I went to the Peak District today with a colleague from work. My friend Louise and I walked from Carsington village to Brassington village, and back again. It was brisk, but bright blue skies, an intense sunshine and pleasant company made it an enjoyable walk. Invariably we lost our way pretty soon in to our journey to Brassington (we blame the guide book, not Louise's map-reading skills!) but eventually we found our way to the village and enjoyed lunch at a very small and friendly pub.
Although it wasn't as scenic as my previous jaunt to the Peak District, I took over a hundred photos (a few of which you can see on my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vikdaddy/), and this was one of my favourites that I took towards the end of our walk.
When shooting landscapes it's important that you use a fairly low aperture to maintain sharpness and keep almost everything in focus. The entire shoot was at f/8 or above, and the bright sun meant I could keep my ISO at 100 to keep noise to a minimum. I still need to invest in some filters though!
After processing my photos, I felt some of the shots needed an extra 'oomph' to make them that bit more interesting. So, in Lightroom I decreased the clarity to give the shots a dreamy feel, and I gave the highlights and shadows a hint of colour to give them warmth.
I've realised that I recently passed the 'two-thirds' milestone. I'm now well in to the final third of this project, which means less than four months until I finish. I feel like the first two thirds are quite clearly split, in that the first third was more about camera technique and the second third was more about processing technique. Hopefully, the final third will just be about honing both of these skills so they become second nature.
Semi-professional photographer based in Nottingham, England, I shoot mainly events and weddings. I'll be posting my work using my Fujis - X100S and X-Pro1.
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Nice photo. Do you recommend any particular reading or website for processing info/technique? I'm consdering purchasing a program as well. Do you recommend one over another?
thanks for the description of your thinking around this shot. i'm always interested in the thought process as people go about processing their images. the reasons why they make the choices they make. What really jumped out at me first was the warmth of the colors. i also like the way the old building in the foreground leads your eye out into the landscape. i'm curious about what the final 1/3 of your project holds in store because it seems to me that you're at the top of your game.
Another lovely shot Vik! I'm with @jgoodridge- eagerly anticipating what you have in store for the rest of your project! Thanks for sharing some landscape hints :D
I am on a journey to improve my photography as well. I appreciate the information you shared with your picture. I would love to learn more in the post processing, but I haven't found the key to unlock that box...yet! Very cool capture!
this is a wonderful shot vik, the framing is perfect with that gnarled old tree and the barn, the long light creats great shadows on the far hedgerow, and and the little lens flare. A fav for me. Great job.
This shot is brilliant. :) Was this the one selected for the flickr competition? I can see why! Also I've experienced a similar thing with regards to the first and second thirds of my project. Initially I was learning much more about how to use the camera (and I still am now), but now I'm concentrating a little more on how I process it to achieve the effect I want.
