Fortnightly competition #1 Vistas

I have tidied up the rules section and removed the theme description to here (below). Images should be posted in this thread...

The opening theme is ‘Vistas’ – be it a rural panorama, sweeping townscape or even (for the geographically deprived) perhaps something simulated indoors (playing with scale perhaps?). Hopefully this is a broad enough theme to provide everyone with options. So go out and unleash your wide angles.

Not sure how the parallel comments post will work - but let's try it and see. The fact that the comments are not going to appear in the same thread isn't great, to say the least. If it's not working, though, perhaps we'll just have to revert to the judge providing comments.

I'll start a parallel thread after some images are submitted.

Looking West along the River Thames




DA18-55 at 20mm. 1/750th at F9.5 100 ISO

Ray

That insignificant 'strip' between the sea and the sky inhabited by mankind

[IMG]http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s30/Hyram_Hare/IMGP0563-1.jpg[/IMG]

Today @ 14.04

K20 + DA 10-17 @ 13mm. ISO 100, 1/45 sec f22

Hampshire Countryside

[IMG]http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s30/Hyram_Hare/IMGP0577-2.jpg[/IMG]

Saturday 18th October 17.33

K20
DA* 50-135 @ 50mm
ISO 100
1/60 sec
f4.5

Dunraven Bay. South Wales. Taken from the Manor House.

[IMG]http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm193/R500_2008/IMGP0901.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee318/mickconvoy/Vista.jpg[/IMG]

Taken today,just outside Langholm.
K10d, ISO 200, F16, 18-55mm @ 28mm, 1/320th exposure.

Mick

[IMG]http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd37/hefty1969/competition%20stuff/IMGP3775.jpg[/IMG]

Wednesday 15th October 2008.

I love living in the Vale of Aylesbury!

Sydney from the north shore (Manly Hospital)
Taken today whilst I was visiting the wife and new born son

[IMG]http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb113/pnjmcc/Vista.jpg[/IMG]

Regards
PaulM

St Giles' Cathedral, on The Royal Mile, Edinburgh, 21st October 2008


K10D + Pentax fisheye, wide open at 10mm. Had to use ISO 1600 to get the hand-held shots.

( combination of horizontal and vertical images, with some stained glass images to fill in the gaps )

Fishing
[IMG]http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t5/Prieni/_RDP4280pu.jpg[/IMG]
K20D, Sigma 70-300 APO DG @ 300 mm, 1/4000 s, A11, ISO200

Delfzijl Panorama




Panorama of 7 pictures combined in Hugin software.(Linux)
K10D with SMC A 1.4/50mm. 1/80 sec at f11. ISO 100.
Date taken; 19-10-2008 at 11.22 am.

[IMG]http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u193/lillymermaid/20081024_0539_8-1.jpg[/IMG]

Returning from Godolphin Manor, Helston
Taken: 24 Oct'08 - 1321hrs
ISO100; f/22; 0.3sec; K10D; Sigma 10-20@10mm

[IMG]http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w20/GlynM/Misc/IMGP8873-c1_small.jpg[/IMG]

Commercial Vista - Farnborough Business Park
27th October @ 10:01am
K10D with DA*16-50 @ 16mm, F11, 1/90sec, ISO100

I nearly forgot!

I'm not happy with this at all but hey what can a poor boy do?




K10D Tamron 17-50 on 27th October.

Mike

I know technically according to the new competition rules as the judge, I’m not obliged to comment on entries, but I do feel the need to provide some feedback so here goes. In fact on reflection, formulating thoughts about the pictures seems so intrinsic to the process of judging that it makes me think perhaps we should have both a separate feedback thread as well as judge’s comments. What do people think?

Thanks to all the entrants - it’s been interesting to see the photos as they’ve come in. I have to confess to being a tad disappointed that there weren’t a few more entries. Don’t know if this was my choice of subject or a more general lack of enthusiasm for a second comp. But hopefully over coming months this competition can establish itself as a valued part of the forum. I’m looking forward to participating myself – and also in particular to posts Lilly might make from her rather photogenic forthcoming travel destination, India (you will keep posting won’t you, when you’re away?).

Right, onto the judging... One of the reasons I set this subject (alongside the fact that ‘vistas’ of one sort or another should have been accessible to all forum users) was the difficulty I have encountered successfully capturing the drama of what might be quite extraordinary landscapes. I’ve often come across the advice to include something in the foreground – but in the case of vistas this is often difficult, and I was looking forward to seeing how entrants handled the subject.

Argee – You kind of get two vistas for the price of one here. A cloud-flecked skyscape and a Thames-scape which reminds me (out here in Ethiopia) how much London has to offer. I like the combination. However, I do feel you’re struggling with exposure on both fronts. Some of the clouds/reflections are burnt out; while the detail on the buildings is rather murky. An nd grad would have come in handy here – or HDR processing from a RAW file (or even – with a tripod – use of the multi-exposure feature in the K10D).

Hyram – Lovely sky once again. This time the exposure’s spot on bringing out the beautiful detail on the clouds. However, I’m not so enamoured of what’s going on terrestrially! Seems to me that while the fish eye works with the clouds it leads to large areas of rather featureless water to the right and left. I’ve never used a fisheye – so may well be wrong – but if you had managed to get something (a boat presumably) taking up a decent amount of foreground this might have resulted in a quite stunning shot (or would the foreground object simply be too distorted?).

Belinda B. – Lovely light on a gently undulating landscape and nice pastel tones. I’d like the sky to have been slightly more underexposed, which could have resulted in a more moody shot. Meanwhile the foreground probably requires lightening a little (though not to the extent that you lose the contrast in light). I’m not sure if this would be possible using a single Raw file to get different exposures – but I’d be aiming to have the sky as dark (or darker) than the foreground. I like the sheep appearing in the bottom corner – though I would have cropped the one close to the edge.

Josh – Compositionally I like what’s going on beyond the wall – the wooded hill leading down to the bay on the right of the picture. However, the bay is rather abruptly cropped which substantially detracts from this. FWIW I would have shifted over to include more on the right and also probably placed the horizon higher in the frame. Meanwhile what’s happening in the foreground does little for the backdrop – there’s too much grass. Also, the pic does come across as rather soft. And again nd grads/HDR/ multi-exposure would have been handy to get more detail from the wooded hill.

Serendipity – Another lovely sky this time over a Scottish glen (does this qualify as a glen?!). Colours are great and exposure seems spot on. A nice photo. I do have a couple of issues, however. First, I think the sky should be cropped lower – nearer to the lower bank of cloud. I think this strengthens the picture – the expanse of blue in the pic as is doesn’t really contribute much in my opinion. The other thing is that the line of trees in the middle/foreground is (compositionally speaking) rather static. If you could – and I understand this was probably impossible – have included a row of trees (or something else) leading into, rather than across, the pic this could have resulted in a stunning shot. Basically, this all relates to the difficulties of shooting landscapes that I referred to in the preamble above.

Hefty 1 – A very pleasing scene. I like the composition in this shot. The contours naturally lead the eye into the picture. However, IMO (very) slightly more cropping off the bottom would have strengthened it a tad, helping the balance of the shot . Also – understandably – you’re struggling a bit with exposure, with the loss of some detail on the dark trees and a (verging on) overexposed halo surrounding the trees. Did you use some means of combining exposures for this? I have a hunch you did – which goes to show how complicated this is.

Pnjmcc – I like the use of the foreground here to frame the vista, and the boat going across the picture gives some added interest. However, there is a bit too much foreground and too little vista as far as I’m concerned. I’m kind of curious about what’s behind the branches that obscure the view.

Galoot – I was initially inclined to discount this as a vista. But the more I look at the scale of the ceiling it I can see why you entered it. I do like the way you’ve captured this scale fisheye style – with the arches curving way up to the ceiling. Also, this seems remarkable to me for an ISO 1600 shot – anything I’ve shot at this ISO has noise all over it! How did you manage this – is it the lens, the pp-ing...? However, I’m not so keen on the stained glass fill ins – and in the end it’s probably a tad cramped to win a ‘vista’ comp!

Prieni – As is usually the case with your pics, Prieni, there’s a lot I like about this photo. I love the detailed silhouette of the boat and the OOF fence/grass/hedge(?) in the foreground. The tones are harmonious and it’s a well balanced picture – with the boat and bird on one side and the buoy on the other. However, for me there’s too much featureless sky – I would have cropped it lower. Also, I’m uncertain about the effect on the water – seems a bit harsh, though the contrast with the fence/grass/hedge is good. Finally, though, I’m not sure if this is a vista – probably needs a little more going on in it to qualify.

Malo1961 – I was hoping for some townscapes and this one made me laugh. One associates vistas perhaps with something uplifting and inspirational – but you’ve demonstrated here that this isn’t always the case! It’s a nicely balanced picture with the flats on one side, the road in the middle, and the sliver of trees on the right (I might have included a little more of the trees). And of course the b&w conversion is entirely fitting for the subject.

Lilly – I love the composition and the colours in this pic. Exposure seems spot on – how did you achieve this? Did you use some kind of multiexposure? Or was it just early/late enough in the day for you to get that kind of detail in the shadows? I have been trying to work out what’s so pleasing in the composition. I suppose it’s the complementary shape of the trees and the foreground vegetation/path – combined with the avenue the path follows between the trees. I guess that what’s beyond this is the vista – however, for me the shot’s a little too enclosed to be a winner in this theme. One other thing, on my monitor the pic seems – ever so slightly – soft. I’m not sure it’s even softness – there’s something almost intangible in the detail that I can’t resolve when I look at it. Perhaps I need new glasses! Anyway, I’d be curious to know what your thoughts are on this, as the Sigma 10-20 is one lens I’m considering getting when I’m back in the UK over Xmas.

GlynM – A nicely balanced shot of an interesting architectural subject (would have been a good entry for this week’s ‘regular’ comp). I’m not sure this qualifies as a vista, however. I like the way the arches lead one into the picture – though I might have cropped a bit tighter to enhance this effect. Well exposed – though the shade on the hedge on the right mars the harmonious balance a bit. Out of interest Glyn (or anyone else), would this be a time when a good flash would be strong enough to illuminate this in the way you might want to? Apologies if this is a rather basic (doh!) query, but I have no experience with flashes and this was something else I was considering getting at Xmas (living in Ethiopia, where there’s little to buy except excellent coffee, all my pent up conspicuous consumption is concentrated into brief visits home!).

MikeW – Another fine sky. The only problem being that the really interesting clouds are the ones at the bottom that take up the least space in the frame. Still, the wisps above do balance the picture out nicely. Once again I think I’d have been a little more aggressive with the cropper – I’d have probably gone up a little closer to the track marks at the bottom, which should lead to more attention on the sky. Isn’t the horizon tilting away to the left ever so slightly – or is this an incline?

Right, now to the judging...

Congratulations Hefty 1 for being our first fortnightly winner! There’s just something about the patterns of the tree, shade and undulations in your pic that I find pleasing to my eye.

Serendipity gets the much coveted second for another attractive pastoral shot.

And third place goes to Malo1961 for a different take on the subject, and for making me smile!

So it’s over to you Hefty 1 – I look forward to dusting off the old K10D!