Open spaces, I think are sometimes difficult to make interesting without something to draw the eye towards.
Getting up close can help change a perspective, like the below.
When there are multiple structures there is a chance for clutter but I think adding equal parts of water, structures, and sky balances out the potential for clutter.
Examples of open spaces without an easily identifiable focal point.
On this one I tried to have the statue silhouetted against the evening sky. I know the light on the right is too bright, what would be the best way to balance it out?
Your observation that getting in close is oftentimes a great solution to making your photograph better is very good… The famous World War II photographer, Robert M once said " If your photographs aren't good enough it's because you're not close enough".
ReplyDeleteI do like the top image in terms of the fine textural detail of the sticks and how the distant water goes out of focus. I would darken the top third a bit where the sunlight is on the far bank. And perhaps do a small vignetting overall.
I appreciate your thinking behind the cityscape about elements of water building and sky being distributed as visual forms in the frame.
The next three actually do have focal points it's just bringing them more to the forefront through light to emphasize them. In the case of the duck pond the trio of trees towards the center and their reflection could be the focal point but in order to emphasize it we would create a little bit more light there and darken the less essential areas. Same is true for the curving roadway with the cloud actually that point where the road curves and the cloud is there is quite a nice focal area again using a feathered selection I would darken the outer edges just a bit in order to emphasize that.
The grape field has strong one point perspective leading back to the stand of pine trees but the very bright sky and diffuse overall light again doesn't help.
Finally the silhouette of the rider on a horse has an interesting sky and I appreciate how you tilted the camera upward to feature the clouds… The blown out area in the right side of the picture is due to the sun having such intensity that it is well beyond the dynamic range of the sensor to capture it. A good way to try to fix that is to shoot in RAW and then in Adobe camera raw, dial back the highlights and the whites as far as possible as well as dialing back the exposure. You might be able to get detail back into that area.
Keep shooting!
Where exactly were these photos taken ? The scenery is beautiful. Great Job !
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