Framing reflections

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
1

Description: This is a picture from last week that I took in a nice state park near my house. There were beautiful reflections of the trees all over this small pond but there was no way to place the tripod on the shore of the pond itself because of the shrubs. so I tried to use them to frame the reflections. I am not sure it works as they were a little wild but I think I was able to transfer the serenity of the place.

Specific Feedback Requested: Any and all.

Pertinent technical details or techniques: Sony a7c, tamaron 17-24 lens, 24 mm, iso 125, f/16, 1/40 sec, tripod. Some cropping and light corrections in lightroom.

Is this a composite? (focus stacks or exposure blends are not considered composites) no

small pond
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1 Like
2

Hi Tamar
I like the reflection and sky. Is there any reason you didn’t crop this photograph in a 5 by 7 or 16 by 9?
Peter

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I played quite a lot with the crop and eventually decided that I didn’t want to crop parts of the reflections on either side as they gave the picture the depth I was looking for. the set crops felt like they didn’t allow me to include them and the composition it created felt less strong as you can see. But please tell me what you think because this is a continuous issue for me. how much to crop and whether to stay with a defined size or not. Thanks.

small pond4
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small pond3
small pond31125×2000 362 KB

4

I think the square crop works quite nicely here, Tamar. Great image.

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Hi Tamar, I really like this scene you’ve captured, and feel the serenity of the area. The lighting is not harsh and the reflections (favorite of mine!) stand out well. As to the composition, I always appreciate a nice foreground, and in this case, you’ve included foliage on the left which helps to “frame” the scene and make it cozier. My only wish is that you gave the tree in the upper right a bit more room…those two trees almost make a heart shape in my eyes. For cropping, I think its mostly a personal decision, and it’s sometimes difficult to use the set crops successfully, so I sometimes just use free cropping to eliminate areas that don’t support the main subject.