Photography, photos you took, photos you are in, photos you like, the lot!

[Stevil]

I took this one at Mt Cook

[Tank]

In simple terms the snow on the tops of the mountain is over exposed (burned out) there is no detail it is just a bland white area. Because the snow forms such a small area in the image and it is so far away from the average image brightness the camera has set the exposure for the majority of the scene, it can do nothing else. However an experienced 'tog' (photographer) will view a scenes highlights and lowlights and adjust the exposure to get the best image possible. What the best image is is down to the togs choice of what they are trying to achieve.

I'm thinking of buying a neutral density filter, one where you can hold it over the top half and darken the sky a bit in landscape views. Do you think they are a good buy?

That would be a solution if the camera will accommodate the filter holder. It will drop the contrast in the image which is what is causing the problem. In my experience with graduated filters (which is limited) they tend to be such a faff that I lost patience with them, but that is more an issue of my temperament that the solution itself. Also I don't tend to take landscapes where graduated filters come into their own. In the case of your last landscape I would have said the images could have been a little darker anyway, so I would suggest that if your camera has the ability to do a manual exposure then you learn to bracket and take some shots at different exposures. This costs nothing and weighs nothing either.

[Stevil]

Thankfully my camera had a decent zoom

[Tank]

I took this one at Mt Cook

I like this one too. An interesting composition. Still has the slightly 'blown' (overexposed) highlights, the window sill bottom right. But these little imperfections don't detract significantly from the picture.

[Stevil]

I like this one too. An interesting composition. Still has the slightly 'blown' (overexposed) highlights, the window sill bottom right. But these little imperfections don't detract significantly from the picture.

You certainly have an eye for detail, I've looked at that photo many times and never noticed the window sill. But now I'm definately thinking Mt Cook and the sky are over exposed.
It made me smile looking at the photo of your son. If he was a post he would have been in exactly the right spot, equal distance apart from the last post.

[Tank]

I like this one too. An interesting composition. Still has the slightly 'blown' (overexposed) highlights, the window sill bottom right. But these little imperfections don't detract significantly from the picture.

You certainly have an eye for detail, I've looked at that photo many times and never noticed the window sill. But now I'm definately thinking Mt Cook and the sky are over exposed.
It made me smile looking at the photo of your son. If he was a post he would have been in exactly the right spot, equal distance apart from the last post.

Mount Cook is a little over exposed but you'll not get a image like that sharp as there is too much atmosphere between the camera and the subject. You'll always get haze unless you're up the top of an adjacent mountain. The nack for a good photo is to identify the visual focus (the point the eye is initially drawn to) and build the composition around that. Landscapes don't often lend themselves to having a single visual focus so they often rely on lead in lines from foreground to background and the position of the horizon (if there is one) in the image.

It is generally easier to bring out dark detail in post processing than it is to recover lost highlights. So if your camera has a tendency to over expose then see if you can set it to under expose a little. This should also increase the richness of colour in an image.

My son was standing on the stump of the end post!

[Tank]

Some really nice images here already!

From a visit to the Scottish Highlands.  This is is Loch Cluanie, shot from just off of the A87, if I recall correctly.

Nice composition.

[Tank]

I suppose I'll start with the obvious, roos stubbornly refuse to pose in good light, in my backyard anyway.

Presumably roos, being native Australians, understand the value of shade!

I really do envy people who have interesting wildlife around them. In the UK a rabbit is exotic! 

[The Magic Pudding]

In the UK a rabbit is exotic!  

According to QI's rabbit episode it is and you shouldn't have a solely rabbit diet.

You certainly have an eye for detail, I've looked at that photo many times and never noticed the window sill.

I thought the person who built the roof must of had this effect in mind.

Here's some pictures of an orse.

[Tank]

Two 'orses!

[Tank]

A very pleasant pheasant!

[McQ]

A very pleasant pheasant!

Very nice!

[Tank]

A very pleasant pheasant!

Very nice!

Didn't get to eat it though

I'd love to see a Bald Eagle in real life!

[Tank]

Spider on a living fossil, a Horsetail.

[hismikeness]

A very pleasant pheasant!

Very nice!

Didn't get to eat it though

I'd love to see a Bald Eagle in real life!

Aghhh. I knew I should have gotten a picture, but this was a bunch of years ago before every phone had a camera on them...

I lived on a house on the edge of a lake that backed up to a very high cliff, with scattered wheat fields chock with rodents nearby. Perfect for Bald Eagles. They liked to hunt the ducks- they'd get the females while they sat on their eggs. I watched a bald eagle, no more than 20 feet away and 8 feet up in a tree EAT a duck. He was holding it in one talon, resting on the other on the branch, and flat chawwing on that duck.

As a Beaver fan, it made me smile, too.