Sunset lakeside

[Benny Pan]

I took this one in Queenstown NZ near sunshine. I should'v waited for a bit more because i don't think the sunset light is as golden as I expected what do you think?

ISO200, 1/60s, F6.3

I increased the temp a bit to make it a bit more golden but do you think it looks natural? Do you think the angle from which shooting the lake hut is good?

Any other comment please be as honest and harsh as possible coz i really believe critique can help me to improve my next shots.

thank you all

[llewpics]

Hi Benny, and welcome. NZ shots are always fun to see, so keep posting.

The composition here is fairly good - I would like to have my eye go from the bottom left through the leading lines of the dock to the hut, where I can spend some time exploring it with my eye and then on over to the sunset in the upper right. However, because the sunsnet is so bright, I have a tendency to start with it, and then revert to the bottom left. Suggestion - highlight the entire sky and create a mask (or just selection) and decrease brigthness adding as much deeper "golden" color as possible to lower down the bright feel.

The second improvement concerns the hut - the front area is the "blown" - there is loss of detail there ...I am not sure where you were standing, but was it possible to get the shot with less glare? Also, the rooftop is "touching" the mountaintop - if you position the cam about a foot down the roof top would have potentially extended a little beyond the mountain top making the composition a little stronger.

Two more ideas - have you ever tried using ND Grad filters - I thin they would have done great here. Also, a polarizer may have done some interesting things as well.

Overall though, and this is probably most important of all, I "feel" and like what you were going for here ...it actually reminds me of the end of the Lord of The Rings ...when the Elves are going Into the West. So, good work!

[Anbesol]

I like the shot, it was done quite well. Only two things that bother me about the shot - the top of the mountains and building are about equal. I would like to see a slight offset between the two, although - its an otherwise excellent angle. I also would prefer to see some detail on the front of the building, as is it is blown.

[LeeIs]

This is one blown out sky that I don't mind. I like it as is. Very sleek, great colours.

Almost like a high-key landscape. lol. good job.

[hminx]

Welcome Benny, nice to see another kiwi here. I think that llewpics and Anbesol have covered the main points, but if you are still in Queenstown I'd look at heading back to this spot early morning and catch it with the sun coming up behind you.
Also I think sunset shots benefit from clouds adding texture to the sky.

[Benny Pan]

The composition here is fairly good - I would like to have my eye go from the bottom left through the leading lines of the dock to the hut, where I can spend some time exploring it with my eye and then on over to the sunset in the upper right. However, because the sunsnet is so bright, I have a tendency to start with it, and then revert to the bottom left. Suggestion - highlight the entire sky and create a mask (or just selection) and decrease brigthness adding as much deeper "golden" color as possible to lower down the bright feel.

My intent is to catch people's eyes from the bottom left corner but as you mentioned, the sun is so distracting. I am not quite familiar with photoshop but i use LR 99% of the time. I will take your suggestion and give it a go in photoshop.

Hi Benny, and welcome. NZ shots are always fun to see, so keep posting.

Yeah all my shots were taken in NZ will keep putting more up here

The second improvement concerns the hut - the front area is the "blown" - there is loss of detail there ...I am not sure where you were standing, but was it possible to get the shot with less glare? Also, the rooftop is "touching" the mountaintop - if you position the cam about a foot down the roof top would have potentially extended a little beyond the mountain top making the composition a little stronger.

Wow i'v never thought of that. Probably I will force myself to think twice when taking a photo next time. It's a very good point!!!

Two more ideas - have you ever tried using ND Grad filters - I thin they would have done great here. Also, a polarizer may have done some interesting things as well.

I did used polarizing filter for this shot. But as I was almost pointing my camera to the sun it's not that useful though. I need to look for a ND grad filter system. But i may change my lens in the future so not sure if i should invest on a grad filter.

Overall though, and this is probably most important of all, I "feel" and like what you were going for here ...it actually reminds me of the end of the Lord of The Rings ...when the Elves are going Into the West. So, good work!

Where they were leaving Riverdale river right? Haha if my shot is 10% as good as that view I would be over the moon

Thank you very much for your in-depth critique. I'v learned heaps and will take a better shot next time.

[Benny Pan]

I like the shot, it was done quite well. Only two things that bother me about the shot - the top of the mountains and building are about equal. I would like to see a slight offset between the two, although - its an otherwise excellent angle. I also would prefer to see some detail on the front of the building, as is it is blown.

It's a very good point, my eyes are not that good at paying attention to lines. I will need to force myself to do that. The blown out is a pain in the ass. That's the most i can do in LR to fix it.

Thank you for pointing that out :thumbsup:

[Benny Pan]

This is one blown out sky that I don't mind. I like it as is. Very sleek, great colours.

Almost like a high-key landscape. lol. good job.

:thumbsup: that's a special taste. Thank you

[Benny Pan]

Welcome Benny, nice to see another kiwi here. I think that llewpics and Anbesol have covered the main points, but if you are still in Queenstown I'd look at heading back to this spot early morning and catch it with the sun coming up behind you.
Also I think sunset shots benefit from clouds adding texture to the sky.

That would be a gr8 idea!! I can imagine you would see the pier and the hut lightened up by the rising sun and the dynamic would be completely different.

I love queenstown but only travel there like once a year. A relatively pricey place to live.

[GB1]

Welcome to our forums Benny. Composition is very sound. The horizon has a little curvature on it, but also seems to be tilting a very little bit CW. You can fix the curvature in Photoshop if you have it. I can live with the bright sunlit background, but I think the side of the building being washed out as it is really hurts the image. However, I've found that issues like this are different on different monitors, so maybe it's OK elsewhere(?) Another thing that you should look for is cloudy skies, which can add a lot of interest up there. Hope to see more of your shots,

GB

[Benny Pan]

Welcome to our forums Benny. Composition is very sound. The horizon has a little curvature on it, but also seems to be tilting a very little bit CW. You can fix the curvature in Photoshop if you have it. I can live with the bright sunlit background, but I think the side of the building being washed out as it is really hurts the image. However, I've found that issues like this are different on different monitors, so maybe it's OK elsewhere(?) Another thing that you should look for is cloudy skies, which can add a lot of interest up there. Hope to see more of your shots,

GB

the side of the hut is completely washed out. No matter if i print it, project it or view it on a monitor it's a shame that I didn't take a second better shot at that time.