[woosh]

Thanks for the positive encouragment fellas. You guys really are a friendly and welcoming bunch. I'll see what I can muster up!

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by woosh

Thanks for the positive encouragment fellas. You guys really are a friendly and welcoming bunch. I'll see what I can muster up!

Looking forward to your entry.

[M_Six]

Harvest Time

[Chewy734]

nice Mark... it must really be boring out there.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Harvest Time

Great colors and composition, but that big ole cloud really makes it.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by Chewy734

nice Mark... it must really be boring out there.

I have some more interesting landscapes from Germany and Austria, but from a technical standpoint they have issues. Lots of haze and so on.

Originally Posted by dcstep

Great colors and composition, but that big ole cloud really makes it.

Thanks, Dave. It's the cloud that made me stop and shoot that image. It was a receding thunderstorm, the passing of which left the air very clear. The setting sun added some great colors to it as well.

[Seminole]

Nice shot, Mark.

I'm loving Dave's shot too. Such a great picture.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I have some more interesting landscapes from Germany and Austria, but from a technical standpoint they have issues. Lots of haze and so on.

Thanks, Dave. It's the cloud that made me stop and shoot that image. It was a receding thunderstorm, the passing of which left the air very clear. The setting sun added some great colors to it as well.

The air quality and interesting sky are huge elements in landscape/scenic photography. My entry earlier in this thread is the Grand Canyon, after snow, with some great sun behind me and all kinds of clouds. When I look at my shots from the day before, with a clear sky, but haze in the canyon and flatter light, I just go "ugh". Despite the incredible canyon, there's just not much I can do spice those images up.

I put together a Set of my favorite landscape/scenics on Flickr. As I was putting it together, the common element in almost every one is the sky or light doing something special. I'll go on a 5-day cruise and maybe get one or two shots where everything comes together. Trying to make a great scenic, even with a powerful subject, is hard when the sky is ordinary. First you've got to be there at the right place and right time (early or late) and then be lucky. Persistance helps generate some of the luck.

Here's my Flickr Landscape/Scenic Set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcstep/...7629833477701/

Watch it in the slideshow mode, full-screen, if you've got the connection speed and interest.

Dave

[Chewy734]

you have some fantastic photos in that album Dave.

[dcstep]

Thanks Chewy and 'Nole.

[M_Six]

Nice slideshow, Dave. Some cool images in there. And you're right, you can have the best looking scenery laid out in front of you, but if the sky and air are hazy, you're screwed. I was awed by the views from the castle in Salzburg, but the day was very hazy. My shots from there are underwhelming at best. I suppose you'd have to live there or just plain luck out to get a nice, clear day to get some stunning shots from up there.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Nice slideshow, Dave. Some cool images in there. And you're right, you can have the best looking scenery laid out in front of you, but if the sky and air are hazy, you're screwed. I was awed by the views from the castle in Salzburg, but the day was very hazy. My shots from there are underwhelming at best. I suppose you'd have to live there or just plain luck out to get a nice, clear day to get some stunning shots from up there.

Yeah Mark, I think you need a combination of planning and luck. When I scheduled my Grand Canyon trip, I knew that it could snow at that time of the year, but I had to book about 120-days ahead to get right on the rim. I said a little prayer when I heard that the weather might get "bad" and was blessed.

Speaking of bad weather, when I see strong, but broken, clouds, I head out. When the sun breaks through in those conditions, particularly early or late in the day, you can get some incredible skies. The light on wildlife can also be special in these conditions.

Lots of times, that scheme still doesn't pan out. You get out there and the sun never breaks through again. I remember being out at the recent lunar eclipse and getting nothing because of haze against the mountains. I'll watch a sunset from one of my favorite spots and stay 20-minutes past sunset, hoping that the sun will shine on the underside of the clouds with great colors and then nothing happens.

I've spent 8 to 10-hours under a great horned owl's over the last few weeks, hoping to get the mom bringing the owlet a vole or mouse, but, so far, I've only got owl and owlet sitting on nest shots. The saving grace is that the light was fantastic a time or two, so that an "ordinary" shot was a little special. Still, the same principals apply; you have to put yourself in position over and over and invest lots of time and then, when you least expect it, you'll get "lucky."

Whenever I see the light get fantastic, I start hunting hard for a subject. Everything becomes fair game when the light is there.

Dave

[UdubBadger]

I'm seeing some repeat entries in here... or maybe I'm just thinking of the daily snapshot thread.

[UdubBadger]

because I don't really care...

[The1]

don't care about what?

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by UdubBadger

I'm seeing some repeat entries in here... or maybe I'm just thinking of the daily snapshot thread.

I think that's it. Many of these (mine included) have been in the daily thread.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by UdubBadger

because I don't really care...

Looks like a scorching hot day, Seth.

[UdubBadger]

Originally Posted by The1

don't care about what?

looking for a photo or going and taking a new one

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by UdubBadger

because I don't really care...

Is that an emulation of a 40 year old Kodacolor print? It's making me nostalgic.

[UdubBadger]

iphone 4 and instagram. taken like a yr ago in vegas. it's honestly the closest thing I have to a landscape on hand.

[spanner1751]

Originally Posted by UdubBadger

iphone 4 and instagram. taken like a yr ago in vegas. it's honestly the closest thing I have to a landscape on hand.

It's a different approach - I like it.

[panicos81]