More from Studland Heath

Here's a few more hot off the press from my early morning visit in August to Studland Heath, Purbeck, in Dorset.

All with the K7, tripod, mirror up & remote control, ISO 100 .... I used the Tamron AF70-300 Di LD and the Pentax SMC A28f2.8 .....




















Thanks for taking a look and for your comments and thoughts
Nigel

You certainly made the most of the golden hour, Nigel. That second shot is full of interest and depth. Hasn't the heather been brilliant this year?

I really has Andrew and right through a long and warm summer. There are glimpses of the colour to be seen when traveling all around the area, but its on the Studland Heath where there's this great concentration and density.

Thanks again for your interest ...I know you would have had a laugh seeing me dashing around there like someone possessed, lumping my heavy loaded backpack plus giant Manfrotto across the dunes !

Nice ones, Nigel. I do prefer the slightly more controlled colours and they still do more than justice to the heathers.
Regards,
Mike

Very nice Nigel, 3 and 4 are my favourites as they show off the beauty of the heath with nothing to distract the eye.

Regards
David

Thanks Mike and David Pleased you both saw the photos.

Hi Nigel, contrary to David my favourite by far and away is #1. The others aren't as engaging as your first set.

#1, shows three layers, each leading you through to the next one, the fall off in clarity due to the haze is distinct in each layer too. Fabulous shot

For me in #2 the bush is so central and dominant, it needs to be anchored. Its not like, leaves and branches by an edge giving natural framing.

#'s 3 and 4, have no point of interest. I find myself looking around for a point of interest, but my eye isn't drawn anywhere.

Everyone is different, and others seem to prefer the others, but from previous discussions, I believe you'd prefer my honest views as opposed to platitudes

Nigel, as Alan has written, people will have differing views and mine agree with David's. The bright object on the right of 1 and 2 draws me away from the rest of the scene, plus I'm not keen on the blurred foreground of 1 and the baseless bush of 2. It might be breaking the conventional rules but it doesn't bother me if there is no centre of interest in a photo, if the scene itself is appealing. So 3 and 4 for me (but I would clone out the bright object from 4!).

Cheers.
Philip

No! Give me platitudes, I want more platitudes

You're right Alan, there's far more interest and points for discussion when something critical is said, and that's exactly what I like .... David and Philip have offered those alterative responses as well, so that's all good.

I agree with all the points made, and they're all helpful, thanks all. I liked the general sweep of the Heath and its dense colour, and tried to show that in the wider ones, but equally I did try and get a 'point of interest' in some, which has added to those, and that's always a worthy ideal with landscapes .... this one from the previous set is probably what you were thinking of Alan ....




The ones with the rocks and the boathouse were all shot from the same position, and I experimented with different zoom settings, which explains why the tree was cut off .... and I suppose the wider ones work best with that as well.

The location will reward a lot more exploration, and it was a pity I couldn't spend more time there this trip .... fingers crossed for next time. I did get across the road and shot some small bays in Poole Harbour, just need to get the processing done ....

For what it's worth, the other reason I like 3 and 4 is that they look natural, whereas to my eye the first and second look a tad over processed? In particular the cliffs and sky don't look quite right, almost as if they've been separately processed to the foreground?

Nigel will probably be able to shed some light on this.

Regards
David

Yes, fair points David .... the skies in both the first two are different exposures, much darker, and blended with layers. The skies in the exposures with the ground correct were very bright and featureless. The cliffs were deep in haze really, rather undefined, so I dodged a fair bit to bring them out and added some contrast .... but if its too obvious then I shall take another look and see if another approach will work. Thanks for the idea

Thanks for the explanation Nigel, this is why I tend to always carry a 0.9 soft ND Grad filter as it balances bright skies beautifully and avoids the need for heavy processing. Worth its weight in gold for landscapes.

Regards
David

Yes, I should try filters David .... there always seems to be some object projecting into the sky to complicate it though ..... here it would have been a problem with rocks don't you think .....

Hi Nigel, it isn't too much of an issue with a soft grad, which is the one I use. I think it's worth the trade-off in terms of some items darkening a bit in the upper areas of the image for the dramatic improvements it brings to the definition in skies.

Regards
David

OK, thanks .... I'll keep an eye out for some good filters I've got a Cokin P system, but I'm aware that's not the best ..... perhaps some higher quality some will fit the Cokin holder.