You're making us think! Good grief!!! I jest of course. Really interesting to actually look at what makes a good composition. often I get home and upload my photos and wonder what the hell I was trying to convey; so if I can't understand what I was doing how on earth is anyone else? As a preferred landscape photographer I have seen my mistakes over the few years I have been taking photos and can see my improvements (and lots of disappointment) and I don't even have to try to take a bad composition! Really looking forward to next week to see if what I think is wrong is correct. Thank you Simon.
Most interesting and too funny when you found the third. I screenshotted the three images and will try a few crops, although I feel the third one isn't going to be salvaged by a simple crop.
This is a great idea Simon and a good way to teach composition. Typically we learn from our mistakes, but you have decided to make the mistakes for us and then see whether we can pick them. So far nobody in the comments seems to want to take a stab at this, so I will get the ball rolling. There is the old adage, if your photos don't have impact, then you are not close enough to your subject and this definitely applies to all three images. All three images have distracting elements which need to be framed out of the composition. Then you have out of focus areas which in themselves are distracting. This is not helped by having the focal plane of the camera angled to the plane of the subject. The position of the subject relative to the frame in at least the second image is static. I would probably try a different angle. In the first image ,my eye keeps getting drawn to the bright colour of the new growth rather than the main subject. If I spent more time studying the images, I am sure I would come up with a few more flaws. I can't wait too see the follow up video.
What a great idea, I have my own views on how the images could be improved mainly with regard to removing distractions, the first image has a major distraction on the right, the second image has distractions top and bottom so zoom in a fraction or rotate the camera so that the subject is diagonal and the third image I spotted the two mosses poking through the Oak leaf immediately and think zooming in and changing the angle of plane of the lens to directly above would be better 🤔 look forward to seeing if your past advice is rubbing off on me Simon 😉
From the opening, mindful of your surroundings, a key aspect especially to tune in early on like you did with that lovely opening stand of sycamore trees. Charlie Waite springs to mind, to attend, leave out what isn’t helping the image. I can relate to this a lot Simon, I often feel I need to move from just walking around taking images to giving more of an insight into how and why. Excellent video Simon and look forward to the next part. Bringing the aesthetics, beauty into the images. This for me if one of your main defining points in your photography Simon, you take care and time to make beautiful images.
This is a great idea Simon, it's really helpful for me to see the composition when it's 'almost there', so we have the main subject already and we just need to tweak the angles and lines and sort out what we need to exclude and include in the frame. Here's my thoughts on the images. IMAGE 1: I would physically remove the large diagonal twig as it's cutting across the main subject. I would also zoom in and rotate so that the twig on the right edge is excluded and bring the main subject of the leaves into the centre of the frame with the green leaves in a satellite curve around the edges. IMAGE 2: I find the patterns on the log are really the main subject for me and I find the debris on the log rather distracting and slightly 'ugly'. But to make an image of this I would make the log edges more horizontal and would zoom in so lat less of the background is visible. IMAGE 3: I would zoom in and rotate so that the oak leaf is more central and make the two mosses more on a diagonal. I would also include the mosses below and to the left as satellite elements in the frame
That first photo is gorgeous. As usual your videos are good and inspiring. Composition is the most important thing with photography, and also the hardest thing to learn. I can feel that the Composition is wrong in your pictures, but i don't see why. Looking forward to the next video. 😊 Now i am taking my camera for a walk in the woods, and try to find some nice photos.
The last photograph you took, and I noticed it instantly, reminds me of the image one sees when looking at the night sky through a strong telescope. Very clear and very beatiful. The green shapes the stars and the leave and the other peaces represents dust or gaseous clouds. A realy nice image. Thank you, Simon.
Woodland floor again is fine for me as you said, I can see a couple of deliberate errors but will wait for next weeks video to see the corrections. Thanks for another informative lesson.
That was cruel! Hahaha. I so wanted to make a compositional adjustment on the last one especially. It was begging to be different. I'd want to go more above it and in so much closer. I will really be looking forward to you next video now.
Really interesting idea for a video Simon, looking forward to the next one and seeing how it should be done. Pleased to say I immediately 'saw' the oak leaf shot!
You really shouldn’t feel bad for shooting the same things over and over. As long as you’re having fun that is all that matters. At least that’s how I approach photography. The fun is more important than the final photo, by a lot! (imo)
I’m looking forward to see how you corrected these images. As the lady before me stated, I can tell the compositions are off, but I can’t tell you why !! Great way to teach composition!
I found this really enjoyable and interesting and I cannot wait for the follow up video. I loved how you found and saw those wonderful scenes. Thank you.
Enjoyed the video 😊 from what you're saying it sounds like you are struggling with zone awareness many people have it including my wife. Most people have a zone of vision that is approximately 20 degrees above or below the horizon line which is where most street signs,traffic lights,door knobs, car door handles, and a myriad of other common everyday objects are located in that zone of vision. This is a leading cause of trips,slips,and falls plus head injuries when adding in the fact many don't use their peripheral vision as much as they should. Those of us who have the unfortunate need to wear glasses are more aware of the limitations that zone of focus causes. I'm very pleased to see that you are trying to get people to broaden their field of vision, to look further up and down to see so much of the world they're missing. I thank you for your effort and I look forward to the next video. 😊
A very informative video as usual. I can spot the mistakes and look forward to the next video to see if I got them right! I agree with your comments re the pine trees. Its all I have in this area and it is repetitive although I did get a couple of good shots a couple of weeks ago by using the knowledge I have learnt from you. So thank you Simon, keep on doing what you do so well.
Thanks for the video, this one was really interested. Great first photo and excellent tutorial. I’m heading out tomorrow for a woodland walk, probably in the rain, but I’ll try to be more mindful of the small details. Thanks
Good morning Simon. Not only do you do consistent regular content - you plan future vids too!? Now… you videos have always captivated me, with your dialogue and instruction , as well as being high in quality- but…. I actually reckon they are getting better and better all the time. I really don’t understand how your brain works with what you see. (that’s a compliment btw) Love the pace of this and the music too mate. You’re outro- very nice! Should be ‘apply wi that! I’ll give you a call in the next day or two, be good to catch up. Been too long!
Thanks for those kind words Ewan. Annoying, whenever you comment, I’m reminded how much I miss your regular content. It was a great source of inspiration for me and many others.
I love it that it is such a challenge for you to force a poor composition. Must have required a lot of restraint! I am attracted to similar images as you given a similar climate and natural environment, but find it easier than you to include distracting elements, unfortunately.😊
Simon, you had me cracking up when you said you “found another one.” Brilliant. You said at the beginning of the video that you used to go out with a plan, often ending up disappointed. These days you said that you go out without a plan. This day you had a plan and kept getting “distracted” by things you discovered. 😂 perhaps you shouldn’t have planned. I hope you took a shot of that left stuck to the fallen trunk. Would have been a lovely image even if you didn’t use it for the video.
As always, love these! You have eyes like a hawk. It took me awhile to catch on (I’m a tad bit slow in the mental department) as to what you were talking about when you said the ‘floor’. Did I hear him right? Did he say the floor? Yes he did, and he said it several more times. I finally realized that you were talking about the ground. 😂 Thanks for sharing! Really liked that first image.
This is a really good idea for a short film, but I am going to struggle to recall the ‘bad’ shots next week. It would be nice if you could do more videos like this but show good/bad at the same time so the lessons learned will be immediately apparent without the risk of being only half complete. Great work as ever.
Love seeing the lush greenery.... beautiful image of the trees.... but I am also drawn strongly to the wire fence and posts on the right for many of the same reasons, the elements of design, highlights and deep shadows behind 🤩 I can only imagine you twitching as your brain is screaming before you record the first file for teaching purposes 🤣😂🤣 all my packs contain the really cheap (about $2 cdn), one use only rain ponchos for the 'surprise' changes in weather... they have saved me and my gear once or twice ☺ The fast/quick response shows that the eye was attracted to a composition, but the mind/skill set was unable to translate into a photograph, learning to see helps fine tune that ..... love the dead fern against the log 🙂 gotta think/hope that maybe you did record a frame off video camera 🤗 The oak leaf is a delightful reveal too🙂
Noticed this a few times recently… when you’re narrating on scene, the audio is in the left channel only, and when the music and ambient sounds play, they’re in stereo. Intentional, or an oversight during recording/processing? Good stuff nonetheless 👍
An oversight, sorry. I pressed mono on the new microphone a couple of videos back, couldn’t fix it in the field then completely forgot. I never noticed it during playback here. Put it down to my old age.
There is only one to say. Woodland floor is always nice to see :-).
Great way to start a weekend with Simon thanks.
Looking forward to next weeks video!
Thanks for producing a lovely set of images under rather difficult conditions.
Many thanks!
Nice one as always Simon - look forward to part 2....👍
Fascinating video! Composition's definitely or probably the most important element in a successful photo.
Another great video, can't wait for the next..
You're making us think! Good grief!!! I jest of course. Really interesting to actually look at what makes a good composition. often I get home and upload my photos and wonder what the hell I was trying to convey; so if I can't understand what I was doing how on earth is anyone else? As a preferred landscape photographer I have seen my mistakes over the few years I have been taking photos and can see my improvements (and lots of disappointment) and I don't even have to try to take a bad composition! Really looking forward to next week to see if what I think is wrong is correct. Thank you Simon.
Can't wait for the follow-up. I've got a few ideas as to what I'd change, hopefully I'm close. Loved your first shot of the tree trunks.
Most interesting and too funny when you found the third. I screenshotted the three images and will try a few crops, although I feel the third one isn't going to be salvaged by a simple crop.
Nice approach to seeing the shot.
The last shot, I was looking at the camouflaged Rat to the right lol.
This is a great idea Simon and a good way to teach composition. Typically we learn from our mistakes, but you have decided to make the mistakes for us and then see whether we can pick them. So far nobody in the comments seems to want to take a stab at this, so I will get the ball rolling. There is the old adage, if your photos don't have impact, then you are not close enough to your subject and this definitely applies to all three images. All three images have distracting elements which need to be framed out of the composition. Then you have out of focus areas which in themselves are distracting. This is not helped by having the focal plane of the camera angled to the plane of the subject. The position of the subject relative to the frame in at least the second image is static. I would probably try a different angle. In the first image ,my eye keeps getting drawn to the bright colour of the new growth rather than the main subject. If I spent more time studying the images, I am sure I would come up with a few more flaws. I can't wait too see the follow up video.
I would try rotating the view 90 degrees to try to frame out some of the distracting elements, and then, as you suggest, trying to get a bit closer.
Thanks Dane
What a great idea, I have my own views on how the images could be improved mainly with regard to removing distractions, the first image has a major distraction on the right, the second image has distractions top and bottom so zoom in a fraction or rotate the camera so that the subject is diagonal and the third image I spotted the two mosses poking through the Oak leaf immediately and think zooming in and changing the angle of plane of the lens to directly above would be better 🤔 look forward to seeing if your past advice is rubbing off on me Simon 😉
From the opening, mindful of your surroundings, a key aspect especially to tune in early on like you did with that lovely opening stand of sycamore trees. Charlie Waite springs to mind, to attend, leave out what isn’t helping the image. I can relate to this a lot Simon, I often feel I need to move from just walking around taking images to giving more of an insight into how and why. Excellent video Simon and look forward to the next part. Bringing the aesthetics, beauty into the images. This for me if one of your main defining points in your photography Simon, you take care and time to make beautiful images.
Thanks Mali but I've got to be honest, you really ought not be concerned. Your approach seems to work just fine for you.
You are very good to find subjects In the nature and You like to walk in the nature Like I Do
This is a great idea Simon, it's really helpful for me to see the composition when it's 'almost there', so we have the main subject already and we just need to tweak the angles and lines and sort out what we need to exclude and include in the frame. Here's my thoughts on the images. IMAGE 1: I would physically remove the large diagonal twig as it's cutting across the main subject. I would also zoom in and rotate so that the twig on the right edge is excluded and bring the main subject of the leaves into the centre of the frame with the green leaves in a satellite curve around the edges. IMAGE 2: I find the patterns on the log are really the main subject for me and I find the debris on the log rather distracting and slightly 'ugly'. But to make an image of this I would make the log edges more horizontal and would zoom in so lat less of the background is visible. IMAGE 3: I would zoom in and rotate so that the oak leaf is more central and make the two mosses more on a diagonal. I would also include the mosses below and to the left as satellite elements in the frame
That first photo is gorgeous. As usual your videos are good and inspiring. Composition is the most important thing with photography, and also the hardest thing to learn. I can feel that the Composition is wrong in your pictures, but i don't see why. Looking forward to the next video. 😊 Now i am taking my camera for a walk in the woods, and try to find some nice photos.
The last photograph you took, and I noticed it instantly, reminds me of the image one sees when looking at the night sky through a strong telescope. Very clear and very beatiful. The green shapes the stars and the leave and the other peaces represents dust or gaseous clouds. A realy nice image. Thank you, Simon.
Really loved that first shot absolutely beautiful
Woodland floor again is fine for me as you said, I can see a couple of deliberate errors but will wait for next weeks video to see the corrections. Thanks for another informative lesson.
Interesting as always.
That was cruel! Hahaha. I so wanted to make a compositional adjustment on the last one especially. It was begging to be different. I'd want to go more above it and in so much closer. I will really be looking forward to you next video now.
Really interesting idea for a video Simon, looking forward to the next one and seeing how it should be done. Pleased to say I immediately 'saw' the oak leaf shot!
What a great idea idea mate interesting to see what you do with them in the next one! Hope the big Pentax handled that rain
Cheers Tom. The follow up is out already 👍
I felt as if there were distracting elements in your subject images. We'll see next week 😊
You had me at distracted by beech leaves...
What beech leaves 🙂
You really shouldn’t feel bad for shooting the same things over and over. As long as you’re having fun that is all that matters. At least that’s how I approach photography. The fun is more important than the final photo, by a lot! (imo)
I’m looking forward to see how you corrected these images. As the lady before me stated, I can tell the compositions are off, but I can’t tell you why !! Great way to teach composition!
I found this really enjoyable and interesting and I cannot wait for the follow up video. I loved how you found and saw those wonderful scenes. Thank you.
Enjoyed the video 😊 from what you're saying it sounds like you are struggling with zone awareness many people have it including my wife. Most people have a zone of vision that is approximately 20 degrees above or below the horizon line which is where most street signs,traffic lights,door knobs, car door handles, and a myriad of other common everyday objects are located in that zone of vision. This is a leading cause of trips,slips,and falls plus head injuries when adding in the fact many don't use their peripheral vision as much as they should. Those of us who have the unfortunate need to wear glasses are more aware of the limitations that zone of focus causes. I'm very pleased to see that you are trying to get people to broaden their field of vision, to look further up and down to see so much of the world they're missing. I thank you for your effort and I look forward to the next video. 😊
A very informative video as usual. I can spot the mistakes and look forward to the next video to see if I got them right! I agree with your comments re the pine trees. Its all I have in this area and it is repetitive although I did get a couple of good shots a couple of weeks ago by using the knowledge I have learnt from you. So thank you Simon, keep on doing what you do so well.
Another great video and I really enjoyed this format. Looking forward to the next video.
Eye eye 😂
Thanks for the video, this one was really interested. Great first photo and excellent tutorial. I’m heading out tomorrow for a woodland walk, probably in the rain, but I’ll try to be more mindful of the small details. Thanks
Good morning Simon. Not only do you do consistent regular content - you plan future vids too!? Now… you videos have always captivated me, with your dialogue and instruction , as well as being high in quality- but…. I actually reckon they are getting better and better all the time. I really don’t understand how your brain works with what you see. (that’s a compliment btw)
Love the pace of this and the music too mate.
You’re outro- very nice! Should be ‘apply wi that!
I’ll give you a call in the next day or two, be good to catch up. Been too long!
Thanks for those kind words Ewan. Annoying, whenever you comment, I’m reminded how much I miss your regular content. It was a great source of inspiration for me and many others.
Very nice, thank you 🙏
I love it that it is such a challenge for you to force a poor composition. Must have required a lot of restraint! I am attracted to similar images as you given a similar climate and natural environment, but find it easier than you to include distracting elements, unfortunately.😊
Simon, you had me cracking up when you said you “found another one.” Brilliant. You said at the beginning of the video that you used to go out with a plan, often ending up disappointed. These days you said that you go out without a plan. This day you had a plan and kept getting “distracted” by things you discovered. 😂 perhaps you shouldn’t have planned.
I hope you took a shot of that left stuck to the fallen trunk. Would have been a lovely image even if you didn’t use it for the video.
I actually didn't photograph it Shaun. I needed to move on and make the film. I do find these sort of things often, so it was no big deal.
As always, love these! You have eyes like a hawk. It took me awhile to catch on (I’m a tad bit slow in the mental department) as to what you were talking about when you said the ‘floor’. Did I hear him right? Did he say the floor? Yes he did, and he said it several more times. I finally realized that you were talking about the ground. 😂 Thanks for sharing! Really liked that first image.
This is a really good idea for a short film, but I am going to struggle to recall the ‘bad’ shots next week. It would be nice if you could do more videos like this but show good/bad at the same time so the lessons learned will be immediately apparent without the risk of being only half complete.
Great work as ever.
The next will review both Richard.
Mmm not bad although the line of trees were stunning ❤️xx
Love seeing the lush greenery.... beautiful image of the trees.... but I am also drawn strongly to the wire fence and posts on the right for many of the same reasons, the elements of design, highlights and deep shadows behind 🤩 I can only imagine you twitching as your brain is screaming before you record the first file for teaching purposes 🤣😂🤣 all my packs contain the really cheap (about $2 cdn), one use only rain ponchos for the 'surprise' changes in weather... they have saved me and my gear once or twice ☺ The fast/quick response shows that the eye was attracted to a composition, but the mind/skill set was unable to translate into a photograph, learning to see helps fine tune that ..... love the dead fern against the log 🙂 gotta think/hope that maybe you did record a frame off video camera 🤗 The oak leaf is a delightful reveal too🙂
Yes I could do with an emergency pack. Or just be less forgetful!
Beautiful starting image, and engaging challenge. What camera bag do you use?
Random shots can also yield interesting results.
Audio commentary not in stereo?
Noticed this a few times recently… when you’re narrating on scene, the audio is in the left channel only, and when the music and ambient sounds play, they’re in stereo. Intentional, or an oversight during recording/processing? Good stuff nonetheless 👍
An oversight, sorry. I pressed mono on the new microphone a couple of videos back, couldn’t fix it in the field then completely forgot. I never noticed it during playback here. Put it down to my old age.
Useful has one l.
What is USELFULL ??
One 'L' in useful...just saying 😂😂
Well spotted and thank you. That one gets me every time.
Please stop the useless click baiting thumbnail.
I watch your videos anyways and just get annoyed from that kind of stuff.
It’s not meant to be clickbait. I hate that to. I’m referring to the poor compositions in the video when I say useless.