The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This was the last night of a three week sailing experience on Lake of the Woods. The sunset wasn’t particularly stunning that evening, given the minimal clouds, so I decided to play around with the water to improve the picture.
Specific Feedback
There’s a lot of empty space, but I like what it does to the mood. I’m interested if people think a tighter crop would work better.
Technical Details
Canon 6D MkII, 50 mm f1.4 USM lens
13 seconds @ f13, ISO 100
Basically no post-production tweaking other than levelling the horizon
Warren,
First off congrats on a three week sailing experience; it must have been a blast. For my tastes I like the slightly darker image with the smoother water and the beam of light skimming across it. The left side is doing nothing for me so I am thinking a crop of that side would focus the viewer on those rocks along with the setting sun and the beam of light. I also lightened it just a touch with curves.Here is what I was thinking. Just a suggestion of course as I know you mentioned that you liked the left side.
I really like what the long exposure does to your shot. I agree with @Ed_Lowe that the interest in the shot is more on the right side. I think you retain that calm sunset feel you were going for by cropping more over to that side.
A gorgeous scene! Maybe not a spectacular sunset but a very lovely one. The gentleness of the scene fits very well with the calm water of the long exposure. I love the clouds and the deep orange around the sun, fading into a soft magenta farther away. I wonder about having a look at a slightly cooler WB – just a bit. But that may not be as engaging.
This is a very nice comparison of the two shutter speeds. I agree with @Ed_Lowe about the crop. As nice as the original is, there is just too much visual weight on the right side. There is a lighter area around the large rock and behind the taller trees – it looks like a mask could be tightened up just a bit.
