New Joiners - Landscapes #637

It's been some 11 years since I last set foot in Queenstown and this image took me right back so thank you for that trip down memory lane. I always found there was a real quality to the light in New Zealand that can't quite be replicated anywhere else. It makes the blues bolder and the yellow/greens pop and is evident in your image. Through sun drenched mountains with their snowy peaks and the autumnal woodlands below reflecting back into the water. Using the log as a tool to lead the eye into the scene beyond demonstrates good compositional knowledge. A lovely moment, well captured.

This is a pleasing monochrome image that invites the viewer to look closer at the various grooves and lines in the landscape. I like your treatment as it has a hi-key quality to it and maximises the impact of the topography. I'd be inclined to crop out the slither of sky in the top left as it has a distracting effect on the composition and pulls my eye out of the frame. Still, plenty here to enjoy, thank you for sharing.

What you say in your comment is correct, that sometimes man-made landscapes can be just as visually appealing as natural ones and your image is a testament to that. There is something about the mosaic of green that just pulls in the eye, helped by the inbuilt s-curve of the pathway through the scenery. I like your choice of composition from a closer view on the left to the more distance tea plantations on the right. I also like that you've almost completely excluded the sky as it focuses the eye on the plantation. I'd be inclined to entirely crop out the sky at the top of the frame to make it even more impactful.

I like the perspective you've gone with for this shot which maximises the ability to see all those different shades of blue in the sea and how they compliment the colour of the lighthouse as well as the gradations of grey on the shoreline. The people on the beach provide a sense of scale to the scene and the portrait framing works well. Thanks for sharing.

Some images are all about the epic landscape and have a clear focal point, whether that be a reflection, a mountain, mist on a lake or a crashing wave. Other images are more about a feeling. They capture the emotion of a moment in time. This for me is one of those images, with the people congregating on the beach, reflecting into the wet sand of the tide, stretching on for the entire frame, as if it was a pilgrimage towards the sunset. The warm, even tones enhance this mood, and the cumulous clouds gathering on the horizon speak to a change in the weather. Nicely captured, framed and processed.

Everything about this photo is inherently Icelandic and takes me back to my own adventures at places like Jökulsárlón. The blues of the ice are delightful, complimenting the colour of the water and the grey skies above. I like that you have included the more stark and intrusive rocks in the foreground, but I'd be inclined to make that a more intentional choice to contrast with the ice beyond and then consider a 16:9 crop to get rid of some uneccessary negative space the sky is creating.

This a lovely example of intentional camera movement (or ICM as it is more commonly abbreviated). I enjoy the abstract nature of shots like this, where there is still very much a hint of the subject matter but it's more of a subjective interpretation. In this example the colours are gorgeous, demonstrating the sheer diversity of colour in the ocean, with those turquoise blues really standing out. There is a natural progression of the wave from left to right of the frame, and it's the kind of image that demands a closer look. Beautiful, soft processing elevates the composition further. Magical photography.

The title you've given this image (something I always find a challenge with my own photography) is rather fitting for the subject matter. You've captured many different layers of nature in one frame, from the greenery of the firs, to the stark chalky rocks merging with the low cloud that is drifting across the frame and finally the blue sky above. It is like you sliced the landscape and revealed all it's secrets. The framing and process works well, although I note a blue colour cast that could be easily corrected in post.

A classic landscape image that contains all the elements we associate with the genre. I can imagine this was quite the view to wake up to after your hike the day before. That subtle morning light catching on the granite greys of the mountain and enhancing the greens and yellows of the woodland. The bright morning light almost renders the sky completely white but there are a few hints of cloud visible. I like your framing with the pool in the foreground reflecting the mountain, although I wish you'd been able to fit in the entire body of water. There is a clean quality to the editing and that helps to pull me into the frame and feel the moment.

A wonderfully evocative autumnal image that uses the elements in the frame to create a compelling and effective composition. That winding path is the heart of the image, moving through the woodland, and allowing the eye to scan from the front of the frame to the back. It's clearly late autumn from the look of the foliage, clinging to the branches creating a uniform warmth throughout. The hint of low cloud catching the top of the trees adds to the atmosphere. Nicely done.

I had to include this in the top ten because I just really liked the way the image has been framed and processed. It has a particular style that I feel works for the conditions in which the frame was captured. I always find that shooting wide angle is a difficult beast, and there can be method found in shooting in portrait orientation. In this example it draws the eye to the foreground of seaweed and water before we are taken on a journey towards the back of the composition, landing on the pier, the marshland and the two individuals. The shape of the marshes is mirrored by the shape of the cloud and the blue/orange processing works really well. Thank you for sharing.

I really enjoyed the inherent drama you've captured in this frame. From the strong lighting catching the foliage in the foreground, to the stalwart cacti protruding from the arid ground, and those threatening, rain filled skies above. It all adds up to compelling scene, and demonstrates the power of the mobile phone to capture such vistas.

I've seen the view of Mont Saint-Michel many times over the years. It is a bolthole of any landscape photographer who happens to be passing through and with good reason. I've seen several of shots showing the salt marshes filled with water under a dramatic sky but I rather like the understated nature of your shot, with the tide out and the salt marshes containing the remnants of sand as they march towards the sea. The structure is still very much the feature, under partially cloudy skies. There are inherent layers in your image, from the washed out greens of the foreground, the pale blues of the sky and the greys, browns and bieges of Mont Saint-Michel and the beach below. The processing is subtle, yet considered. An effective (and different) take on a popular location.

What an interesting lighthouse! I know that lighthouses have to have optimal position in relationship to the sea, but this is one of the only ones I've seen that jut out quite so far. The walk towards the lighthouse looks a little precarious, that's for sure, but that concentrate walkway makes for a rather lovely leading line into the image. Your framing works well, positioning the lighthouse between the darker blues of the sea and the bolder blues of the sky, the white cirrus clouds complimenting the colour of the lighthouse. Thanks for sharing.