Critique Welcomed A few landscapes from my part of the world

[Len Philpot]

I don't know if there are guidelines or protocols prohibiting the posting of multiple images per message, but if so I'll just ask for forgiveness up front. And I promise to never do it again.

These were taken more or less in central Louisiana. We don't have spectacular landscapes in the conventional sense, at least not like other places. But here's a little of some of what we do have. At least that I've been able to shoot!

Valentine Lake sunrise



Chicot Lake inlet



Foggy morning at WHCRC (technically not in my area but in relatively nearby southern Mississippi)



Chicot Lake sunrise



Bare tree at Red River Park



Big sky but little water at Little Lake (Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge)



Alternate, more minimalist, version of Little Lake

 

[Stephane Tougard]

I don't know if there are guidelines or protocols prohibiting the posting of multiple images per message, but if so I'll just ask for forgiveness up front. And I promise to never do it again.

I post multiple images per message since the beginning and never had any comment. Anyway, I think that's the best thing to do, as one image is often not enough. We're telling a story, a story may need more than a few words, it needs sentences, paragraphes and pages.

Your shots are magistral, the last one could be on the first page of any book on landscape subject (and I'm not an easy critic, so I usually avoid giving my opinion.).

Please continue to post several images per message and post several messages (you can use the same thread). Definitely your work makes this forum a more attractive place to visit.

 

[Len Philpot]

Thank you, will do!

My only recurring impression of the last one is that the vignette may (?) be borderline strong at times. Other times it looks good to me. I like the way it gives a perceived luminosity boost but it may be a hair too strong depending on viewing size.

 

[Ralph Turner]

A superb set, Len.

 

[Len Philpot]

Some more from my area, and from my regional travels (under 1,000 miles). Another mega post... Don't worry -- I have only so many images, so I can't keep this up forever!!

Foggy morning on Rigolette Bayou, Pineville, Louisiana (pano)



Post-sunset -- almost post-blue hour -- scene over Kincaid Lake, Alexandria, Louisiana



"Downrange sunset", Pineville, Louisiana



Interesting dirt (not rock) colors at Red Bluffs, Morgantown, Mississippi



Falling Water Falls, Jasper, Arkansas
(this was interesting, since there were actually people all over the place)



The old Central State Hospital dairy barn, Pineville, Louisiana
This is long disused for dairy or cattle, but there's a local effort underway to restore it for possibly some other use (aside from historical concerns).



Last remnants of a thunderstorm over Blue Mountain, Fort Davis, Texas (pano)



Post-thunderstorm sunset on the Davis Mountains, Fort Davis, Texas (pano)



Blue-sky sunrise over Star Mountain, viewed from Wild Rose Pass, Fort Davis, Texas



Peaceful sunset on Red River, Pineville, Louisiana

 

[Len Philpot]

Two from this afternoon, again at the Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge



This next one has a dirty little secret. It's a 16x9 landscape crop ... of a 3x2 portrait 24mp image. Why oh why did I shoot it in portrait orientation? I think onsite I saw reflections in some foreground water thinking they'd be nice, but after getting home and looking at in on the computer, it just works so much better cropped. I need to get better at seeing such in the field. So while it may be OK here, that's about all it'll ever be good for (online).

Guess I need to go back and reshoot this if I want to keep it!

 

[Gianluca Drago]

Very very nice, particularly the second one. I love the shapes, the color, the light, the composition.

 

[Ralph Turner]

Some suberb images in this thread, Len. I like the sense of pageantry in the last image. The warm, low angle directional light gives it a sense of timelessness, like one sees in one of those great old landscape paintings. (I apologise in advance if this wasn't the intent, this is just the impression I have of it). It would be interesting to see how this (6-8MP-ish) crop of the original 24MP image would print. I might not be of particularly high resolution but I wouldn't mind betting it would still work well. Some years ago my Mum took a liking to a pic I took looking over Loch Lomond in Scotland, which I had printed and framed, to hang over her mantlepiece.It was taken on my old Canon 350D. Despite it's modest resolution, it still produced a crisp, pleasing print at A2, particularly when viewed at normal distance.

 

[Len Philpot]

Some suberb images in this thread, Len. I like the sense of pageantry in the last image. The warm, low angle directional light gives it a sense of timelessness, like one sees in one of those great old landscape paintings. (I apologise in advance if this wasn't the intent, this is just the impression I have of it). It would be interesting to see how this (6-8MP-ish) crop of the original 24MP image would print. I might not be of particularly high resolution but I wouldn't mind betting it would still work well. Some years ago my Mum took a liking to a pic I took looking over Loch Lomond in Scotland, which I had printed and framed, to hang over her mantlepiece.It was taken on my old Canon 350D. Despite it's modest resolution, it still produced a crisp, pleasing print at A2, particularly when viewed at normal distance.

Yeah, my annoyance is probably more theoretical than realistic, all things considered, but still annoying nonetheless. What prompted the crop was primarily two things: Bright sky behind the top of the trees and the way their foliage was lit up and "fluffy" looking.

Thanks!

 

[Gary Gruber]

One small tip for landscape photographers. I know this is going to sound awkward, but I can assure you if you try this you may find it very rewarding. If you can manage to carry a small two step ladder when you go out 'hunting', I promise you will reap great rewards. When shooting a landscape, the ability to get at least two feet off the ground will provide a stunning rearrangement of the perspective between the foreground and the background. In many landscapes, the foreground tends to loom into the photo, creating a spatial imbalance. The small ladder will rectify that. I use a 3 step aluminum one that I have mounted a handle on to make carrying it easier.

 

[Len Philpot]

carry a small two step ladder when you go out

Yep - I've thought about that more than once, but always after I've left the house.

Getting above or below 'standard' eye level can really change the perspective, no pun intended. Getting below can sometimes be effective, but can also cause extreme foreshortening and vertical compression. I have an old patched up folding aluminum two-step that gets used only when someone else (who isn't 6'+ tall, as I am) wants to look through one of my astro telescopes. I'll have to remember and "store" it in the trunk of my car.

 

[Martin Scharnke]

A small stepladder does wonders when plane-spotting, too!

 

[Stevenson Gawen]

A small stepladder does wonders when plane-spotting, too!

Umm... to look over fences? Or climb over them...

 

[Len Philpot]

Umm... to look over fences? Or climb over them...

Nah. The step ladder raises you a little closer to the airplane so it's not quite so small, way up there...

 

[Gord Tomlin]

I've thought about that more than once, but always after I've left the house.

Just like how I have often thought of how I could be a few feet higher in the box of my pickup...after I've left the house in my car!

 

[Martin Scharnke]

Umm... to look over fences? Or climb over them...

So I never did reply to your (rhetorical) question - @Len Philpot did it for me!
Since I have yet to be arrested for breaching airside security, I think you can assume the former! Even then, I have been the subject of some security scrutiny.

The Official Brisbane airport plane-spotters page actually encourages the use of stepladders:

Acacia Street Loop: For the best shots of the runway, bring a zoom 70-300mm lens to the Acacia Street Loop (accessible with free parking from 4.30am-7.30pm) to see RWY19 and RWY01 arrivals and departures. For the best taxiway shots, you may want to consider a ladder for uninterrupted views over the fence.

There is a requirement to remain 3m from the perimeter fence at all times, however.

 

[Stevenson Gawen]

reply to your (rhetorical) question

Thanks! I didn't really deserve a reply though...

Even then, I have been the subject of some security scrutiny.

I'm not surprised, to be honest. We once got moved on while having a picnic parked on the grass (beside a small access road) near the Canberra airport boundary fence. A favorite spot...

Very interesting about the plane spotters page advice - learn something every day!

 

[Gary R. Smith]

Len, your images are superb. How can you say there are no landscape opportunities where you are??

 

[Len Philpot]

Len, your images are superb. How can you say there are no landscape opportunities where you are??

First of all, thanks - That's very nice of you to say, much appreciated.

Secondly, FYI -- If a photo of mine includes hills, waterfalls, mountains, etc., then it wasn't taken where I live. It may be from my general region of the US (i.e., within ~1,000 miles or less) but where I live in Louisiana there are no (real) hills / mountains nor valleys, no sea stacks (the coast line is very, very flat and silty), no waterfalls nor cascades, no vistas, no pretty winter weather and very little naturally-occurring undeveloped open land... So, no real "views" basically.

Considering the "landscapes" we have locally it's difficult to imagine anything I could (or do) shoot having any potential to stand toe-to-toe with real landscape photography in terms of subject matter (never mind the photographer! LOL). Honestly, I have a difficult time taking one of my (for example) "cypress-trees-on-water" shots seriously when compared to... oh, maybe something from Utah, the Dolomites, from NZ, Oregon, the Lake District, you name it. It just seems that what I shoot in Louisiana looks like, well Louisiana... It's very difficult to make it look better. Know what I mean?

Thanks.

 

[Ralph Turner]

Len, I feel you do yourself a disservice. Your images amply portray the quiet beauty to be found in your neck o' the woods.