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My family spent Easter this year in the Shoalhaven (New South Wales South Coast region). We had a great time and it was great to relax for a few days - it was also an opportunity to spend some time exploring and take some photographs with my children. I have a couple sets I'd like to share - I'd be most interested in any feedback, primarily on the composition (and how I might improve) and also the processing.

For the first we decided to walk down to the Shoalhaven river (and the bridges there) and take some photographs at sunset - it was also another chance to make use of my new Lee filter system and the 3 stop graduated ND filter.

River Lights

NIKON D7000 + 17.0-50.0 mm f/2.8 @ 32 mm, 0.5 sec at f / 16, ISO 100 + 0.9 GND

Pink River

NIKON D7000 + 17.0-50.0 mm f/2.8 @ 32 mm, 1.0 sec at f / 11, ISO 100 + 0.9 GND

Blazing Bridge

NIKON D7000 + 17.0-50.0 mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm, 1.0 sec at f / 16, ISO 100 + 0.9 GND

Sunset's Glow

NIKON D7000 + 17.0-50.0 mm f/2.8 @ 50 mm, 4.0 sec at f / 11, ISO 100 + 0.9 GND

Remorhaz wrote: primarily on the composition (and how I might improve)

All the images have similiar sky to land ratio, (thirds rule) however I think sometimes, for pano style crops the horizon about the centre of the image often works well.

For example teh first image could be improved (imo) by removing some sky from teh top to make the horizon centred thus increasing the viewers attraction to teh river and also locking them into the leading lines of the shore and boats.

The second image is similiar, however the sky does not hold enough interest for me to warrant all that space, again a simple crop from the top might well improve the composition.

The third image has a good ratio and the sky does hold value for me, a bit more PP might bring it alive a bit more, maybe accentuate those rays?

biggerry wrote:All the images have similiar sky to land ratio, (thirds rule) however I think sometimes, for pano style crops the horizon about the centre of the image often works well.

For example teh first image could be improved (imo) by removing some sky from teh top to make the horizon centred thus increasing the viewers attraction to teh river and also locking them into the leading lines of the shore and boats.

The second image is similiar, however the sky does not hold enough interest for me to warrant all that space, again a simple crop from the top might well improve the composition.

The third image has a good ratio and the sky does hold value for me, a bit more PP might bring it alive a bit more, maybe accentuate those rays?

Thanks for that - this is easy to do - I shot most of these with centred horizons before the pano crop so I can easily move up or down.

I actually have a different version of the first - closer and more to the right as well...

Looks like you got some nice colors down there!!

I guess you were lacking foreground in that area. I am not sure whether the bridge works well as a middle ground (or anchor)

#2 is a bigstopper candidate to make it all abstract!

The other idea that ran through my mind was to time lapse that brigde sunset.(for people with inbuilt intervalometers ) I reckon in video, you can get away without foreground when there is plenty of interest with the moving colors...

surenj wrote:Looks like you got some nice colors down there!!
I guess you were lacking foreground in that area. I am not sure whether the bridge works well as a middle ground (or anchor)
#2 is a bigstopper candidate to make it all abstract!

Yes the colours ended up being very nice (luck really ). Not so lucky the next morning as you'll see soon.

I had the bigstopper with me but didn't use it (here or down on the creek which you'll see in a day or so). I probably should have but with the second+ long exposures I was already getting here I wasn't too keen on 1,000 second (15+ mins) exposures - the show would have been over in the first shot

Remorhaz wrote:I actually have a different version of the first - closer and more to the right as well...

hmm, I like the original one better, this one has quite a brighter lit scene and for some reason does not lead me into the image as mush as the other. Possibly the square boat in the middle is distracting me...

try toning down the contrast on the water and see what happens to it, it may given it a bit more of 'misty' look or at the very least remove the sharp edges (figurately speaking) for the water.

biggerry wrote:hmm, I like the original one better, this one has quite a brighter lit scene and for some reason does not lead me into the image as mush as the other. Possibly the square boat in the middle is distracting me...

try toning down the contrast on the water and see what happens to it, it may given it a bit more of 'misty' look or at the very least remove the sharp edges (figurately speaking) for the water.

Thanks Gerry - I was already thinking about applying a crapload of negative clarity selectively to the water anyway so here we go...

I reworked both the original #1 (now more of a 50% pano crop plus other adjustments) and the alternate composition looking down the river - what do you think?





Why not.... whilst we're at it I reworked #2 as well (horizon more in the middle, cropped the right side and some other stuff )...