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My Landscape Photos


panos_adgr
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Hi fellow members

 

I will be posting my favourite landscapes here shot with my sony a6000.

 

Polite comments of creative critic are welcome!

 

A busy picture taken from a peripheral city road. The industrial zone of Aspropyrgos (Greece - Attica)  mixed with nature pieces remained around and a beautiful cloudy sky!

 

34577679742_8058e2aa9a_h.jpgAspropyrgos Panorama by Panagiotis Adamopoulos, on Flickr

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Guest Jaf-Photo

It's a nice scene and a dramatic cloud cover.

 

The constructive comment would be to make some local changes, ptmarily to brighten the foreground and give it a bit more contrast. It's normal for the camera to underexpose the ground in a big sky scene like this. But the eye has better dynamic range and actally sees the ground clearly too, so it's useful to brighten it a bit to make for a more realistic visual impression.

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Thanks for the comments. I've worked on this image with local settings and processing. I kept the foreground like this in purpose. I wanted it to be a bit dark and dramatic. It is how you feel when you see the houses next to the oil refineries and large tanks.

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Guest Jaf-Photo

Sure, you're free to do pictures the way you want. How the eye and the brain sees a picture is a big part of photography, though. Most viewers will expect the foreground to be readable, so by making it dark you make it harder for them and by extension for yourself. The so-called rules in photography are basically just knowledge about what works in a picture. From your thread about your camera lines, I can tell you are not really open to advice but rather seeking confirmation of your views.

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Thanks for the advice my friend. I'm open always to advice but when a conversation is done both sides must be presented. You presented your advice and I added my pov for the photo. Also big artist in art history have become famous breaking the rules or creating new. Pov is always subjective. I'm not seeking confirmation. I find it in myself.

 

Thanks I again and I'm still oprn in critic. It's welcome.

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This scene could be quite fascinating at early morning or dusk, with a bit tighter framing over the port. To me the left third is somewhat empty, and "zoomed" in a little more on the right side might get a bit more of the gritty details. But ... I see your point!

 

Reminds me of Aviles in Northern Spain, an amazing steel milling town. (I was more interested in the lighthouse ... but the pink glow on the left side is from the mills).

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Guest Jaf-Photo

Thanks for the advice my friend. I'm open always to advice but when a conversation is done both sides must be presented. You presented your advice and I added my pov for the photo. Also big artist in art history have become famous breaking the rules or creating new. Pov is always subjective. I'm not seeking confirmation. I find it in myself.

 

Thanks I again and I'm still oprn in critic. It's welcome.

 

 

To break the rules you must first learn the rules. Only then will you know when and how to break them.

 

You mention famous artists who broke the rules. This is inaccurate. What actually happened is that these artist made new rules. They studied art according to the current rules and became proficient at it. (Picasso was an accomplished classical artist, believe it or not.) Then they felt limited by the rules and made new ones, meaning that there was a thought and purpose behind the change of style.

 

In your case, all we have is an underexposed foreground, which is what most beginners do in a similar situation. So there is nothing obviously artistic or avant garde about it.

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To break the rules you must first learn the rules. Only then will you know when and how to break them.

 

You mention famous artists who broke the rules. This is inaccurate. What actually happened is that these artist made new rules. They studied art according to the current rules and became proficient at it. (Picasso was an accomplished classical artist, believe it or not.) Then they felt limited by the rules and made new ones, meaning that there was a thought and purpose behind the change of style.

 

In your case, all we have is an underexposed foreground, which is what most beginners do in a similar situation. So there is nothing obviously artistic or avant garde about it.

It seems you have deeply studied my works and my experience.

 

Since your comment I ve studied my picture in my PC and it looks well exposed as all the details are visible. Anyway you talk a bit aggressively. You judge me through 10 or so post and mention characterisms like beginner and that he have to study rules etc.

 

Listen Jaf

 

Iam an amateur and I do not claim to be Picasso or that I know everything about art. It seems that you don't like to make discussions and read an opposite opinion in the form of creative discussion. If you believe only in your beliefs and don't accept other pov there is no need to be aggressive.

 

I didn't claim any characterisms towards you. You made again comments for my previous thread saying again things about me.

 

I wonder how you get to know so many things for me.

 

Anyway my friend. It is true that I do not really know all the rules. And I do not claim such a thing for me.

It would really be nice to teach me with your experience.

I will be glad to learn more.

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Guest Jaf-Photo

I am honest about facts and ideas, that's all.

 

The only way to improve at anything, especially photography, is to be critical. Never be totally pleased with your photo. Even if you like it, try to find faults and ways to improve it. It may sound negative, but if you do it, you will see a steady improvement in your photos over time.

 

My top tip would be to pick up a good book about photo editing in the program you use. It will explain how to normally process photos and it will contain a lot of tips and tricks you won't be able to learn by accident.

 

I only takes a few hours of reading and practicing to improve your results drastically.

 

Remember, if anything is worth doing, it's worth doing well.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am honest about facts and ideas, that's all.

 

The only way to improve at anything, especially photography, is to be critical. Never be totally pleased with your photo. Even if you like it, try to find faults and ways to improve it. It may sound negative, but if you do it, you will see a steady improvement in your photos over time.

 

My top tip would be to pick up a good book about photo editing in the program you use. It will explain how to normally process photos and it will contain a lot of tips and tricks you won't be able to learn by accident.

 

I only takes a few hours of reading and practicing to improve your results drastically.

 

Remember, if anything is worth doing, it's worth doing well.

 

I will agree with your statements above 100%.

 

You are right. We are never perfect and we must try constantly to improve ourselves. I do spend time of studying pp techniques. And I ve done quite some improvement in pp. I ll have to keep on doing it more systematically. 

 

 

 

 

33513863874_c60f300c08_h.jpgRain showers above the sea horizon by Panagiotis Adamopoulos, on Flickr

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Guest Jaf-Photo

Cool, good luck. A parting tip is to calibrate your screen, if you already don't. Even the simple visual calibration methods make a difference, but calibration devices often sell at affordable prices. 

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I

 

 

 

 

 

Did you ever consider doing a long exposure, using an ND filter, or IIRC, there is a Sony App which can do that too.

Well... you are right.

 

It would make a better effect. I have a tripod but most of the times I don't carry it with me and it's something I have to change...

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Cool, good luck. A parting tip is to calibrate your screen, if you already don't. Even the simple visual calibration methods make a difference, but calibration devices often sell at affordable prices. 

 

My screen is not the best I could have but it is not the worst. The truth is that on my ipad and android screens pictures in flickr look a bit darker in shadows. But on my pc screen they seem  a bit different. I should buy myself a better screen because it is almost sure I have an issue there.

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Guest Jaf-Photo

My screen is not the best I could have but it is not the worst. The truth is that on my ipad and android screens pictures in flickr look a bit darker in shadows. But on my pc screen they seem  a bit different. I should buy myself a better screen because it is almost sure I have an issue there.

 

The brightness is probably set too high on your computer screen; colours and contrast are likely a bit off too. This is very common, because most screens have factory settings intended for games and office software.

 

As you know, if your screen is off, you are editing against a false representation of the image. If the screen is too bright, you might reduce the brightness of the image, which results in an image that is too dark. The same goes for colour. If your screen has a colour cast, you will most likely compensate for it by adding a new colour cast that shouldn't be there. In, (fact I can tell you have a magenta cast in your clouds, where they should be more blue.)

 

Most screens will improve with calibration. Even a visual calibation imroves the image. In a visual calibration you look at test images and adjust the settings of your screen according to instructions. There are web-based visual calibration tools that you can search and try. I include a link to one that seems good, although I haven't tried it: http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/. (My screen is machine calibrated.)

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  • 2 weeks later...

To break the rules you must first learn the rules. Only then will you know when and how to break them.

 

You mention famous artists who broke the rules. This is inaccurate. What actually happened is that these artist made new rules. They studied art according to the current rules and became proficient at it. (Picasso was an accomplished classical artist, believe it or not.) Then they felt limited by the rules and made new ones, meaning that there was a thought and purpose behind the change of style.

 

In your case, all we have is an underexposed foreground, which is what most beginners do in a similar situation. So there is nothing obviously artistic or avant garde about it.

I take issue with this..I have broken many rules that I didn't know existed..both in life and in photography.  What is paramount is experience, trial and error, and being open to guidance and criticism.

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Guest Jaf-Photo

Like I wrote, the rules of photography are more the accumulated knowledge of what works. The rules were crystallised by thousands of photographers working for a century and a half. Their works were based on what thousands of painters and sculpters did for thousands of years. It's just sheer arrogance and ignorance to think that one person can do bettter work by insulating himself from the accumulated knowledge of photography.

 

I take issue with this..I have broken many rules that I didn't know existed..both in life and in photography.  What is paramount is experience, trial and error, and being open to guidance and criticism.

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I take issue with this..I have broken many rules that I didn't know existed..both in life and in photography.  What is paramount is experience, trial and error, and being open to guidance and criticism.

 

 

Think of it this way ... a modern automatic camera will expose to 18% grey, that is a general rule of photography, and when you take a photo of a white landscape (snow) then it is necessary to over-expose the image, which is breaking the rule, and in the process creating a new rule - how to take photos in a snow landscape. 

 

However, you don't have to know the rules to be successful at taking photos in a snow landscape, it is possible to experiment, or sit and think about it for a while. And thus, by deduction, it is proven that you don't have to know the rules to be successful at taking photos in general - its perfectly acceptable to learn by experimentation or just by thinking about it a little. I would suggest that those who follow the approach of experimentation or thought are more likely to be creative, innovative and imaginative. But that does not mean that a person who is comfortable following a set of rules cannot be successful, it just means they might be less likely to come up with a new technique or approach to photography.

 

Which approach you take likely depends on your learning style. Hard as it might be for someone like yourself to believe, there are people who function more effectively with a good set of rules to follow. And then there is the rest of us ...

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Guest Jaf-Photo

Think of it this way ... a modern automatic camera will expose to 18% grey, that is a general rule of photography, and when you take a photo of a white landscape (snow) then it is necessary to over-expose the image, which is breaking the rule, and in the process creating a new rule - how to take photos in a snow landscape.

 

However, you don't have to know the rules to be successful at taking photos in a snow landscape, it is possible to experiment, or sit and think about it for a while. And thus, by deduction, it is proven that you don't have to know the rules to be successful at taking photos in general - its perfectly acceptable to learn by experimentation or just by thinking about it a little. I would suggest that those who follow the approach of experimentation or thought are more likely to be creative, innovative and imaginative. But that does not mean that a person who is comfortable following a set of rules cannot be successful, it just means they might be less likely to come up with a new technique or approach to photography.

 

Which approach you take likely depends on your learning style. Hard as it might be for someone like yourself to believe, there are people who function more effectively with a good set of rules to follow. And then there is the rest of us ...

Self-praise is the most insincere form of flattery ;)

 

I think if you could look at your pictures with a trained eye, or just an experienced one, you would feel less smug.

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