Comments please

[nickanderson]

I live on the edge of the beautiful Lake District and I like to think I am making good use of it.

I welcome your comments on my photos and any suggestions. I am a teacher so don't be worried about hurting my feelings as there are few things I haven't been told to do

Look forward to hearing from you.

Enjoy

[ianpinion]

Hi Nick,

The Lake District is a beautiful place this time of year for taking photographs. I was up there myself only three weeks ago and I have a few of the shots I took whilst I was there in my gallery.

As for your images, the first two need the horizon straightening up as it looks as though it's higher on the left and it is on the right. In the first image, it almost looks as though you've tried to overlay one image over another and then deleted the foreground from the top layer to reveal those pebbles in the foreground. It looks like that because where the reflections of the mountain tops finish the pebbles start and it looks as though you've cut around them to reveal the foreground from another shot to the eye.

Your second shot would have looked so much better with a more interesting sky to help add a bit more drama to it.

I prefer your third shot out of the three, though I would have edited it slightly differently myself. I don't know how knowledgeable you are about editing, but this shot seems to have a bit of a blue colour cast to it that could be improved with some careful adjustment.

Now if you'd like to add to your existing editing skills I'd recommend you attend a workshop with Geoff Powell. He's runs workshops from his base in Carlisle from October to April and I can personally recommend how good they are. As I mentioned I was in the Lake District myself a few weeks ago, on one of his courses, which has improved my understanding of the whole process of photography, from deciding a location and theme through to printing the final images. You can find out more by clicking here and it will take you directly to his website.

[nickanderson]

Hi Ian, Thanks for you feedback, glad you enjoyed your time in the Lakes.
I try to edit as little as possible - levels and dust spots. With this in mind in reference to the first photo, I just checked the horizon and it is level - I think the slope of the lake side on the left confuses the eye a little.
As for it being an "overlay" I will take that as sort of a compliment because it definately is not. I liked the way it added foreground interest and replaced what would have been a reflection of an almost featureless sky. So in some respect I have achieved what I was aiming for.

To say the horizon is out on the second shot is an understatement!! I half expect the lake to run out of the righthand side of the picture!! I was tempted to mention it but figured it was "quite" obvious. Sorry if it wet your feet : ) I was looking to capture a feeling of stillness, however I take your point about needing a more interesting sky as you know, all the elements will only come together if you leave your camera at home!! Sometimes we have to make the best of what we have.

I had another look at the third shot in CS. I found lowering the Magenta greatly improved it. I am still not sure about it though - how do you feel about the areas in shodow?

Thanks for recommending Geoff - sounds like he could be a good xmas present hint!!! I will take a look at his website and see what he has to offer.

Cheers again for your time - Happy snapping!!!

[ianpinion]

Hi Nick,

I've had a look through your gallery and I must say I really like some of your images. I like the one taken at Whitehaven harbour as the sun set. I've got a few shots at sunset from there too.

Do you like your photographs to be seen as an accurate record of a snapshot in time of a given location? Is this your style of photography or do you fancy making them a little more arty? Do you shoot in RAW or jpeg?

I must admit that I am myself still searching for what I could develop as my own style, but now I have a much greater understanding of how I can edit an image to achieve different results. Before this course, my editing skills were very basic and I felt this was potentially holding my images back as I could not create the effects I wanted. Now if you want to see the book I produced whilst on my course in the Lakes then click here. You will find that many of these images are contained in my gallery on here too.

Right I'm off to see if my shoes have dried out from the water that poured out of your second shot. And if that lake has got such a slope on it, why aren't there any water skiers on it taking advantage?

[nickanderson]

Hi there, hope the shoes weren't too expensive - might be worth putting you wellies on next time you visit my gallery!

I do try for the "as seen", especially with scenics. I feel that if the scene has inspired me to capture it, the least I can do is try to record it accurately. Where the emphasis may be on mood or emotion, such as in portraiture then I would try to create that mood with lighting rather than in CS. I will post up some of what I class as my arty pics but as you will see they are very subjective. I am off to have a look at your gallery now - hope its not better than mine.