NTP: Challenge VI

[ricktas]

This is going to get you all out and about and using what you have learnt

This challenge involves taking a landscape/seascape photograph, with the following stipulations:

* Must be taken during dawn/dusk - i.e. around sunrise/sunset.
* The composition must take into consideration the Rule of Thirds (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?t=24046).
* The photograph must have something in the foreground (ie foreground interest).
* Use the widest lens you have (at the widest setting. i.e.. 18-200 lens, use it at 18mm)
* A tripod will be handy if you have one, if not, use something to stabilise your camera.
* You can set the camera up as you wish (auto/ semi-auto/manual).

As an example, look at the photo below. Taken not long after sunrise. Notice how the wave in the foreground adds 'depth' to the photo. Look at how the horizon is one third down from the top of the photo and the wave line is one third up from the bottom. Also the Rule of Thirds comes into play across the photo, look how the two land masses in the distance intrude about 1/3 of the way in on each side. Notice how the sun is slightly off-centre.

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg175/snoopytas/East-Coast-7284-copy-2.jpg

Consider your composition carefully for you shot. When you find your location, scout around, don't just walk to the easiest place from the car. Take your time, a good landscape shot can take preparation. Sometimes you can get ready, then sit around for 15 mins, waiting for the 'right' light. Even write down the guidelines and take them with you. Line up your shot then review the guidelines, and check your composition in the viewfinder before taking your shot.

Have fun, and I am sure the members will take delight in seeing your results.

[Jcas]

Wow!!! Rick this is a good challenge, lovely shot you gave us for an example too ..... now if only I can do that ...... :):)

[Cathi]

Oooo in three weeks I will be able to take one of these :D Great challenge!!

[chelle]

perfect timing! i've been taking a few landscapes as well as sunrise shots recently and since my last request for feedback i have been trying to work with the rule of thirds. This will be a good challenge.

[Jcas]

Here is my effort, not quite the right time, but i tried to get as many of the other prerequisites that i could.
Only had basic fixes applied, eg, cropping etc.

Taken along Sandy Bay Road at about 8.45 am.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a113/JuCas/2292.jpg

[yummymummy]

I'll have to wait a bit.... IT'S RAINING HERE!!! YAY!!!!!! :D :D :D I'll add mine after the rain has stopped :)

[old dog]

here`s one Rick. I took this near sunset, down at the local bridge at Hinton, on the day I got my 12-24 nikkor. I didn`t crop it because the moon was in the upper portion and I wanted to keep the reflection of the bridge and clouds. The dust bunnies are actually swallows.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk163/doggadog/DSC_0050-2.jpg

[chelle]

oh, that bridge shot is nice.
i took a heap pf shots today and really concentrated on sticking to the rule of thirds. no time now to upload and save them for the forum but hopefully soon. i'm keen to see them on the computer and see how they turned out.

[ricktas]

Good work Julie, well used Rule of thirds, with the placement of the trees and horizon. I hope you found that by taking shots with the Rule of thirds in mind, it made you 'see' how just changing the camera slightly can greatly improve the final result.

[ricktas]

Graeme, the bridge certainly divides you image in three's across the screen, I understand why you kept the moon, but currently your horizon is very central, I reckon if you did chop some off the sky, to move the horizon up so it is 2/3rd of the way up the photo, it improves it compositionally. You can see how that works by just scrolling the thread to chop off the top of the sky, it then really make the bridge stand out a lot more. Good work, great landscape scene you found there.

[old dog]

thanks Rick. I would change it but it wouldn`t feel fair to resubmit. Cheers.

[ricktas]

thats ok Graeme, its all about learning. You can put as many photos that meet the challenge as you want to. It is all about you improving your photography.

[Analog6]

I've always had trouble with that rule of thirds thing. I have Ansel Adams bnook which goes into it, I'd read about it, and while I feel it is not eh be all and end all, I do see it's value. This recent sunrise (April 11) meets it fairly well. May be I am finally 'getting' it.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d197/Analog6/LOCAL%20SCENES/_MG_0026.jpg

[ricktas]

The tree on the left really improves this Odille, it breaches the horizon and therfore adds the extra dimension needed, however the tree really just frames the side of the shot and your horizon is on more like a rule of sixths than thirds. Lovely sunset, well captured.

[Nic076]

Great challenge Rick. I am on holidays at the moment, but have about 200 photos to go through when we get home and think there would definitely be a shot there to add to the thread.

Some great shots already posted too. Well done guys.

[old dog]

Rick.....thanks for the ironing out and seeing as I can enter some more, here is the one I originally thought of. Taken the morning after getting the 12-24 lens. Hope this meets the criteria better. Taken at 12mm. Cheers

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk163/doggadog/DSC_0024a.jpg

[mcdesign]

You are all doing well.

Graeme, I love the one of Hinton Bridge, with Rick's suggestion it will be excellent. I will have to go over there and have a look for myself, I go to Lorn quite often. I would like to see more definition in the one of the fields, that can be done with your editing progam, what do you use? perhaps I can help as you are pretty close to me. Margaret

[ricktas]

Great work, as some of you have noticed the sky is really bright at sunrise/sunset meaning a lot of detail is lost in your foreground. This is because most camera sensors have a hard time exposing well for both the bright sky and the darker foreground.

In your editing software, look for shadows/highlights adjustments. Play with the settings and you will see that you can 'bring up' the dark shadowy foreground a bit to improve the result. Be careful though cause to much adjustment will introduce noise into your photo.

This darkening of the foreground is why most landscape photographers use filters. Plastic tinted squares (some are round) to counter-act this dark foreground. A Neutral Density graduated filter will be a grey colour on one half, blending to clear on the other half. Bt placing the filter on your lens when taking the shot, you place the darker part of the filter over the sky part of your photo, balancing the exposure between sky and ground, and allowing for a better overall exposure with the vibrant bright sky still visible, but increasing the detail seen in the foreground (where the clear part of the filter lets all the light in).

Hope that makes sense.

So if you are going to seriously get into landscape photography, a good set of filters can be one of your best friends when out and about, especially early or late in the day.

[old dog]

thanks Rick and Margaret. I will try these adjustments, if I have them in PS. And Margaret, that would be good as I have no support group or any group ATM. You do tend to learn from each other. I am just up the road, 2 klms from Hinton bridge.

[old dog]

Here is the adjusted version, now I know where to look in Ps (new to this)

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk163/doggadog/DSC_0024a-1.jpg

[ricktas]

Good result there Graeme. Certainly improves your photo eh?, The shadows/highlights tool can be reasonably effective, but it is limited.

[mcdesign]

Graeme there is a very handy device in Bridge Camera Raw where you can open an image as an object, in Photoshop that becomes editble in camera raw always.

Step one. Do your fine tuning in Camera Raw, open as an obeject by holding down the shift key and clicking Open Object, (normal mode is Open Image) when open in Photoshop Mac, Ctl click, PC, right click to the right of the layer's name and choose New Smart Object via copy, you can now adjust each layer independently of each other, reopen this layer in Camera Raw and adjust for another part of the image, ie; the foreground in the first layer and the sky in the second, they can then be masked to get the best out of the image, this is a particularly good way of editing for landscapes. Hope this helps and makes sense.

Give me a PM Graeme and we will try and get together soon. Margaret

[bigdazzler]

ive been playing around tweaking a few old shots and thought id post this one up as my example ..

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/DarrenGrayPhotography/DSC07435-Version2crop.jpg

[Nic076]

Nice colours Darren.

Some great photos in this thread, well done to all. Here is my attempt from our trip this week.

http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss115/nic076/Landscapes/ArnoBayBoardwalk4Pano.jpg

[ricktas]

Great work Nic. Lovely landscape. like how the sweep of the beach curves at a rule of thirds point. However your horizon is central vertically, and your horizon is sloped slightly downhill to the left of the photo.

Lovely scene and a great landscape photograph

[NikonNellie]

I took this photo in January '09 so I hope it's OK for this post. I am unable to get out and about at the moment as I have torn a tendon in my foot. The photo was taken at Freshwater Beach at sunset - it was one of the first low light shots I had ever taken. It probably doesn't sit on the Rule of Thirds but I wanted to keep the bird in the shot.

http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss195/NikonNellie/Places/Landscapes/FreshwaterRock.jpg

[remin]

Hi, very new here.
Not too sure it fits the Rule of Thirds, but thought I'd post it anyway. It's not the best photo (compared to what's already been posted). Was done with a Canon Powershot A570 IS as it's all I took on that particular trip. Was taken at Wellington Dam in WA.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3402/3450821757_5accfa87e1_b.jpg
After looking at more closely, really should've moved closer to the shore line.

[ricktas]

Really good use of the Rule of Thirds Narelle. Horizon 1/3 of the way down, headland coming in from the right about a 1/3rd of the way into the image, and the foreground rock placed well. Nice light coming onto the rock to bring out the colour and texture. Very well done.

[ricktas]

Welcome Remin. Very good try, the road leading up the left side fits the Rule of Thirds reasonably well. The horizon is a bit to central and the guys in the boat are very central as well. As you have noted, getting closer to the shoreline would have helped here. Very nice scene and its sad seeing another Dam so low (waterwise).

[remin]

My mates and I went fishing tonight, I took my cameras along and here is the results. Everything here was done using the SX10.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3620/3452096993_0bc9e3efbc_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3397/3452098327_af19087f1e_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3616/3452914028_6d2c6d2a23_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3377/3452100257_cd18a8f023_o.jpg

There are some others, check here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37515834@N06/sets/72157616980587188/

[ricktas]

Nice shots there Remin. But the challenge is about using the rule of thirds, all your photos have the horizon in the centre of the photo (top to bottom). Maybe go have a read of the Learning Centre topics suggested at the start of this thread.

Also, please don't post more than one photo at a time in these challenges. If you want general critique, please put your photos in the member photo's area of the site. The NTP challenges are for each member to present one photo, get advice on improving it, then going out and work on improving based on the challenge topic.

[chelle]

finally time to come back to this thread! I took heaps of photos and had a re-think before i clicked the shutter button to see if i could change my angle to give a better rule of thirds. Here are a couple.
Funnily enough just scrolling through my blog since the day of this challenge to my more recent posts and there are heaps jumping out at me that i want to post here but i won't! I'll choose two that at the time i was trying for the thirds rule but looking at them now i wonder if there are too many other elements in the photos that don't fit the rule that are enough to unbalance things.

With this one the horizon is close to being one third up but not exactly... is it enough? or do you find that it really needs to be as close to visually thirds as you can get to have the right effect? When i took it i thought the tree gave a god 'one third' on the right but now that i relook for this challenge the overhead rock is half way across the top so if that enough to counter-act the effect we are aiming for?
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_THv7IxbHQpE/Secq4axksUI/AAAAAAAAAzg/27kP_9iOu5s/s1600/marblesB_framed.jpg (Hoping the photo shows up... First time trying to not upload direct to AP...)

Here is a photo of me! THe horizon is closer to thirds and the boulder with me on it is the other third... but again has the grass being half at the bottom ruined the rule?
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_THv7IxbHQpE/Secq4rneRKI/AAAAAAAAAzo/4KjY8RDxDYg/s1600/marblesB_me.jpg

But for a photo that i think really matches the guidelines i'd pick this one (i'll just link it to save posting too many photos) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_THv7IxbHQpE/SeLch8zcQiI/AAAAAAAAAvc/Nr_mtRAAS94/s1600/camooweal2_watersedge.jpg

[ricktas]

I fixed them for you Chelle! You had the IMG tags in but had also put URL tags around them as well.

Please only post one photo at a time in the NTP area though, as it is not a general critique area, and is designed for each member to present one photo, get feedback on that one, then go out and work on improving.

I will comment on the first. Well used Rule of thirds, by placing the rocks and tree around the outside of your photo. Horizon is well placed, I like how the rocks and trees 'frame' the photo. Having then positioned yourself so the middle distant boulders are through the frame has worked well. Good work, No the 1/3 is only a guide, you don't have to be precise, but as you can see, by using the Rule of Thirds, you create a very visually pleasing photo, it just feels 'right'

[chelle]

oops, i may have unfixed them cos i tried editting it again and you must have already done it.
sorry for posting two images (i sorta knew i was not supposed to! :hide: ) but i had the same question for them both re whether you needed to have as many elements as possible as thirds or if something prominant being half-half ruined it.

[ricktas]

I will fix them for you again Chelle.

EDIT - there appears to be an anomoly in the way blogspot names its image links, your original links wont work on AP, but if I copy them into my browser, go to the photo, right click the photo on blogspot, click properties and then copy the link that appears in the pop-up window, that link will work with AP, there is a slight change to the name of the link between the two. Something to watch Chelle, so always use the right click, properties link on the photo on blogspot and then paste that link into AP using the http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/images/emeralld/editor/insertimage.gif icon to make sure it pasted as an IMG link

[sketty]

OK here's my example:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3317/3518826024_208f6bcd10_b.jpg

Not brilliant, but I ruined my last session by leaving the ISO at 1600 = a whole load of noise!:eek:
so this one'll have to do for now

[Hamish McHaggis]

Here is my attempt at the challenge, and also my thoughts on the photo:

http://i41.tinypic.com/2j2ylqw.jpg
Composition: the horizon is in the upper third (well, 5th probably) of the frame. It (the horizon) is bendy, though, probably can be fixed in PS. There is foreground interest; however the main rock is in the centre of the frame – could be better composed.
Exposure: the long exposure has allowed the water to become “milky” – I like this, but the upper third of the pic has consequently been overexposed. I applied a grad filter in LR to deal with this but am not too happy with the result.
Colour – let’s not go there! I’m red/green colour blind and therefore have interesting ideas about colour, usually reflected (badly) in my choice of fashion, LOL. I think while I’m learning about photography I’m going to try to think in terms of shapes, lines and contrast and probably in B&W as well.
Focus: I want this pic to be sharper, to reveal the details in the rocks that I saw when I took it – any tips??
thanks,
Colin

[ricktas]

Great use of the rule of thirds there Sketty and Colin. I like how your horse's face runs straight down a rule of thirds line there Sketty.

Colin, very nice long exposure sea-scape. To fix the bendy horizon in photoshop. Filters> Distort>Lens Correction, there are perspective adjustment tools in there, use the sliders till you get the horizon level, click OK and then crop the result.

Great work, to both of you!

[Hamish McHaggis]

thanks Rick, I'll have a try in photoshop to fix the horizon,
Colin

[Calelli]

Here's one that I took in December at Shelly Beach near Port Macquarie. By good luck rather than good judgement it has most of the properties. The one thing that was missing is the rule of thirds. I've gone and cropped the photo so that the horizon is sitting on the 1/3 line and the sun rise is 1/3 in from the left. In this instance I'm not sure if I prefer the original or the 1/3 pic. By cropping you lose a line of clouds which I like. Here are both.

The original

35918

With Rule of Thirds

35919


Camera: Nikon D60
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/13.0
Focal Length: 55 mm
Focal Length: 55.0 mm
ISO Speed: 100

[ricktas]

You do lose the line of clouds, but that is why this challenge was about going out and taking a photo with consideration to the Rule of Thirds, rather than cropping an existing photo to achieve the result. If you had taken the Rule of Thirds into account when at the location, you could have achieved a result that included both the cloud and the foreground, by recomposing etc.

Nice colours in your photo and the relection of sky in the wet sand is great.

[maccaroneski]

Taken this afternoon from Long Reef overlooking Collaroy.

18mm, F13, 1/15, ISO 100

http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv131/maccaroneski/Collaroy.jpg

[nixworries]

i also use the s10is i like the was you composed the lighthouse shot

[elyshiamadison]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4840313847_e0b6e3f740.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/elyshiamadison/4840313847/)
Sunset (http://www.flickr.com/photos/elyshiamadison/4840313847/) by elyshiamadison (http://www.flickr.com/people/elyshiamadison/), on Flickr



One I took a while ago - a touch dark, but I like the colours ;)

Exposure 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 55 mm
ISO Speed 100
Mode Manual

[ricstew]

Hi guys.......here is my attempt. Taken sunday last, 11.25mm, iso 100, 1/320 at f7.1.

Not quite sunrise. I only got lost twice driving the 1.9 k's to the beach so it was a bit late!
After mortaging the house to buy a polariser ( how do i hide the c/c bill?) I had to go and try it out! I tried to keep the sun to my shoulder. The beach was closed due to rough seas and I tried to move away from all the other tog's!

I can see where I havent got the surfer into the rule of thirds but this image appealed more to me..........

slight crop and played with in LR and PSPx3.........

cheers
Jan

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/5009443823_b504a3f152_b.jpg