When I am photographing wildlife, I have to make decision about composition really quickly. I generally have only a few options to capture the subject and then I try to work with what I have gotten when I do post-processing. With a landscape, though, I have the chance to think more deliberately about composition while taking the shot and not merely afterwards.
Last week when I arrived early in the morning at Prince William Forest Park, fog was hanging over a small pond. As I walked around it, I decided to try to capture the scene in several different ways. In my first attempt, I placed the fence in the lower portion of the image to emphasize the height of the trees. In the second shot, I placed the fence in the upper portion of the image to focus more attention on the reflection. In the final shot I switched to landscape mode and included more of the tree to the right.
Which one works best? None of these shots will win a prize, but for me the first one does the best job of capturing what I was seeing and feeling at the moment. I think it is a valuable exercise, though, for me to explore a number of possibilities when taking a shot, because it allows me to think of creative possibilities as I change perspectives rather than adopt a “one and done” mentality.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Normally I would go with a landscape perspective…but the first is my favorite 🙂
Thanks, Ted. My first though too for a landscape is always to shoot in landscape mode, but I am trying to force myself to think of other possibilities, including occasionally shooting landscape-type shots with my long telephoto zoom lens.
Ellen can take nice landscape images with her 100-400. I have tried with mine, and placed it back on the shelf. I always miss the mark.
Nice photos.
Blue Rock Horses Frederick County, Virginia bluerockhorses.com
I agree, the first is the most pleasing of the three.
Keep trying with the different perspectives, it’s a really good habit to cultivate. In a photo library situation we encouraged this as clients have different requirements (size and shape of space available, where they’ll put text and so on). Your variations here were well worth doing and I appreciate each one. I often offer an opinion when you pose a question but in this case I won’t. I can look at each individually and enjoy each one. Beautiful scene.
I join you in preferring the first one, Mike. The tallness of the trees and the forthright, rather than reflective, expression of it is so very pleasing. What a lovely setting for you to be in, thanks for sharing it.
Very inviting. Would love to walk there
I like the top one Mike. I think there’s better separation.
I also prefer the first. I like the greater emphasis on the actual trees rather than the reflection of them. I find the lighter colored post (?) fairly distracting and it is less so in the first as well.
I do the same, trying different perspectives, and working my way through a composition until it eliminates unnecessary elements and expresses what I want in the image.
Thanks, Steve. I too find that “post,” which I think may be the trunk of a small fallen tree to be distracting. I toyed with the idea of cloning it out, but it is so prominent in the reflection too that it seemed tough to do so. I appreciate you sharing your thought process, which makes a lot of sense for a landscape shot, where less is often more.
Such as adventure in the that first photo! A treat for the eyes. We have been having foggy mornings here, too! Fun to try to capture 🙂
Thanks, Molly. Fog can be really cool when I am trying to take photos, but a real pain when I am driving if it gets too thick. 🙂
I join those who like the first image best, but I am not sure why. It’s a beautiful spot. I like the fog.
Thanks, Nina, for weighing in. I too like the fog, primarily because of the way that it changes the ambiance of a scene, giving it a touch of softness and mystery.
What a nice scene to practice with! I am partial to the second one because of the additional reflection. The reflection conveys the presence of those tall trees, and the fog.
Thanks, Ellen. The results of my informal survey show the diversity of views–all three received “votes” as the viewer’s favorite. There are good reasons to like each of the images, but I think viewers tend to weigh the factors differently and can come to different conclusions. The great thing about photography is that there is no “right” answer–each of the images provides a selected view of the scene and each is an equally valid representation of “reality.”
Any of these three seen individually would be well liked! I find it interesting when asked to compare images that the order I see them affects my thought process, too.