[Garnock]

This is a shot taken from the southern tip of the promontory of Rubha na Cille on the Kintyre peninsula.
To the left the Sound of Jura and the Island of Jura itself with Loch na Cille to the right.

Now I know I'm breaking some rules here ( symmetrical image for one ) but rules are there to be broken at times.
So, what do you think ?
Does it work.



Cameron

[dazzajl]

So, what do you think ?
Does it work.

I think it works really well. As you say, rules are only there so you can break them. It has that lovley Joe Cornish sort of, from the tips of my toes to the edge of the world feel about it.

The only thing I'm not so sure about is the greying of the clouds at the top of the frame.

[Garnock]

Originally Posted by dazzajl

I think it works really well. As you say, rules are only there so you can break them. It has that lovley Joe Cornish sort of, from the tips of my toes to the edge of the world feel about it.

The only thing I'm not so sure about is the greying of the clouds at the top of the frame.

The clouds ........ I'll blame the ND Grad on that.

You're right.
Any better ?



Cameron

[dazzajl]

Any better ?

Ummm, not sure now.

As a wise Vulcan once said, "having is often not as good as wanting".

The sky does look better like that but somehow the overall image feels weaker. Perhaps taking the foreground back a bit might work?

I do really like it though. I could lose hours gazing in there. :icon_cool

[Garnock]

Originally Posted by dazzajl

Ummm, not sure now.

As a wise Vulcan once said, "having is often not as good as wanting".

The sky does look better like that but somehow the overall image feels weaker. Perhaps taking the foreground back a bit might work?

I do really like it though. I could lose hours gazing in there. :icon_cool

Thanks for the input dazzajl.

As another wise Vulcan once said, " Your guess is as good as mine ! "

Glad you like it.

Cameron

[Bachs]

A beautiful composition and scene.
The symmetry works for me.

I'm not sure how I'd tackle the sky problem...maybe a 50% grey layer above it, can't remember what you set the blend mode to, multiply I think...and paint with black, white and shades of grey to selectively affect the luminance.

Still very much a keeper though!

[Gary Bagshawe]

Very nice shot, As for the rules thingy, You need to learn the rules before you can break them and you certainly know your stuff.
Great Shot!

[Gandhi]

Nice shot. I love Scotland. And this makes me want to be back there!

I think the sky is grand as it is, It carries the sense of symmetry into the vertical as well as the horizontal, balances things.

Break more rules please

[Arkady]

Needs to be cented a bit more - move the land mass slightly to the left so it appears visually centred.

Then darken the forground ever so slightly, add a bit of vignetting so the edges darken a bit, emphasising the centre and it'll be parfait!

I love it!

A bit like this, maybe...

[GfK]

I like the original pic best.

[Mike Aiken]

Originally Posted by Garnock

The clouds ........ I'll blame the ND Grad on that.

Can someone tell me what ND Grad is please.

Thanks Mike

[Steve]

Neutral Density Graduated filter, it is used to hold back some of the light from the top (in this case) of the frame so that the sky is not blown out and the detail in the ground can be correctly exposed

[Matt]

I love places like this, it reminds me of my short break on the Isle of Skye.

Its a good shot, but not quite up to your usual standard IMO.
The composition works for me, symmetry on the vertical and thirds on the horizontal.
The thing that I'm not sure of is the sky.

The ND grad used for this shot is too strong, and the grey in the clouds detracts slightly, there's also a red colour cast at the edges.
When using ND grads the sky is supposed to be at least one stop brighter than the ground, to make the scene look natural, this can be fixed in PS though.

Using an Adjustment layer, adjust the levels using the grey colour picker by selecting a grey area near the top of the image.
This will make the sky brighter, and remove most of the colour cast.
I would also create another adjustment layer and increase the saturation slightly on the greens, then the reds to bring out some of the detail in the grass.

Your standard of landscapes is a lot higher than mine, I have a lot of catching up to do.

[Garnock]

Thanks for all the input.
I appreciate it.

Arkady, thanks for taking the time to adjust and post the image.
I take your point and, IMO, it has made a significant difference.
I did darken the foreground in the original, but obviously not enough.
There's definitely more impact in your image.

( I always get a good response from the critique section of this forum )

BTW I know the framing doesn't help.
It's a script I run in PS to include the camera settings.
I think it's a good idea to include the camera settings for each shot, so I practice what I preach.

Cameron

[Garnock]

Matt, you're right about the ND Grad.
1: I did over do it and;
2: I was using Cokin filters at the time.

The Cokins tend to give a very slight grey cast to the image.
I've switched to Lee now so if this happens again I can't blame the filter.

I'll have a play in PS with an Adjustment layer or two.

Thanks again Matt.


Cameron

[Mike Aiken]

Thanks Steve

[Garnock]

Trying to put it all together.



Cameron