Painting with light, scale comprssion, and other musings.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, photography is all about painting with light.

I took this photo on a recent road trip and the result really plays with my mind. I think it's the background compression tied in with the shadows on the mountains above the car.

http://www.petefagerlin.com/images/f...t/DSC_0263.jpg

To me, it almost looks like the ar is against a fake backdrop. It looks too big.

For reference, the peaks in the background are a few miles away and are 8,000+ feet.

Why does this photo look so fake?

In my opinion, it was the angle that you were shooting at. I'm definitely not an expert, but I think that the fact that the mountains are so far away, and you are on a hill, makes them appear much smaller/closer. I wouldn't say it looks fake, just not in perspective. (the sky does look too blue though! ;) ) Maybe someone else will have a more technical answer... that's just my thought. :)

There is nothing in this shot that gives scale to the DEPTH of it...

It's a lot like looking over a body of water and having trouble judging the distance. Water itself has no real scale, it's the things IN the water that give us an idea.

Similarly, in your shot, the dirt and grassy areas leading up to the "foothills" in the bg (that eventually go up into the large mountain) have no details that reveal the scale of the distance.

I'm guessing it's quite a ways from the edge of the road to where these hills begin, but because of the lack of scaled detail in the grass, it looks like it could be as little as thirty or forty feet.

Now, if our mind interprets that distance as, say forty feet, then the ensuing scale of the mountains takes on that of hills, so our perception is that they ARE hills of no more than a couple of hundred feet high or so...

Does that make sense??? :confused:

I think if there was a house halfway between the car and the mountains, or even a person standing in that area, the real scale of the shot would be much more apparent...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pete

Ye
ah, yeah, yeah, photography is all about painting with light.

I took this photo on a recent road trip and the result really plays with my mind. I think it's the background compression tied in with the shadows on the mountains above the car.



To me, it almost looks like the ar is against a fake backdrop. It looks too big.

For reference, the peaks in the background are a few miles away and are 8,000+ feet.

Why does this photo look so fake?

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It does look really weird. I think its just an angle illusion or something. Occasionally pictures catch my eye that just look weird, sometimes mtb shots the heads of the riders will be a little close and look huge, and these mountains look small.


Is that a disc rotor in your avatar?

Did you shot this w/a telephoto lens? if so then that type of lens will compress objects in the photo, & make them seen closer then they really are. :D

I think Steve nailed it. They need some trees in that desert.

It was taken with a 28-70 at 28mm.

--yes, that is a brake rotor in my avatar.