The Setup and the Shot

[Pieter]

Here's something a bit different. Sometimes I work in a constrained, improvised and somewhat cluttered space.

[Cameron Cornell]

Here's something a bit different. Sometimes I work in a constrained, improvised and somewhat cluttered space.

This is fantastic, Pieter!

[Cameron Cornell]

Attachment 192089

Nice. Bounce light off of snow that’s filtered through a window is always lovely.

[Corran]

Here's something a bit different. Sometimes I work in a constrained, improvised and somewhat cluttered space.

Cool! Er, well, hot!

I like this thread idea. I'll post something in a minute.

[Corran]

From yesterday with my new Linhof 5x7:

[Cameron Cornell]

Well seen and instantiated, Bryan! The lengths we go to, right?

Cameron

[DDrake]

Wheat fields surrounding Whelan Cemetery, one of the last remnants of original unplowed Palouse prairie.
Comments and critique welcome.


Setup shot with Olympus Pen F / Panasonic-Leica15mm f/1/.8


DIY 4x5 / Fujinon 90mm f/8 / FP4+ 125

[Cameron Cornell]

Looks like beautiful work on the DIY camera. That must be satisfying to use.

I’m not qualified to offer critical feedback on landscapes, but I see the contrast between the wild and controlled that I believe you were pointing out. The ultra-wide DOF flattens the image so that it reads like a layer cake, which is interesting. The flowers in the foreground would read as flowers more quickly if they were oriented toward the lens. But I trust that you made the image you wanted to make. If it pleases you, it’s a success. And the next step, as ever: go make more!

Cameron

[Ulophot]

Hi, DDrake. To my eye, this composition is "heavy" on the right, by which I mean, that side draws the eye and tends to keep it from exporing the image in a fluid way. As I view it, an implied vertical line connects teh flower group, the round bushy knob above it, and the farm builds in the distance. I keep wanting to move the camera to the left, possibly cropping the left side inside of the second distant small bush at teh bottom of the slope. What would appear on the right, tehn of course I don't know. I feel that the foreground is missing some compositional organization in itself, perhaps echoing other parts of the image, that would help unify the image. I might also lose some of the sky. The contrast in images of this kind is often tricky. I think I would prefer a bit more light in the foreground shadows.

Landscape is no easy subject, and you have a great beginning here! Looking forward to more of your work!

[DDrake]

Thanks for the input.
Cameron, I'm not sure I can say I made the image I wanted to make--in fact, this was taken as horizontal and cropped to vertical. I think you're exactly right about the flowers in the foreground.

Philip, I agree with your assessment of the image's 'heavy' right side, and the difficulty of landscape.

I've been focused on landscape pictures for the past few years (using a handheld digital camera, though generally manually focusing), and had reached the point where I was pretty happy with some of the results. Large format has been a big step back, and seems a steep learning curve. What with the tripod and the camera mechanics (to say nothing of movements, which I've mostly avoided to date) it feels considerably more rigid, and I find most of my compositions correspondingly stiff. But I'll keep posting...

Here's the other sheet from the film holder, taken from the same hillside, that perhaps (coincidentally) incorporates some of your suggestions. This was taken vertically, and cropped to horizontal.