Hi Mike, I am not a big fan of the first one. That boat (is it the subject?) is relatively tiny in that "ocean" of flatness (flat water, flat light). I do like the second image with the silhouetted pair. I would have tried to frame out the stair rail on the right (or possibly clone it out if you can). It creates some tension in this otherwise peaceful image, IMHO. The golden colors are very nice though. I am not sure what the subjet is in the third image, but I really like those gold colors, again. The last one is by far the best of this lot. The composition works: the sun is adding a lot to it. The balance of highlights and shadows is good (are those deep shadows blocked though?): the colors are once again very good. I like it! :smile: PS: take all this with a (big) grain of salt: I am not a judge, and probably not even a competent photographer! :redface:
Thanks for this reallu useful critique, Philippe. You're right about the first one - I think my interest in boats misled me. But the colours were really interesting shooting into the sun. I made several different exposures of the last one and chose this because the shape of the sun was visible and not too burned out.
Mike, The last one is the only one that really works for me. The only thing about it that bothers me is the two channel markers blending into the black. Makes them take away rather than add. Dave
The two silhouettes in #2 are echoed by the two pilars in the UR - that's interesting in terms of composition albeit some will declare that a compo based on three elements is more interesting than one based on two. The idea of a couple though (be it human or animal) is a very strong one and clearly escapes from the that rule. As I inspect the histogram of your fourth image, I notice that it has blocked shadows and burnt highlights. It looks to me as an effect of pushing the contrast somewhere during you processing.
Thanks for your critique, Dave and Christian. Interesting remarks about composition. Actually, I did minimal processing of the last shot. The dynamic range just could not cope with the shot. I tried a number of exposures but couldn't find one that didn't result in the very dark zone in the middle of the shot. This one seemed to be the best compromise I could find.
Hi Mike, I am sorry but i have to agrre with the previous posters. In some pictures there are to many (disturbing) elements in it. In the first one, the boat should be bigger. in the third one the thing at the left (bottom) gets the attraction. Just put your fingers on it how it looks when it is not there. I also prefer the last one. Please don't get me wrong. I don't want to critic your pictures. I always appreciate your nice comments on my pictures very much !!!!! With regards Alex (still cold over here )
One remark on the last one. That's an impossible picture to take without a graduated filter (top dark , bottom light) Just try to get such a filter like one from cokin or so. The result will be better. You can also take 2 pictures one underexposed for the sun en one overexposed for the see and then stich them together in PS alex
I appreciate your comments Alex. You have given me some things to think about, which is why I asked for a critique. I think a Cokin filter system may be my next purchase. I did try some different exposure but none seemed to work. Unfortunately I was with my wife and some friends and did not really have time to try too many different options. Thank you all for the time you have taken to look and to give me useful feedback.
