2nd Revision:
1st Revision:
Original Image:
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Another image from the trip to Jefferson Park with @James_Lorentson and @John_Williams. This was the sunrise on out last day. I’m not really happy with my framing as the foreground was cut off too much.
D850, 24-70 @ 24mm, f14, 1/10 sec, ISO 64, tripod
It looks like you had some pretty epic conditions on your final morning. For me, the foreground feels too busy and the processing seems a little too bright and/or low contrast. I would expect a darker, moodier scene with that kind of weather. Colors look nice and natural, not overly saturated as is common these days. Nice and sharp, too. I wonder if moving up a little bit and just including the rocks in the water as a foreground would have worked better?
@Bret_Edge thanks for the comments and suggestions. I added a revision at the top based on you suggestion. I think this new version looks more natural.
Ah, that sunrise. While you and @James_Lorentson were off having the time of your lives, I was forced to sit beside my soggy camera and take photos with my cell phone. The coffee was good though…
I remember our struggles when we explored this lake. It was so tantalizing to try to get some of those small spots of remaining red leaves into the composition, but they all seemed challenged. In this image I think it might have been better to abandon them and move closer to the shore, and shot more from the left, so that that nice triangle of shore rocks fit nicely into that triangle formed by the mountain and the lakeshore, side-by-side triangles if you will.
This is still a great sunrise, and much though it pains me I do like the idea of cropping out the bottom red and green. However, I like the full run of the lake shore and would leave the width.
Darkening the close shore helps lead the eye in, but I prefer your original for the distance. Maybe a gradient so it fades moving into the image?
Regardless of the nits, that’s a great moment of tranquil beauty you captured.
I really like your reprocessed version, Steve. IMHO, it’s a much stronger image. I agree that the new version looks more natural, and the more simple foreground kind of anchors the scene, allowing my eye to flow through the composition. Excellent work!
Wow, these two images are very different. I’m not completely convinced that you had to darken the image. The image has been transformed. A bit more space below the large rock at the very bottom would have been nice. In such cases I crop more conservatively and use content-aware-fill to get rid of the remaining red leaves.
The rework does it for me. I love the mood of the darker take on the scene. We don’t know if a storm is coming or just clearing.
I included a new revision based on @John_Williams and @Igor_Doncov suggestions. John, as we were waiting for the sunrise, @James_Lorentson and I discussed how bad we felt about your camera and you just hanging out at the camp site, but your photo you added above doesn’t make it look like you were suffering too much. 
Personally, I like your last revision the most.
Same here. It seems the most natural and of a piece to me. What a great scene handled so well.
Just seeing this now and I love the 2nd revision. The flowers in the foreground were messy and that horizontal band running through the flowers just doesn’t work well for me but luckily, that revision is sooooo good. It really transformed this image in a really great way. You had some really epic light and the cloud cover really sets this one off.
Rev 1 for me, it has more contrast and a little more space, looking that bit more natural to me.
@Kris_Smith , @David_Haynes and @Ian_Cameron , thank you for your comments. I appreciate your feedback.
