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Polesden Lacy Showcase

McGregNi
Posted 13/10/2013 - 06:54 Link
After the utter pasting I took yesterday with my Surrey Gardens selection - (colours, DOF, compositions, intrusions, overhangs, geese, too much grass, wrong kind of leaves ... ) you'd be thinking my K7 would be up for grabs in the classifieds.... but, no ... I'm leaping straight back into the ring with a splash of new images from Polesden Lacy in the Surrey Hills.

These have been waiting to be processed from DNGs since the summer, so I saw a good excuse to get them up and running. I hope that some might appeal .... all constructive critisc.....(no, better not say that!)

All taken with the K7 & DA 18-55WR.



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cameraboy
Posted 13/10/2013 - 07:36 Link
Hi my good man, I wouldn't worry too much about the pasting you took not all of us are particularily good at photography, mostly dumb mistakes. But I still enjoy getting my K7 out now and again, chin up. Good luck, Ian
k7 10-17fe 12-24 55 100 macro 18-55 50-200
Jim-w
Posted 13/10/2013 - 08:32 Link
McGregNi
Quote:
After the utter pasting I took yesterday

It's a shame you feel like that Nigel, you asked for feedback on your images and that is what you got.

cameraboy
Quote:
not all of us are particularily good at photography

How true, if you want the definition of c**p photography take a look at my gallery.

I will leave any thoughts and observations I have on your images for others to comment on.



All the best....Jim
CMW
Posted 13/10/2013 - 09:38 Link
I like no.6 (the empty bench); it might be even more pleasing cropped square, losing much of the foliage. There is nothing particularly memorable about 4, 5, and 7 but they are pleasant views and largely unexceptionable compositions. The other five seem blighted to varying degrees by items that (compositionally) have been placed in the foreground. That wooden picnic table gets much more attention than it deserves for such an uninteresting piece of furniture. And the positioning of that urn does nothing for it or the house behind. NT properties are not always as easy to photograph as they might seem, particularly if there are hordes of people about, and summer sun doesn't often do any photographer favours.
Regards, Christopher

ChristopherWheelerPhotography
oldhat
Posted 13/10/2013 - 10:06 Link
I wouldn't worry about the views expressed on your images. They strike me as helpful!!
I have always found landscape etc difficult to pull off, basicaly because I am not skilled enough. Oddly enough, my best ones have been taken with a Pentax 10-17 Fisheye at the 17 end and then slightly cropped
TonyM
Posted 13/10/2013 - 10:15 Link
Jim-w wrote:
McGregNi
Quote:
After the utter pasting I took yesterday

It's a shame you feel like that Nigel, you asked for feedback on your images and that is what you got.


The way I read it Nigel was being a bit tongue-in-cheek (or something like that) and other comments he has made show the positive way he is responding. I would like to say thanks to Nigel for putting these up and Smeggy et al for their insight. I'm sure I'm not the only one on the forum getting valuable education from this!

Tony
Pentaxophile
Posted 13/10/2013 - 10:22 Link
Agree with CMW's comments. No. 6 would have been even better if you'd dragged the bench to the left hand side of the shot
[link=https://500px.com/will_brealey/[/link]
johnriley
Posted 13/10/2013 - 10:24 Link
If things are astray, no point saying how wonderful they are, it doesn't help anyone. On the other hand, no point being utterly cruel about it and thoroughly discouraging someone.

Nigel is made of sterner stuff and returns with some stronger compositions. The penultimate one is the best arrangement, with relevant foreground that remains sharp. The depth of field (DOF) covers the whole subject, so the aperture is a good choice. I think I would have moved the deck chair, or at least rearranged my position to exclude it.

I also enjoy the garden wall shot, although again the colour is way off. But the composition is excellent and it shows off an interesting bit of presumably kitchen garden wall.

Colour is still a problem, yellow being the order of the day. I'd also watch for large foregrounds that are outside the DOF, especially when they are just picnic tables.
Best regards, John
RayB
Posted 13/10/2013 - 10:33 Link
Pentaxophile wrote:
Agree with CMW's comments. No. 6 would have been even better if you'd dragged the bench to the left hand side of the shot

Have you tried flipping No.6 to do as described above? There is noting in it that will give such a transformation away... (like text or signage)
davidstorm
Posted 13/10/2013 - 10:50 Link
Hi Nigel, I would doff my hat to you if I was wearing one , your attitude towards the feedback you receive is admirable. Regarding these images, I think to some extent they suffer from the same issues that the other ones did, although as John has mentioned the compositions here are stronger, I like #3 in particular. I don't think the ones with the picnic table in the foreground work too well - as mentioned previously they don't lead the eye into the picture.

Also the overhanging trees make another big appearance in these shots - this is something that I don't particularly like and would avoid in the future if you can (personal preference only, but there is a generally accepted rule that this should be avoided in a landscape image unless what the branches are attached to is visible).

The main issue is the one that John mentions which seems to affect most of your images, i.e. the really odd colour balance. I don't know if this is a camera setting or a processing problem, but all of them have too much yellow. This is making the grass and trees look sickly and overall gives them an unnatural appearance. Sorting out this issue will have a dramatic effect on your images. Maybe your monitor colour is a bit askew?

Regards
David
Flickr

Nicola's Apartments, Kassiopi, Corfu

Some cameras, some lenses, some bits 'n' bobs
McGregNi
Posted 13/10/2013 - 15:20 Link
Jim-w wrote:
McGregNi
Quote:
After the utter pasting I took yesterday

It's a shame you feel like that Nigel, you asked for feedback on your images and that is what you got.

I will leave any thoughts and observations I have on your images for others to comment on.

Jim, please don't. You have simply mis-interpreted my intro comments here, which are entirely joking ('you'd be thinking my K7 would be up for grabs in the classifieds') . I'm always pleased if my images generate such strong and detailed feedback, and as I said on the other thread it was all much appreciated, not least those things you said yourself - so bring it all on again!

johnriley wrote:
... Nigel is made of sterner stuff and returns with some stronger compositions..... Colour is still a problem, yellow being the order of the day. .

You're right John, self confidence has never been in short supply for me , but its always important to stand back and see what others are seeing. I admit that the colours seem OK on my laptop monitor, but David reminded be below about the monitor temperature, so thats what I'll check out and run some shots through again using the same steps and see if that improves it.

If I'm understanding right, starting out in Adobe RGB (in 16bit) and finisihing in sRGB with 8bit JPEGs should not really give this type of problem should it? If not, then it makes sense to look at the monitor I guess.

And thanks to all the others here who have made very useful observations - I'm glad that there are others who are able to take something away from it as well.
My Guides to the Pentax Digital Camera Flash Lighting System : Download here from the PentaxForums Homepage Article .... link
Pentax K7 with BG-4 Grip / Samyang 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC / DA18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR / SMC A28mm f2.8 / D FA 28-105mm / SMC F35-70 f3.5-4.5 / SMC A50mm f1.7 / Tamron AF70-300mm f4-5.6 Di LD macro / SMC M75-150mm f4.0 / Tamron Adaptall (CT-135) 135mm f2.8 / Asahi Takumar-A 2X tele-converter / Pentax AF-540FGZ (I & II) Flashes / Cactus RF60/X Flashes & V6/V6II Transceiver
bigdaddybucks
Posted 13/10/2013 - 18:38 Link
I'm no expert and I am pretty much in the same boat as you regarding the fact that most photos I take are when I am out with members of my family and it's not easy to find time to really concentrate on photography 100%. But luckily my family will go out in any weather and this is very helpful as I find the sky to be a big part of landscape photos and I think this is where yours are lacking. Some of these photos would improve straight away in my opinion if the skies were more dramatic ie, before or after rain, storms etc or sunsets and sunrises.

Lee
cabstar
Posted 13/10/2013 - 19:43 Link
I think the photos are a little busy and the subject is not clear. Is it the benches are or the house? For the moment I wouldn't worry about the wb but concentrate on composition and image content and subject position. You have included the benches but then chopped half of them off for example.

Hope that helps a little.
PPG Wedding photography Flickr
Concert photography

Currently on a Pentax hiatus until an FF Pentax is released
johnriley
Posted 13/10/2013 - 20:15 Link
Quote:
If I'm understanding right, starting out in Adobe RGB (in 16bit) and finisihing in sRGB with 8bit JPEGs should not really give this type of problem should it?

Mismatching like this can indeed cause problems. I would suggest resetting everything to sRGB and seeing what happens. After that, change one parameter at a time and check the results each time.
Best regards, John

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