Hayfield II

[Greg McCary]

Hayfields are hard to shot. Farmers don't leave it out long after it is rolled and finding one good enough to shot with the right lighting and weather conditions are tough. I am beginning to think most of photography skills seem to be being in the right spot at the right moment. But this one is only a couple of miles from my house. I wish the leaves on the hills in the background had already changed.

[Copy_Kot]

I like it. I might try to get closer to one of the rolled bales so it was the main focus of the picture and try to keep the background clear.

[Greg McCary]

Here is an edited version from PS. I lightened the hills and took out a powerpole, not visable in the first because it was to dark. I also leveled the horizon. I didn't get closer to the bales because I was wanting to capture the "s" of the ditch running through the field.
Greg

[photophorous]

Hi Greg,

This is a good shot. I like the composition, except your horizon is a little slanted. It looks like this was shot around 3 or 4 pm? I'm far from an expert on this, but I think the lighting would have been better if it were shot later in the evening. Were the hills in the background shaded by clouds? If so, sometimes you have to just wait until the clouds move.

I like the shot regardless of the difficult lighting. Keep at it.

Paul

[Greg McCary]

I'm not sure of the shading but you are a great judge of time. I straighten the horizon and lightened the trees in my edit. I hope it's better. Thanks, Greg

[Ronnoco]

Well, a problem shot! You got great colour in the sky and the field, but some elements were beyond your control and others need work. The trench looks like it could have been used to lead the eye into the photo, if you had shot from a different angle. Fields are not effective because they are too flat. You need strong verticals to give depth and a three dimensional sense of distance. Unfortunately there are not enough bales of hay in the right positions for a really super shot, but given that problem, a very close, lower angle shot of the first bale of hay close to the trench leading into the rest of the photo would have been more effective. Your other problem is that the hills are too central in the frame and do not have sufficient detail. They do have some however and that is great. Just a little more would help. The general rule for placement of horizons etc. is thirds, as in a third down from the top, given that the obvious emphasis is on the field. Detail can be brought out from the dark hills using the curves function in PhotoShop.

Ronnoco

[Greg McCary]

You are right Ron. Getting what I want wasn't exactly possible on this one. There was not enough bales and they were turned wrong from the angle that I wanted to shoot. This one is the best of several pictures. I kinda had to balance with what I had. I also wasn't sure if the distant bales on the left being cut off would hurt the shot. It bothers me some. But at the angle that I shot I got the s of the ditch, as best I could, and tractor "trails" that follow it. And also the bales following the ditch line as well. I also couldn't get any closer because of a very large ditch and fence that would have to be crossed.Thanks for your help.....
Greg

[Greg McCary]

Not to beat a dead horse with this picture, but I tried to take out as many problem areas that I could. I moved the horizon up to the upper third and used curves to bring out more detail in the hills. Other than the elements of the shot I can not control, is this any better? This is as much about learning Photoshop as anything else....
Greg