Mirror lake (in Belton House)

Pictures taken last weekend in Belton House parks. K20D + DA 16-45mm + CPL filter. What do you think?

[IMG]http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo284/misiek_knm/PU/imgp0868.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo284/misiek_knm/PU/imgp0869.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo284/misiek_knm/PU/imgp0870.jpg[/IMG]

Do you think #2 & #3 are over exposed when compared to #1 or is that the effect from the filter?

I think you are right - I tried to get details in shadows - thus overexposure, maybe I overdid it. Now I see that the filter caused uneven sky colour and brightness. After a thought - these pictures were taken from the same place (almost) - I just turned or walked few steps each time. So there was a different angle when shooting - and polariser didn't work as I planned. Thanks - next time I have to be more careful with the filter. Looking at my own work I often cannot see the obvious flaws.

They also look wonky to me. Crop to straighten out the shoreline, perhaps?

Cheers, Kris.

Agree with above comments on exposure.

However, I think the camera was level. When you have a perspective as shown, you cannot always straighten the shoreline. Would make the trees tilt too much.

Not really qualified to make technical comment but the water seems to be running up hill to me too. Love the sky in the first shot.

I don't know how you deal with it, but if the shore line is not parallel to the focal plane of the camera i think you will always get this effect. So it would be wrong to straighten the shoreline IMO.

The lake was not too large and there was quite a curve. At first I also thought that I should straighten the horizon line - but no, I think it was like that. If you look at the trees or, even better, on the second shot - there is a broken twig hanging on something (can it be an extremely strong web?) - the line is nearly vertical.
So how do you think - next time with similar scenery - how should I take the picture to avoid that illusion?

Would love to help but as someone who has an almost permanent lean to the left I am not sure I should even attempt to suggest anything. I am sure if you think the shot is upright then it is and perhaps because of my problem I expect to see the horizon running up from left to right, ignore me.

In my opinion Michal has done the right thing. In landscape pictures, it is the horizon that should be level, not necessarily the shoreline. So one must look for something that is supposed to be horizontal or vertical, and adjust the picture accordingly.

In this case, the shoreline is most definitely not horizontal.

In my view, the trees are well balanced in the vertical direction.

Have to disagree to a certain extent with Terry - I agree you don't necessarily want to level the shoreline, and you do still want to get the shot level, but these shots aren't level.

As Michal says himself: "there is a broken twig hanging on something (can it be an extremely strong web?) - the line is nearly vertical".

Nearly vertical. It's actually about 2 degrees out, and if you straighten it using this line (probably fishing line), it looks a lot better to me.

With reflection shots like this, I usually look for an element of the image that has a clear reflection, near the centre of the pic, and make sure the element and its reflection are absolutely vertical (if you see what I mean). In the third shot, I might use the edge of the very bright, straight tree just right of centre. In the first shot, the very top leaves of the central tree.

Dan

Don't think that the shoreline need be used as an acceptable horizontal line but would have thought the water has to be, water is surely always level. Agree that sometimes it is not possible to see the surface of the water but if it is then it is an easy way to check the shot is level.

Can get a bit confusing if the wind's blowing at an angle across the surface, so that any ripples are going diagonally.

Dan

how do you pick two points on the water surface to level to

The conditions have to be so the point where land touches water at at least two points is clear enough to be used, it does not matter what the land is doing, the point where it enters the water will be the same regardless of the land.

Of course if the water is very rough you can't tell but with flat or small ripples you can, well I think you can. However a shot should please the person who took it so that should be the main criteria, if the photographer is happy then that is fine.

In the absents of water I try to find something that should be either vertical or horizontal and make sure it is, suppose I am a past master as most of my shots are askew.