what do you think?

[Andrea K]

i was on a walk the other day and picked this one up after i found a creek by my house that i could walk to. i climbed on a rock near the edge of the river and shot this. i wanted to capture the haziness of the afternoon sun that i saw in the distance. this was cropped from a larger view. it was shot with a d70...not sure of the exposure and what not.

so, is there enough subject to keep interest? im not even sure what my subject really is. i guess i tried for a landscape and had the little rock in front for some added interest. did i manage to capture the haze well? any thoughts are welcome.

OTE

thanks

 

[lazarus219]

It's always good finding subjects close by to your home, i find a bush trail yesterday,

I'm not sure about this year, it is very contrasted between the light and dark, making me think underexposed- even though i can see it isn't.
There is no real focal point either

I can see this creek having potential for a great shot, just more even lighting and a more obvious focal point,

 

[eydryan]

the shot, i am really not very happy to say this, doesn't offer much. maybe if you saturated it more you could pass it for a tight crop autumn peisage(landscape)but it's just not interesting enough. what i personally love about landscapes is that massive dof, so that you see all detail up to a point very very far away and here the rock in the foreground is really blurry sending me to search further and well, i just can't find anything there...

nice try though, but not good enough. however, seeing that you're close to it, nothing's stopping you from going out there and reshooting... gluck!

 

[Hertz van Rental]

I must look at pictures differently because I think it has a lot going for it and I like it.
I like the contrast between light and shadow - and the little golden ribbon across the middle. The water and reflections work well too. Caught the light and a fair bit of the mood there.
The more I look at it the more I see.
Definitely worth exploring more.

 

[eydryan]

well, yes it's nice but it does not excell as a whole. youhave to search for the premium points, instead of them just hitting you dead center

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Sometimes the subtle is to be preferred to the smack in the face.
Part of the pleasure to be gained from Photography is finding a picture that you have to work at to get a return.
Pictures with 'stopping power' are primarily for use in magazines. They grab your attention sure, but quite often after a few minutes of looking you realise that they are all surface gloss with no substance.
Some of the greatest pictures ever taken are ones that a lot of people flick by because they don't grab the attention immediately.
You don't expect a book to give you the whole story in an orgasmic first page, or a Symphony to be condensed into a heart-stopping 30 seconds. You have to go through the whole thing to appreciate it and that takes a little effort. There is no law that says a picture has to be different. It is perfectly acceptable for a photographer to not have to flag up the 'premium points' but to make you work for it.
This is one of the hardest lessons to teach students. Getting them to stop approaching pictures with pre-conceived notions, but to approach them instead with an open mind and to look properly.

All that to one side - I didn't say it was a great picture, just that I liked it.
If we all liked the same thing it would be a boring old world.

 

[eydryan]

true

however, a picture is an isolated moment in time, and time usually has the habit of being boring in 9/10 cases. if a picture is not at least somewhat impressive at first glance, it does not (usually) get the second chance. that is of course as always fmpov

problem with opening your mind is that you are very frustrated to get it right. you know that you have one shot, film costs a lot of dough to regular joe, especially when prices are same as in the us or whatnot and salaries quite aren't... and therefore you think so that that picture will be technically perfect, to comply with all rules and break them at the same time. and naturally, when it comes to stress art cannot flow, which in turn brings more stress and so on. it is true that from time to time you have to rethink your attitude to escape from any such circles of doom

 

[Hertz van Rental]

a picture is an isolated moment in time, and time usually has the habit of being boring in 9/10 cases.

This is why you have to choose your moment. You can go with HCB's 'decisive moment' but I much prefer Les Krims' 'indecisive moment' as there are more of them.

if a picture is not at least somewhat impressive at first glance, it does not (usually) get the second chance. that is of course as always fmpov

This just highlights what I was saying about having a closed mind. If you have a set idea about what is impressive then you only look at pictures that match your idea instead of looking at each photo on it's own terms. In effect, you are pre-judging a picture before you look at it.

problem with opening your mind is that you are very frustrated to get it right. you know that you have one shot, film costs a lot of dough to regular joe, especially when prices are same as in the us or whatnot and salaries quite aren't... and therefore you think so that that picture will be technically perfect, to comply with all rules and break them at the same time. and naturally, when it comes to stress art cannot flow, which in turn brings more stress and so on. it is true that from time to time you have to rethink your attitude to escape from any such circles of doom

The first step is to stop thinking about the cost of the film. Sounds difficult to do but it just takes discipline. Once you have bought the film then it is paid for. Once you have used it all, then it is gone. You work within those boundaries.
The second is to stop thinking that there are rules to follow or to break. This is a fallacy. There are only three unbreakable rules in Photography and none of them have anything to do with composition. You do whatever you have to to get the shot you want - and what you want comes from your reaction to what you are photographing.

But I think we have hi-jacked this thread long enough. If you would like to continue this discussion then please feel free to re-start it in the Photographic Discussion Forum

 

['Daniel']

I find this picture boring and without any real sense of character. I think a good photo is good without manipulation but maybe can be made better. You can't make good photos through manipulation. This doens't work for me.

 

[dmccarty10]

Personally? I don't think it's going to win any awards, but I like how it makes me feel.

I can feel what it's like to be there. But I do agree that it's difficult because there doesn't seem to be a focal point.

 

[Andrea K]

thanks for the comments everyone...and the interesting things to think about as well


i will try to go back and capture the lighting a little better, and i will probably try to find a subject that stands out as well. thanks again!

 

[eydryan]

the highjacked thread is here: http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=292734#post292734

 

[Jeff/fotog]

...is making some order out of the chaos of nature itself. Atmosphere photos are great, but most people want to see a focal point or some kind of organization that is memorable in an image. And that's a big challenge!

 

[SlySniper]

I like it. The picture promotes a sense of Calmness and Peace.


I agree about there being no focal point, but, this picture would be great for a wallpaper.

 

[Knopka]

I love the colors in this image and the play of light on those leaves. Places like these are a great escape from the industrial world around us. If I were you, I'd go there again & take some more pictures! I'm sure foliage is going to be great in October .