Image critique
February 2010
Light on the landscape
This month I thought I would talk about the use of light in the making of a landscape image and how, in just a matter of moments light can dramatically alter an image.
Look at this shot of a typical scene in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The light succesfully lights both the barn in the foreground and the field immediately in front of it whilst keeping the rest of the image in shadow. This puts the point of focus clearly on the front barn with the leading lines of the mowed grass taking your eyes into the scene. But taking your eyes where?
The second image was taken only 30secs after the first shot.Look how the barn in the far field is partly lit, with the light picking out the second barn. This seems to give an added dimension to the image, showing more of the relationship of the main barn to its surroundings without losing its dominance in the scene. In addition the leading lines of the grass now have somewhere for the eyes to follow and settle.
Another 2 minutes and the final image in the trillogy was captured.
Look at the difference to the first shot. Here the front barn, whilst still a dominant element in the image, is now shown as part of an overall landscape and although picturesque I feel it loses much of its impact as the main focus of the scene. In addition, the light has now lit the top of the tree immediately behind the front barn and this detracts from the barn and forms an untidy element to the barn itself.
Could the image have been improved?
Yes, I would have liked to have seen a darker sky with perhaps a storm cloud or two which would then have shown the relationship of the clouds to the shadow cast on the land, in the image this relationship isn't apparent enough.
Also, what a pity that the farmer didn't mow the grass at more of a diagonal with the leading lines of the cut grass leading the eye more towards the barns? Unfortunately that life isn't that neat and convenient!
Whilst there is little you can do to change the way farmers work, there is something you can do about light, and just waiting for the right moment before pressing the shutter can change an image, often for the better. Don't forget that you may need to keep returning to the scene to get the light just as you want it.
As normal, if you have any views or comments on my critique, on whether you agree or disagree with me, please leave your comments on the blog.
Remember, please keep them clean and family friendly!!
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Image Critique
Making images gives me a great deal of pleasure but one way to improve ones own photography is to critique it.Yes you can critique it yourself and gain good insight into why you took it and how it could have been improved, but you can also gain a great deal from hearing others views. That is why I shall be challenging you to post your views and comments on my blog about your thoughts on each image displayed.
I value open-minded intelligent discussion of my images - but please, honest critique is required, not mean rude or insulting!
You can also tweet your comments to me @stevegillphotos.