beautiful Champagne


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StevO

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Mar 9, 2007
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Went to France recently and also just purchased Adobe Elements.

Photo was taken in Reims, Champagne region. Weather was very bad that day with a lot of rain and took the short break from the wet to take this shot.

Wanted to use the front Vines to frame this shot to show the beautiful grape vines and the open hilly country side in Reims.

Camera setting is as follow :
Focal Length : 18mm
Exp Time : 1/1000
F/ 3.5
Added Vig to pull viewers focus towards the centre vines and through the vines, the beautiful countryside.I feel that I should have increased the contrast a bit more. Would actually love to darken the sides much more as I feel that it is still pulling viewers towards the side though it has already been darken.


Reims_Champagne_II.jpg


Opinion appreciated on :

1. Framing and cropping of photos
Am I correct to frame photos using the 2 standing vines ? Did it help pull view focus towards the centre ?

Have I observed the 1/3 rules ?

2. Post processing

What do I need to do in terms of colour satuation and contrast ? What else should I manipulate to achieve a decent photo ?

3. Shooting techniques

I was using the biggest appeture as it felt dark and that I wanted stability in the very windy conditions. Some of the vines were blowing and I needed a fast shutter speed to keep it still.

All comments are warmly appreciated.
 

nice effort and crop, although i feel it would be better with less vignette effect and those two vines in the foreground are a bit distracting.. would have been cool to include them if there had been grapes on the vines though!
 

I personally would have preferred the colours to be brighter and more punchy as you didn't set out to create a moody kind of scene.

The semi-panoramic style crop works well for me when paired together with the deliberate darkening of the sides. You did achieve the effect of drawing the viewers attention into the center. But... what is the viewer supposed to see?

If not for the write up, I actually had no idea that the 2 plants are grape vines. It's just two leafy green plants. (and a little OT: i thought grape vines are usually hanging? heh. i havent got green fingers so I wasn't really aware that it grows like this too)

Since there really is nothing to suggest grapes (unless one is familiar with how the vine looks like without the grapes), a more traditional landscape shot would have been better. A higher perspective eliminating the two plants in the foreground, and just showcasing the splendid rolling gentle hills and the sky.

Just my 2 cents. I would love to see your other pictures of this place. I can just imagine it to be simply beautiful :)
 

Thank you both for your comments. Will work on my composition and PP more.

As for the rest of the Champagne pic, you are right to say that its a beautiful place. Some of the other parts that I have visited is also stunning. I will load them into my gallery after my trip and it will be a pleasure for you guys to have a look. Just bear with the unprofessional products though.

Cheers and have a great day.
 

nice shot you got there.. I would prefer your shooting angle to be a little bit higher ( say you stand about 1 meter higher ), so that the we see more of the landscape. That will make the picture more dramatic...

still, this is a nice shot. I like the composition of the front 2 vines , makes the landscape more interesting.
 

I think the shot is alright. Personally, i will include more sky. As to whether it's 1/3, doesnt really matter. Rule of Third is just a guideline for composition that has its origin in Art, break it and you may get surprise results. :p
 

Thanks nem and Lk. Appreciate your comments and feedback .
 

would have preferred wif less vig. cause there's nothing in the centre that would realli hold the viewer's interest. felt u could go in closer on the vines(sth like a macro shot) wif the sprawling countryside in the bg.
 

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