Landscape Photo Competition 2014 No 1 : Judges Critiques : Page

This doesn’t really fit the theme of landscape . The sign is the main subject and you have exaggerated that with the use of selective colours, drawing the eye away from any landscape.

Well the view you have in front of you here is spectacular and you have managed to “copy” it pretty well. The light conditions look really good, shady areas moving around, but I feel your composition is lacking something original. This is pretty much a straight point and shoot composition, you could have improved on that.

It looks as though you were about to take a picture when suddenly the branches popped up in the way. Foreground subject matter is very important but usually it is a good idea if we can see the subject beyond that.

I like the different approach, I wonder if you were the author of the last round’s 360° entry… The colours are beautiful, the naked winter trees are also beautiful and cut lovely silhouettes against the sky. It is just a shame that the top tree has its tip cut off.

Great drama here. The panoramic format suits your photograph well, the long exposure has brought lots of movement to the clouds adding a dimension and interest, and the colour tone is quite stunning. Great shot, very close to the mark, well done.

Striking! I wonder though why you have gone so far with your “developing” of this most unusual scene. Trees swamped in the water, silhouetted against a dramatic sky with powerful lead lines from the waves which you have captured so well. The scene is naturally extraordinary and a more natural post processing would surely have made a better photograph. Contrast is too high, the whites of the water have become unreal. Natural beauty goes far beyond digital beauty, sadly you have over boosted things here.

Well this is quite extraordinary. First of all well done for your measured application of HDR which has really given strength and detail to the trees, secondly well done on your choice of format, the panorama really adding to your composition. Stunning shot and a lesson to all who go too far with the HDR.

You have certainly portrayed a lovely tranquil scene. The wide angle view well suited to this composition however there is quite a lot of distortion from the lens, the water seems to be bulging in the middle and the horizon doesn’t seem straight. The distortion can usually be corrected with a photo program like photoshop, the horizon needs to be straight when you take the picture. Try with a tripod for the fine tuning of composition and horizon.

Lovely night shot of the Firth of Forth bridges. I think you will agree that the subject is too manmade to participate in this “nature at its best” landscape competition.

I think this is Scotland, in any case the scenery is fabulous and you know how to balance a landscape nicely. What you need is a neutral density grad filter to balance the light between the sky and the ground. The top half of your photograph is pretty washed out, the ND grad would have sorted that out.