Drentsche Aa Photo

Photographer’s Note

This picture was taken on a late afternoon in June, near Schipborg, overlooking some curves in the Drentsche Aa, a small creek in Drenthe.
Just happened to cycle along this beautiful scenery.
Picture taken with my Eos Rebel (300D) and a Tamron 70-300mm tele.
Softened in photoshop and added some contrast.
Wonder what you guys think about it. It's my first post.

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Critiques | Translate

drt100 (838) 2008-12-25 22:19

Welcome to TE. This is a nice first photo. The feel is soft, not over sharpened. You must be careful not to make a painting, but keep it as photography. Too much post processing can remove the realistic feel. We all do some. It just takes practice. I like your warm colors. A good way to learn is to explore other's photos. Mine are not the best, but some here are really exceptional. You are welcome to comment on mine or anyones as we share support here - we all want to improve. Please keep posting. David

rgarrigus (0) 2008-12-25 22:36

Hi Ard,

Welcome to TE and happy holidays!

Pretty good first image to launch your TE "career". Your composition serves to naturally draw the viewer's eye into the distance and the silhouetted trees keep you within the frame. The fence/ gate serves as a nice focal point and is positioned comfortably off center. Exposure-wise this is one of the toughest situations to deal with. You have a huge contrast from shadowy trees to bright evening sky. It is simply more exposure latitude than your camera can handle thus the uber-bright sky section. This is called "blown" or "clipped" highlight where there is zero data. It can sometimes add to a high key image but most often is something to be avoided as the eye is immediately drawn to it. To mitigate this, post-processing can be your best friend here using something called high dynamic range (HDR). Take three to five images varying by 1 shutter stop over and under your TTL meter reading and combine later on your computer using a software application like Photomatix Pro. For the softening I might suggest you look into something called the "Orton Technique" that might accomplish something a bit more ethereal than simply softening in Photoshop. I think you'll enjoy it.

Happy New Year to you and yours and the best of light to you in 2009!

Bob G.