Local Prairie Landscape

[chain]

C&C Appreciated, Just started shooting DSLR after many years away from film


http://chain.smugmug.com/Other/Land-Scapes/DSC0069/762935769_CPZYq-M.jpg #1

http://chain.smugmug.com/Other/Land-Scapes/DSC0829/762936779_FXmwG-M.jpg #2

[anwmn1]

:thumb

I like that first shot quite a bit. A very cool perspective and the treatment works pretty well.

The 2nd one looks too dark. I would play with the exposure on the snow and the contrast to get a more dynamic feel.

[Tango]

I really like those subjects, find some more angles on your next trip there. That tree looks very photogenic

[NeilL]

chain, I think both are excellent, I :lust them!!!

Great compositions, distinctive character, very moody, and impressive technique. I like #2 as is, I think you made good choices there.

A set of these in the study or the den would be effective decor.

Neil

[Taki]

Keep up the good work brother:thumb

[Dogdots]

Beautiful photos -- my favorite is your second photo. I love trees standing alone on the prairie :D

[ShawnThompsonPhotography]

#1 is a lot of fun, great shot and processing.

[psralph]

I like the 2nd one also. maybe it reminds me of where i grew up.

Perry Ralph
www.perryralph.com (http://www.perryralph.com)

[chain]

Thanks all, I'm going to try and play with the contrast on the Prairie Oak a little bit.

[Photometric]

Awesome!

Love the contrast and tones on the first one. Compositionally, I like the second one better, but it needs to be a touch brighter, a little more dynamic.

[chain]

A little different look at each

http://chain.smugmug.com/Other/Land-Scapes/DSC0074/762936294_ASZRL-M.jpg#3

http://chain.smugmug.com/Other/Land-Scapes/DSC0829/764622667_fhCS6-M.jpg#4

Backyard Morning Fog too dark??

http://chain.smugmug.com/Other/Land-Scapes/DSCN8621/764622979_dqaRi-M.jpg#5

Lonesome tree

http://chain.smugmug.com/Other/Land-Scapes/DSCN3536/764622289_KEuX4-M.jpg #6

Thanks for all comments, my first shot at any sort of editting so I'm open to all C&C thanks again!

[Dogdots]

#4 and #6 are wonderful. #4 has a little dust bunny in the left branches up might want to take out. I really like how you edited this one. Would you like to share how you did this :D I can see the brighness in the snow by the edge of the road so that tells me you took this on a very sunny day...or I could be wrong too.

[chain]

Actually it was pretty flat light, As far as editing, I'm using some very basic tools in iphoto :scratch like I said, pretty new at DSLR , just moving the buttons until I like the way it looks. :dunno
Any suggestions for an affordable user friendly editing program??

cheers

[chain]

More from the sand prairie

http://chain.smugmug.com/Other/Land-Scapes/DSCN3457/764641709_dBZMV-M.jpg#7

http://chain.smugmug.com/Other/Land-Scapes/DSCN3500/764641876_5zdHV-M.jpg#8

http://chain.smugmug.com/Other/Land-Scapes/DSC0834/764757464_eL5Gd-M.jpg

There is a fuzzy from editing just to the left of the trunk. How can I get rid of it? #9

[Tango]

http://chain.smugmug.com/Other/Land-Scapes/DSC0834/764757464_eL5Gd-M.jpg

There is a fuzzy from editing just to the left of the trunk. How can I get rid of it? #9

what postprocessing software are you using?

[chain]

what postprocessing software are you using?

iphoto

[Tango]

I was hoping to tell you about Adobe PS or Lightroom tools... I dont know iphoto:dunno

[NeilL]

chain it'll cost you in bucks and (learning) effort, but for the best available editing tools and methods PS is unavoidable.. also, it's the lingua franca of photoediting.. there are umpteen trillions of websites purporting to teach you this and that about PS, a lot of them are not worth much. One good one which you can subscribe to fairly inexpensively is Steve Patterson's http://www.photoshopessentials.com/

Two alternatives to PS are: first, a real gem, a real treat and comparatively simple that I highly recommend and is just $100 is LightZone http://www.lightcrafts.com/lightzone/

and second Bibble5Pro for $200 which I also highly recommend and which is very comprehensive and versatile http://www.bibblelabs.com/products/bibble5/

PS is $700 to $1000

I like the moodiness of the editing style you are using in these shots, though it's difficult to judge image quality at this small size. You have a very fine eye which allows you to take, on the face of it, fairly mundane subjects and give them interest and uniqueness. So, I would avoid PP these types of "usual" subjects in the "usual" way. As I said before, I think they would be very effective decor as miniatures in small spaces.

I think if you want to get help with any anomalies in your processing and IQ it might help us to give us 100% crops of the areas in question.

Neil

[NeilL]

More from the sand prairie
There is a fuzzy from editing just to the left of the trunk. How can I get rid of it? #9

In PS perhaps it could be cloned out.

Neil

[chain]

chain it'll cost you in bucks and (learning) effort, but for the best available editing tools and methods PS is unavoidable.. also, it's the lingua franca of photoediting.. there are umpteen trillions of websites purporting to teach you this and that about PS, a lot of them are not worth much. One good one which you can subscribe to fairly inexpensively is Steve Patterson's http://www.photoshopessentials.com/

Two alternatives to PS are: first, a real gem, a real treat and comparatively simple that I highly recommend and is just $100 is LightZone http://www.lightcrafts.com/lightzone/

and second Bibble5Pro for $200 which I also highly recommend and which is very comprehensive and versatile http://www.bibblelabs.com/products/bibble5/

PS is $700 to $1000

I like the moodiness of the editing style you are using in these shots, though it's difficult to judge image quality at this small size. You have a very fine eye which allows you to take, on the face of it, fairly mundane subjects and give them interest and uniqueness. So, I would avoid PP these types of "usual" subjects in the "usual" way. As I said before, I think they would be very effective decor as miniatures in small spaces.

I think if you want to get help with any anomalies in your processing and IQ it might help us to give us 100% crops of the areas in question.

Neil


Thanks for a wealth of information. I've looked at the PS, but can't bring myself to pull the trigger. I'll look at lightzone, the more basic the better, for me, simple works. So I guess at first I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. I'm shooting with a D50 strictly on manual at this point. Some of my earlier shots were with a point and shoot coolpix. The editing tools (very basic) on our new imac have opened up a whole new world for me.

Good thing is I'm shooting again and loving it!

Thanks for some great info Neil