More on placing the horizon.

Found this when reading Digital Landscape Photography and just feel it helps to highlight my point from the previous project.

"If the sky is more interesting than the foreground, place the horizon so the sky occupies more than half of the image. But if the foreground is more interesting than the sky, place it so the sky occupies less than half of the image."

"Remember that not all images must include a horizon. And when overcast skies prevail, compose the image to completely eliminate that featureless bright blob, because it grabs the viewers eye and belittles the intended center of interest."

"Occasionally a mid-image horizon does work nicely. Perfect mirror reflections of a landscape bathed in light can be very appealing with the horizon in the centre of the image."

Taken from pages 129-131 in Digital Landscape Photography by J & B Gerlach.

Project 1- The Horizon Line.

Most landscape views include a well defined horizon line (usually where the ground meets the sky), deciding how the horizon cuts the frame is one way of effecting the feel/focus of the shot.

With a very low horizon as shown on the left the focus is clearly on the sky, giving a very heavy feel produced by the stormy sky.

By slightly raising the horizon it alters the feel only a little by reducing the amount of sky and adding more of the lake into the foreground.

By having the horizon in the middle of the frame it produces a very balanced shot where no focus is put on the sky or the lake.

When placing the horizon in this position it produces the opposite effect from the first few shots in that know the focus is on the lake and not the sky.

Finally by moving the horizon nearly completely to the top of the frame the sky becomes pretty much none existent so the foreground now becomes the focus and the lake around it.

If i was to chose one of the above shots and say that its the one i feel works best I'd probley go for the very first one because the lake and shore line have nothing on them that really attracts the eye giving you a focal point, while by using the sky and placing the horizon line near the bottom of the frame it makes the clouds and sky seem much larger and more imposing. If i was looking for away to improve any of the images I'd have waited longer and seen if there might have been a passing boat that would have given a little depth/perspective to the shot.

What Constitutes A Landscape?

Personally I'd probley say a scenic view but i supposes its all a matter of opinion. Some people might say a landscape could be a view of the countryside others might prefer a city scape, its all about what appeals to an individual. LANDSCAPES ARE ALL AROUND US.

Start of a new course.

What I'm hoping to achieve with this course is to all round improve with my landscape work. I'm quiet capable of taking snap shots that anyone would be pleased with but what i really want to be able to produce is work that catches the eye and stands out more. Landscapes i tend to take at the minute seem a little flat/lack any real depth so this is something that i need to improve while I'd also like to understand better how to make use of light conditions to capture better images. As with previous courses I'd hope that it helps me to be more creative and outgoing with what i can produce, i know there are beautiful landscapes out their I've just got to find them and shot them in the right conditions. ( You'll just have to bear with me as this is the first time I've used a blog for my logbook so here i go.)