Landscape Project

For this project I decided to photograph both natural landscapes as well as photographing urban environments. Firstly here is one of my final outcomes for this project. I chose this image because it represents a natural environment which is quite interesting. To take this picture I used a slow shutter speed to capture the movement of the water as a blur. This effect resembles mist or smoke, but in a very controlled way. This effect is also successful because it is not possible to see such an effect with the human eye, which makes it a lot more interesting.

However, I am not completely satisfied with this image, as I believe that the waterfall could have been framed better, I also believe that I should have used a slightly smaller aperture to ensure the whole image was in focus.

To edit this image I simply boosted the saturation slightly to bring out the vibrant greens in the image and adjusted the levels slightly to gain a subtle contrast in the rocks surrounding the water. 

This second image is one of a more urban landscape. I took this image from a bridge over a train station, I used a reasonably slow shutter speed to capture the lights, both from the moving train and also the surrounding lights of the station. I chose this image because it is very balanced and almost symmetrical. Furthermore I like the use of negative space at the top of the image, however this space could have been used more imaginatively. I decided to photograph this at night as I believe that it would not have been as successful if taken in the day. Firstly because of the light trails I managed to capture but secondly because of the strong atmosphere which can be achieved by photographing urban landscapes at night. 

To edit this image I simple edited the curves, to bring out the reds and oranges in the image. Finally I would've once again liked to have used a higher aperture to gain a longer depth of field to ensure everything was in focus, however this may just be camera shake as I did not use a tripod, I simply rested by camera on the bridge itself.

Finally I also took this image at night. This image was taken in a park at night, so a cross between a more natural landscape set in an urban environment. I chose this image because of the surreal nature of the image itself. To capture this I used a long shutter speed, this captured the light pollution in the sky, therefore giving the image a strong orange glow, which can not be seen as vividly with the human eye. 

Finally I am not that pleased with the outcome of this image although I believe it could be developed through further shoots.

In evaluation, I believe the ideas I had worked to an extent, but need fine tuning to create a strong positive outcome. I also believe that I needed to spend a lot more time deciding the right settings for my camera and I would like to re shoot this images with a tripod, as none of the above were taken with a tripod which distressed the final quality which I think is important. 

Below are some extra images I took for this landscape project.