My first image for critique! It was a beautiful foggy morning, light rain, saw this tree sticking out over the water, reflected against the still lake.
General critique… does the photo work? Thoughts on composition? Would this work better in B&W?
Is this a composite: No
F/6.3 ISO100 1/100sec at 49mm
Very minimal processing in LR, lowering highlights and up shadows tiny bit, cropped slightly and leveled
Hey there, welcome to the community! Two thoughts and one question based on the text your question.
First, one thing I wish this image had was a bit more room at the top, you could probably try to add some canvas at the top and do a content aware fill, assuming you’re using Photoshop, and maybe crop a bit from the left to keep the same aspect ratio. Second thought, you could consider flipping the image so that the tree is on the left opening to the right. Sometimes this helps I think because it’s how we are used to reading.
My question is what is leading you toward black and white? Sometimes I ask myself that question when I’m considering it. If the answer is you think it will make a stronger image, how will that make it stronger.
Great first post and thank you for sharing!
Hey, Daniel, welcome to NPN. I know you will find this a wonderful place. Your first post is quite nice indeed. I do agree with @David_Wallace about a little more room at the top…not a deal breaker, but would allow the tree to breathe a bit. I don’t know that B&W would add much to this image…it’s already pretty monochrome. But, you should give it a try and then compare. Great first post and I hope to see more.
Welcome to NPN Dan. Terrific first image. Like the others have stated, I really think this could use some room at the top. Great choice of using f/6.3. It really separates the foreground trees from the background and this image is all about those foreground trees and the reflection. You have a nice, interesting subject that’s clearly been through some trials and tribulations but still survives. The lichen and grass provide nice support and interest and because the colors in the grass and the lichen are so inviting I thing this is stronger than a black and white version. However, it’s easy to convert so if you are curious, just give it a try and see which one you prefer.
Look forward to seeing more of your work Dan. And don’t feel nervous about critiquing others work. That’s what makes this forum so awesome and also so different from other platforms.
Welcome to NPN Dan. I love the atmosphere you’ve captured here and I like just as much the colors in this image. The somber browns and greens go perfectly with the light in this image. The composition I believe could be better. You have a generally horizontal image with dominant verticals crossing the horizontals dead center. These opposing elements don’t really work well together. For some reason photographers often like to draw boundaries to include the entire tree and it’s entire reflection. That often creates issues in composition. That’s my opinion. Take it with a grain of salt.
Welcome to NPN, Dan. This is a lovely scene. I love, love, love the colors! They are subdued and rich at the same time and, along with the fog, give this a delightfully gloomy mood. For that reason, I would vote no on a b&w version (but that’s just me). David W. asks a good question - what would be the idea behind going to b&w? Does the color add to what you’re trying to say? In this case, the color for me sets the scene in autumn and tells a story of the end of a season. A b&w version would lose the emotional trigger of the color and stress the overall geometry and composition of the scene.
As far as the composition, it’s not working so well for me. You have a really nice set of triangles formed by the tree and its reflection relative to the line of grasses and that rock.
The open area to its left, though, isn’t enough to balance the visual weight of the triangles/diamond shape. The area within the diamond has all the details and color, making it visually heavy. I think the suggestions for including more space at top/bottom would address that, by making the open area larger and giving it an equivalent “weight”. Alternatively, a more severe crop to eliminate the open area might make the frame more balanced. Here are a couple examples I tried. The first keeps the entire right half in a tall ratio (16:9), accentuating the verticals. The second is a 2:3 ratio, just cropping down to the extent of the main elements. Not sure I like that second crop so much. The tall one feels better to me.
Hope you don’t mind my chopping up your photo. 
Hey Daniel, looks like you’ve generated a lot of discussion with your first image. Well done. Since the topic of B&W has come up, I took the liberty of doing a B&W conversation, and also adding a bit of room at the top. Then I flipped it like @David_Wallace suggested…just another comparison. I still like your original best.
Thanks everyone! What I heard about this group is true! 
In regards to the B&W, I’m colorblind, so I think my personal struggles with color might just be bringing that thought, especially with the heavy gray fog.
My original version does have a bit more room at the top and bottom (I might have either uploaded a different copy or screwed something up lol!)
Thank you all for the critiques! I love all your thoughts and edits!
I think I’m going to stick with the color version!
