I've gotten better at avoiding them or mitigating them but not good enough that I'm willing to rely on HDR as a tool in my regular toolbox.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

That stuff is pretty dated, although still basically OK for an introduction.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

OK, I'll write up a short introduction about solving HDR problems like ghosting and haloing soon. Since the HDR section is for posting pix, I'll do it here.