This image of reflections of a Mexican restaurant in Victoria Harbor is one of many I took that evening of houseboats and other buildings. The camera can freeze a moment in time that captures a reflection that the eye cannot see because the water is moving and the reflection changes so fast. I hope this image conveys some of the joy that I felt when I saw it on the back of my camera.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
On a break from photographing flowers at Butchart Gardens, we visited Victoria Harbor one evening. There were 3 piers with brightly colored houseboats, and restaurants at the head of the piers. The reflections were just entrancing. I was laughing with joy for the whole two hours we were there. The camera captures these reflections in a magical moment in time, showing up on the back of the camera in unexpected patterns that are a joy to see. I’d be interested in all feedback–suggestions for composition, processing, cropping, etc.
Technical Details
1/800", f/16, ISO 800, 137 mm. Processed using the basic panel and HSL in Lightroom.
These sorts of reflection pictures are a pleasure to take, especially when you’ve got so many strong colours to play with.
What works really well here are the blend of colours and textures within that central part of the picture. the amount of wave to distort the reflection is just enough to make it all interesting without destroying the reflected textures.
Personally, I think the inclusion of so much sky distracts from the colours a bit and that strong vertical line is very dominant as it cuts into the sky.
Also, there’s a bit of the non-reflected part of the pier included with a green sign which I’d want to exclude. If you crop in from the top a bit and also crop to exclude that green sign and pier edge, I think you get a really strong picture which is more abstract and because that vertical is now paired with the second vertical to its right, it becomes less dominant.
Tim. Thanks so much for the suggestions for improving this image, as I really love it. I think your crop really help make this a stronger image. It is hard for me to critique my own images, so your help is greatly appreciated.
Never have truer words been said about all of us sometimes. I think Tim’s crop got to the heart of your photo - better presenting the strongest points. It’s such a splashy shot that it’s easy to get overwhelmed by its energy and color, the crop help with that and has improved it nicely. Hope to see more from you!
