New photo critique/help

[sklar]

Now that my ski season is almost done we are starting to break the kayaks out
We were trying to get some night shots and this is what we ended up with

Shot on a Nikon D2X, shot at f/5.0 13 second exposure, ISO at 640? i think, focal length at 34mm

The kayaker is lit up by a person sitting on the rocks to the kayakers right with a speedlight

I like the shot, and think it has potential. I'm looking for critiques, and ways to capture the kayaker better.
Thanks

 

[KmH]

Since this isn't a gallery or critique section of the forums you may not get many responses.

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[sklar]

Since this isn't a gallery or critique section of the forums you may not get many responses.

Beyond the Basics
Have you been at photography for awhile? This is the forum for more advanced discussion of photography, such as exposure methods, lighting, HDR, and other techniques and controls!

Better choices may have been:

Photojournalism & Sports Gallery (26 Viewing)
A place to tell us stories of events with pictures. This is your place to not only show us your photojournalistic style, but your action and sports shots, too. Post for discussion and feedback, including general critique.

General Gallery (19 Viewing)
A gallery for sharing photos and getting feedback, including general critique.

Photography Beginners' Forum & Photo Gallery (147 Viewing)
Brand new to photography, or brushing up on some of the basics? Don’t be shy! Talk to other beginners and ask all your basic photographic questions here. Show us some of the photos you have taken so far and get some review - so you can learn where there is room for improvement!

i guess i'm not really looking for critique, but for how to get this shot to work out better, because the kayaker does not look very good

 

[KmH]

i guess i'm not really looking for critique, but for how to get this shot to work out better, because the kayaker does not look very good

New photo critique/help

Oh! :scratch:

I don't think you can make it work better because:

The kayak only occupies about 1/150th of the frame, is motion blurred, a quinary (5th level) image element, and I'd say you needed at least 3 lights: the one you had (but further back to show the rocks), another 20 feet upstream (aimed down stream), and a 3rd downstream aimed back up towards the kayak.

“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.” - Robert Capa

If it was me, I'd loose the street in the background and just concentrate on the kayak, with the kayak filling more than 50% of the frame.