Lake Louise, Alberta

[Wicked Dark]

That looks better, although maybe you didn't have to knock the sat back so much...

[JAS_Photo]

This type of shot is classic Darwin Wigget style. I do like it but I personally would prefer to see sharpness front to back. The composition is very nice with a strong foreground interest, and triangular shapes leading the eye. The turqoisey blues in the first photo edit are a bit strong, but Darwin is not afraid of colour in his photos either. Have a look here:

The Canadian Rockies - Spring : The Canadian Rockies : Nature and Landscape Photography from Canada

[kevin99989]

wow - amazing stuff !! Thanks for sending that link. Now i understand a lot better after seeing Darwin's photos. In some of his pics, he uses a lot of saturation. I've also studied Ken Rockwell's stuff, and he has a very liberal philosophy on using saturation - i do like his work.

[Marko]

Although you fixed the background, You've lost sharpness on the rock you focused in this version. Personally I like the sharpness.

In terms of Darwin's work, your phrase "he uses a lot of saturation" and the Rockwell comparison is off imo.
Ken puts his camera settings on VIVID if i recall...there's nothing wrong with that in many people's opinions. Personally I like my photos to start off more natural. To me it's like running a subtle photoshop filter over every shot....not my personal style.

Darwin on the other hand, is a master landscape shooter. He goes out in the good light, waits for the good light and uses conventional FILTERS IN CAMERA to create his stunning work. He uses software of course, but the majority of his awesome work is created on the spot in camera. Spend WAY more time studying Darwin's work if you want to become a better landscaper.... Go to Ken for his opinions on gear.

[kevin99989]

Darwin's stuff is really spectacular. He has a tutorials on his website that JAS mentioned. Under articles:
Articles « Darwin Wiggett
I especially like the articles on "Painting with time" and "Good Photos in Bad Light" (that's all I've read so far). Lots of good reading in there for a rainy day here in Vancouver (or not - maybe rain is a good time to take photos

[kevin99989]

I think I got it now - i remember to compress it before downloading this time!