• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

Photo Assignment 03/02/08

S

SNC1923

Guest
Winter is still upon us; while this presents some challenges for motorcycle riding, it is prime photographic weather. Now before we get all excited, allow me to remind you of these simple rules:

  • Photos must be shot between Fri. 02/22/08 and Sun. 03/02/08--10 days.
  • You must provide the EXIF information if asked (we'll help you, if you'd like to know how to get it).
  • No photoshop alteration (we're looking to improve your skills with your camera, not software).
  • Your photograph must adhere to the theme, which will be described below.
  • Post only one photo per post, so that commentary can be easily provided for that photo. You may post more than one photo, but try to keep it to a handful.
  • Title your photo so it can be referred to later.
  • Post your photos in this thread only. Do not start a thread in reply to this assignment. Please post your photos no later than next Wednesday.
  • And, the most important rule: have fun! We're looking to spread the joy that many of us derive from taking pictures, particularly ones that tell a story of some kind.

This week's theme: "Landscape"

A landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including physical elements such as landforms, living elements of flora and fauna, and abstract elements such as lighting and weather conditions.

In an effort to not simply showcase our photography, let's also try to improve our photography. Please try to avoid simply grabbing a snapshot. Ansel Adams said, "You don't take a photograph, you make it." Try to make an image that is a purposeful landscape photograph.

You may want to consider looking at 11 Surefire Tips for Improving your Landscape Photography. Of particular interest are :

  1. Look for a Focal Point
  2. Think Foreground
  3. Work the Golden Hours
  4. Think About Horizons
  5. Change Your Point of View

If that's not enough, you can also look at 16 Simple Landscape Photography Tips or Landscape Photography or a really neat site, Four Rules of Composition for Landscape Photography.

NOTE: Please use the "commentary thread" to post multiple efforts and to discuss techniques, ask questions, make comments, etc. Please reserve this thread to post one or two of your final efforts, the photos you're really proud of and want feedback on. Thanks!

What are you waiting for? You're burning daylight!
 
Harsh Landscape

"If it doesn't stick you, sting you or bite you it's a rock!"
 

Attachments

  • Harsh Landscape.jpg
    Harsh Landscape.jpg
    122.9 KB · Views: 310
Frost in the trees

About 100 yards from our house.

258541025_BMd9X-XL.jpg
 
Seascape

Does a seascape count? Big surf today so I was at the Cove ...
Went a little against the rules by having the sun to my right, hence the little flare. I liked the effect though.
LaJollaCove1.jpg


This is what I was doing most of the day ... had the "big gun" out.
Those are about ten foot waves rolling in, some bigger.
LaJollaCove2.jpg


A little further south, the coast was pretty wild. I did crop this while resizing to remove the wide angle shadows from the corners.
Windansea1.jpg
 
I'm sorry, I've been out of town for a few days and forgot to post a pic here before I left.

Landscape+008.jpg

Blasted.

I'm going with this one.
 
Was out at Cabrillo National park today. Windy, sunny, very nice. Too many pics to choose from, but I'm going with these as my 2 favs:
old pt loma lightnouse
_MG_3781.jpg


in the wind
_MG_3783.jpg
 
Feedback I

262387925_eUhNF-L.jpg


Paul Glaves starts us off this week with a "look out!" dessert landscape. This is a thoughtfully composed landscape shot, with an eye to the rule of thirds, and it certainly appears to have been photographed during the "golden hours." A portion of the shot falls into the shadows, but the gold light and strong shadows add to the harshness of this compelling landscape. Where this image might fall down is in its apparent lack of a focal point. The point is, of course, the great variety of hostile plant life, but given the opportunity, I might have foregrounded one plant--that great cactus for example--to add an element of visual interest that may have calmed this frenetic photo. It's a good shot and one the definitely communicates a message.

262387927_xBwHg-L.jpg


Voni follows closely behind with this nice landscape shot. It's textbook rule of thirds, and she's chosen to have an interesting foreground--not a specific item, but a landscape that starts right in front of the viewer and extends into infinity. This photo has great layers. There are horizontal layers (the thirds of scrub brush, mountains, and sky) as well as the wonderful receding layers extending as far as the eye can see. Good lighting, lots of visually interesting texture, a blue sky. . . . A nice shot, indeed.

262387921_HC8p6-L.jpg


Nice to see Statdawg again this week with a winter landscape. Snow is an obvious component of a winter landscape, but so are these stark, leafless trees. They convey a real sense of dormancy, even a desperation as winter holds us in its icy fist. What I like here is the featuring of the two trees against a line of smaller trees in the background. That's interesting. In a weird way, the trees seem almost to be reaching out to each other, a la Michelangelo's Creation di Adamo. Unfortunately, it might be as easy to see these two as Laurel and Hardy. The image may have been more interesting--or competing less for the viewer's focus--if only one tree were featured against the backdrop of soldier trees. The snow is also underexposed, but to have corrected that may have sacraficed the blue sky. If I'm right about the trees touching (or even if I'm not), it's a thought-provoking shot.

258541025_BMd9X-XL.jpg


MLS2GO is back again this week, this time with one of the most compelling images I've seen in a while. I'm struggling with trying to decide if this image is underexposed or not. It is, but is it a problem, or does it add to the considerable drama of this image? It's the very definition of dreariness, despair, and dying. Including the bit of foreground in the bottom really helps to anchor an otherwise gray and complex image. On the one hand, it lack a central subject, but on the other hand, this whole stand of trees is the subject. Like Voni's shot, it's a study of layers, making it all the more interesting and a very effecitve use of Rule3s.

LaJollaCove1.jpg


Nice to see DarcyM back with three interesting submissions. This first is a lovely composition but is fraught with problems. Shooting nearly into the sun results in this backlit, high-contrast image that's unpleasant to look at, complicated by the lens flare. Horizon's crooked and the sky has no punch. Good use of foregrounding and layered composition. Not up to DarcyM's usual standards.

LaJollaCove2.jpg


This next shot is a wonder. Including a camera in the foreground is wonderful. It's a bit postmodern, including the equipment in making the image. It definitely adds visual interest. It obscurse the annoying cars. This image embodies a number of the tenets of good landscape photography: The receding line of the retaining wall (lines) draws the eye to the couple (focal point) and looks down at the sea (high vantage point). A trifecta! You may also notice that the image can be divided into thirds both horizontally and vertically. I also love that the line between sky and ocean is invisible. Great shot.

Windansea1.jpg


This third shot combines the reviews of the previous two. A bit backlit, but interesting textures and composition. La Jolla is one of the loveliest places on earth. You're lucky to live near there. Nice photography, all three, but two is my favorite, FWIW.

258931316_tHRjx-L.jpg


A big welcome to CapeCodBeemer with a nice landscape. This is a strong composition with an interesting focal point, Rule3s, and that nice atmospheric layering. I find the exposure a bit dim and the contrast too low (shooting into the sun, I suspect). This would be a radically different photo at a different time of day. Still, an interesting and effective image.

20080223-025.jpg


Dvandkq has developed a bit of rep, at least in my mind, for nice landscape photography, so this is right up his alley. This meandering river makes for a nice subject in a really good composition. The little sandbar in the foreground is just the thing to anchor and offer visual interest. The trees before the mountains provides some nice layering. I like that the trees hug the river and that some are near and others far. A higher vantage point (often impossible for those of us not packing aluminum ladders) might have made for more spread. This isn't exactly Rule3s, but it's divided nicely and in a visually pleasing manner. I don't know about the diagonal tree trunk. It was clearly included on purpose, does provide for a focal point, but I can't decide if I love it or hate it. I'm leaning toward the latter. Still, a particularly effective landscape shot.
 
Back
Top