The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This is one of my favourite places to visit and photograph. You’ll probably see more from this place. Actually, most of my images from here are in black and white, so this image is rather unusual for me. Even more so, as I tend to find extremely colourful sunsets quite boring, and like the blue hour after the sun has set much more.
This time my wife and I were out with a friend, and the conditions were quite calm after a storm had settled, though still with dark clouds moving away. Around sunset, however, nice warm evening light fell on the dunes and I made some nice images. Suddenly, though, the entire sky was ablaze with pink, purple, orange and yellow, so I started running around the area revisiting the places from which I made my earlier images. Far from my usual contemplative, meditative approach to landscape photography. This is one of the resulting images.
Specific Feedback
I’m not quite sure what to think of this image (and others I made during the 10-15 minutes that the sky was on fire). Is it too much? Too ‘buttery’? Let me know what you think, I appreciate any feedback, positive or negative, do don’t be shy
Technical Details
Olympus (OM System) OM-1 with M.Zuiko f/4 8-25mm pro wide-angle zoom @8mm, Sirui tripod.
ISO200, f/8 @ 0.4 sec with (in-camera) Live ND filter (to erase the wind ripples on the pool).
Technical Aspects: Looks super clean! I noticed some small out of focus areas on the edges of the mountains. Not sure if this was a focus stack.
Composition: The comp works for me. The grasses bottom right, at first I wasn’t sure if you should have used those, but I think they do help to anchor the bottom. It would have been nice to have something similar on the other side.
Use of Color: Color looks great!!!
Emotional Impact: I always have a hard time with this, but for me it is a warm feeling so it works for me.
Balance and Visual Weight: A bit right heavy, somewhat countered by the upper left clouds!
Lighting: Knocked it out of the park IMO
Post-processing: Looks pretty great other than the out of focus area I mentioned.
Subject and Genre: I like the subject. I think you did a nice job of balancing the objects in the frame.
Composition: To me this image needs more room at the bottom and right. the grasses coming in from the right feel like an invasion rather than part of the image and at the bottom it feels like something was cut off.
Use of Color: The sky is glorious, but it ends up being a very minor part of the composition. With very similar colors in the sand and the reflection of the sky in the pool, I’m having difficulty finding anything to anchor my eye and provide entry to the image.
Emotional Impact:
Balance and Visual Weight:
Lighting:
Post-processing: I think you have the basics of a fine image, but i think some selective dodging and burning to increase the tonal range and provide some more defined leading lines (the left edge of the pond?) and focal points (the algae near the bottom?) would help pull the viewer into the image.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful and helpful comments, @Matt_Payne and @Dennis_Plank This is the first community I am getting great feedback from!!
I can only agree that the image is compositionally so-so. The grasses at the bottom were a nuisance, but I couldn’t do anything else with it, as there was a larger patch of marram at the right hand side. I could have moved forward a bit, and work from the darker algae patch. That would have solved the invasive grasses popping in from the BRC… Still the balance is a bit right heavy, I agree.
Here’s another image in landscape orientation with the same pool, where I included the grasses in the middle foreground:
Regarding any OOF areas, Matt, I’m quite sure these are from marram grass moving in the wind as I didn’t stack this one. My shutter speed was long (0.4 s) to get rid of the ripples in the water.
Of course I could have given the sky more attention, but the pattern was already there (and I wanted the reflection) and it wouldn’t have added anything. It felt more natural to include more sky in this image:
This is a tough image to critique. Let me start by saying that I love the colour palette. It gives the image both a sense of calm and tension - as though something (with the light?) is about to happen . The composition, however, doesn’t quite work for me. I thought maybe a crop from the bottom but I wouldn’t want to lose the saddle shape of the pool or that bit of green near the bottom. I think I would prefer a different aspect ratio - the same top and bottom but more on either side, though that may not have been possible for various reasons. It’s just that the pool, which is the outstanding feature of this picture, feels a little cramped. I don’t think portrait mode best suits the implied breadth of this landscape.
Wow, what crazy conditions. I can empathize with dashing around trying to capture those unexpected moments! I don’t have a lot to add to the great comments above, but did want to say I really like that third image.
Thanks so much for your helpful comments, Kerry!
I agree that the composition is a bit problematic. That was mainly due to the grasses all being on the right hand side of this pool. The only additional image I managed was the first horizontal image shown in my April 21 reply.
Thanks again!
Gerard
I like the light and the environment and would certainly be very inclined to get my camera out and come up with some compositions. It might just be a little cluttered down by the base of the picture and along the right hand edge of the pool but otherwise pretty good.
