Landscape - scenery

[Woodbadger]

Hey all. Still trying to find my way around my camera. This is a picture of a rural roadside in the Coastal Bend area of Texas. I was trying to capture the incredible variety and color of the wildflowers with the pastoral setting. I used the 16:9 aspect ratio with minimal zoom to attempt to get the WIDE view. Of course, it just doesn't seem to capture what the eye saw. However, I can't help but feel that the composition is "off" - I am missing something, but I am not sure what! Picture full frame but resized for upload at 90% compression.
Pointers etc. would be gratefully accepted!
thanks
Ian

[Hards80]

when you are shooting landscapes, a few things always work nice.

a good foreground element, something interesting in the front of the scene, for example an interesting rock/bush, etc.

lead in lines. any lines that lead into the scene naturally draw the viewers eye in. examples include trails/fences/roads, etc.

rule of third. divide your scene both vertically horizonally into 3 pieces. the lines that are formed between those pieces is where you want to put horizons and elements of your pictures, and even better where those lines intersect.

in this scene i see alot of potential elements. you have the flowers for foreground if you needed it. you have a fence for a lead in. you have a nice tree to put on one of the side 1/3s for interest. etc.

[mtclimber]

Woodbadger-

Here is a good example of a "lead in" element.

Sarah Joyce

[Mark1616]

Sarah (and everyone else), please don't post photos that you've not taken unless you specifically have permission from the copyright holder to do so.

The photo can be found (legally posted) at http://uk.canada.travel/ButchartGardens

[Chris0383]

So whats is being said: he should have stepped back a bit to get the wildflowers properly in the foreground and also positioned so the fence may be running slightly perpendicular to the field of view.

Having the elements are one thing but knowing how to arrange them isn't very easy for a beginner and there is not too much direction given for how he could best to set up the exposure to get the proper lead in.

Could someone elaborate how he could have arranged the said elements as they are in the picture so I assume positioning instructions are needed to get the proper lead in what ever that is.

[Tullio]

Originally Posted by Mark1616

Sarah (and everyone else), please don't post photos that you've not taken unless you specifically have permission from the copyright holder to do so....

Thank you, Mark! This issue has been my pet peeve for quite some time.

[Tullio]

The problem photographing wide open landscape is that what we see can not be captured by any camera unless you have a camera that can capture 180 degrees of view. Thus, many elements that our vision captures when we look at an open field, the camera misses, unless the photographer knows exactly which elements must be preserved in order for the image to look interesting. As Dustin mentioned, this image has potential. Many elements are there, they just need to be emphasized.

I played with the image a bit. Cropped the power line and tank on the right, a bit of the trees on the left, top and bottom to give the impression of a wider view. Hope you don't mind.

[chillgreg]

Originally Posted by Tullio

Thank you, Mark! This issue has been my pet peeve for quite some time.

I'm not sure why it worries you Tulls, but it's pretty much open slather on just about every other forum I've visited.

[Tullio]

Originally Posted by chillgreg

I'm not sure why it worries you Tulls, but it's pretty much open slather on just about every other forum I've visited.

It does not worry me. It just bothers me when people try to take credit for something they haven't done. I participate in two other forums and this practice is neither common nor encouraged.

[chillgreg]

Originally Posted by Tullio

It does not worry me. It just bothers me when people try to take credit for something they haven't done. I participate in two other forums and this practice is neither common nor encouraged.

Cool. I agree 100% when they are trying to take credit. In many cases people are just sharing images they like, or to help others by illustrating a point. Yes I doubt any forum would encourage the practice, as it is illegal, but whether they actively police it is another matter...

Cheers mate
Greg