Would love some critiquing on these

[firefitindivR]

Ok, so, here are three of my best most recent shots at Captree LI. I would love some imput on these guys. I think they are great, in my eye of course , lol.. I would love to see what you more experienced photographers think. Any imput would be great



#1

#2

#3

 

[524photo]

Hi Fire. I just registered on this site and this is my first post. Lemme just say that I am by no means "an expert" these are just my opinions. I love the first pic! I think that it's perfect! The colors are amazing. The second pic is really good but doesn't have that "WOW" factor of the first. The third pic I like except I feel that the bridge cuts to close to the middle kinda breaking up the rule of thirds rule. I would say maybe add more of the sky and a little less of the foreground. But like I said I'm not an expert those are just my opinions. But great shots overall!

 

[DSLR noob]

As someone who started getting serious about photography about 4 years ago these are my opinions on your work.

Piece 1:
This is an excellent picture! When looking at it I feel that the emotions tied to this the most would be be serenity and warmth. It really looks like you captured a high level of potential beauty that you saw with your creative eye. Color saturation is vivid but not over the top, shutter speed was wonderfully slow to blur the water and add a great subtle softness to the reflection. I cannot find anything negative to say about this other than possibly trying to clone out the thing floating in the bottom right. I can't tell if I would like it more if it was missing, or feel that the sea is too bland without seeing it both ways.

Piece 2:
This is another stunning piece. I have yet to come close to capturing the texture of water this well. In terms of making waves in water look good, you have brought out a lot of beauty from the scene. I don't find this piece to be as emotional simply because even though I appreciate the beauty of the well done photograph in terms of shutter speed, exposure, sharpness, and saturation, I can't help but still just see it as only water, even if that seems a bit close-minded. It does appear some sort of swimming animal might have just gone below the surface, but if it is the case, the photo looks like it might have been bad timing, really hard to say with the way the water behaves in center of the frame, but I do appreciate the thought provoking nature of it, for what interest it does provide.

Piece 3:
This piece gives me a similar feeling as the first, however the photographer in me instantly can't ignore the crooked horizon. It is very difficult for a horizon tilt to look like it is executed to enhance the photo, and in almost every other case, it looks like a mistake as it is usually not desired. However to repeat this might seem a bit redundant but you definitely are aware of what settings to use for capturing a good exposure, vivid color, and sharp focus. Your use of a stopped down aperture and slow shutter speed are all spot on for a great image of these low-light landscapes. This piece has a really good balance with the black ground at the bottom. Even though the detail is low, it really does provide some sort of contrast to the bright scene. Your creative eye is well trained as is your technical knowledge. I'd advise working on a few post processing techniques to correct the smaller flaws, such as the horizon tilt, or cloning a distracting thing in the sky or water etc. This is a wonderful piece though, and exceeds my personal abilities for creativity with landscapes.

All the work is very moving and inspiring. Keep up the good work, never stop improving!

 

[firefitindivR]

Welcome 534 and thanks for the imput on my pics. Im new here also with only 10 posts.. IMO I think the 1st one is the best of the three too.

 

[firefitindivR]

As someone who started getting serious about photography about 4 years ago these are my opinions on your work.

Piece 1:
This is an excellent picture! When looking at it I feel that the emotions tied to this the most would be be serenity and warmth. It really looks like you captured a high level of potential beauty that you saw with your creative eye. Color saturation is vivid but not over the top, shutter speed was wonderfully slow to blur the water and add a great subtle softness to the reflection. I cannot find anything negative to say about this other than possibly trying to clone out the thing floating in the bottom right. I can't tell if I would like it more if it was missing, or feel that the sea is too bland without seeing it both ways.

Piece 2:
This is another stunning piece. I have yet to come close to capturing the texture of water this well. In terms of making waves in water look good, you have brought out a lot of beauty from the scene. I don't find this piece to be as emotional simply because even though I appreciate the beauty of the well done photograph in terms of shutter speed, exposure, sharpness, and saturation, I can't help but still just see it as only water, even if that seems a bit close-minded. It does appear some sort of swimming animal might have just gone below the surface, but if it is the case, the photo looks like it might have been bad timing, really hard to say with the way the water behaves in center of the frame, but I do appreciate the thought provoking nature of it, for what interest it does provide.

Piece 3:
This piece gives me a similar feeling as the first, however the photographer in me instantly can't ignore the crooked horizon. It is very difficult for a horizon tilt to look like it is executed to enhance the photo, and in almost every other case, it looks like a mistake as it is usually not desired. However to repeat this might seem a bit redundant but you definitely are aware of what settings to use for capturing a good exposure, vivid color, and sharp focus. Your use of a stopped down aperture and slow shutter speed are all spot on for a great image of these low-light landscapes. This piece has a really good balance with the black ground at the bottom. Even though the detail is low, it really does provide some sort of contrast to the bright scene. Your creative eye is well trained as is your technical knowledge. I'd advise working on a few post processing techniques to correct the smaller flaws, such as the horizon tilt, or cloning a distracting thing in the sky or water etc. This is a wonderful piece though, and exceeds my personal abilities for creativity with landscapes.

All the work is very moving and inspiring. Keep up the good work, never stop improving!

WOW! Thank you for the detailed descriptions.

In Picture #1 I really loved the color of this shot. The Sun had set and the color was absolutely amazing. This was one of the most colorful and stunning sunsets I have seen. I wanted to capture that image. I loved the reflections from the lights off the calm bay and the stunning color of the fresh night sky. That thing in the lower right was actually a rock breaching the surface of the water. I included it in the shot to kinda draw your eye the the brilliantly colored water. It does kinda look like a blob or some sort of sea creature that doesnt belong there lol. I will try and clone it out and see what I end up with.

#2 It was actually a set of boulders just below the surface of the water.. As I was looking for my next subject to photograph I kinda dazed out and was staring at the cluster of rocks and boulders and how the water passed across them. After a few seconds in lala land... the water looked silky but thick. It reminded me of molten metal. I took about 15 diffrent shots at various settings and ended up with this one.

#3 I thought would make for a nice shot with the bridge, the lights etc in the background. The foreground was mostly a boring subject of shrubs, weeds and brush and I felt it would be better to have it dark. I felt it would contrast with the background lighting. I feel it is the hardest for me personally to obtain a perfectly level horizon. Even though the bubble level says its straight I always seem to not trust it and tweak it just enough to get ot out of line.


Thanks again for all the thought and imput on my photos. The imput coming from a 4 year pro makes me feel a whole lot better about my photography skills.

 

[DSLR noob]

Not a pro, I have made money with photos, but that is more being at the right place at the right time, as the most skilled guy with the balls to ask for money haha.
Just 4 years studying photography as a student and playing around with my camera. I want you to know you're talented, but don't want to give the impression that I am claiming anything that isn't true about my credintials.

No problem on the thoughts, I believe we as humans are far greater as a whole unit composed of individuals working together rather than competing with each other. This is how we learn and improve, I love being a part of it, makes life more meaningful.

 

[KenC]

I wouldn't clone the rock out of the first one - I think it's a more interesting and mysterious shot with it, and your instinct that it would draw one's eye to the water was correct. The other two don't do that much for me - they don't seem to have a point of interest.

 

[sierramister]

On the first one, either the compression got you or you've applied too much saturation to your photo. The color ripples at the bottom are sign of editing too much, although I suppose it could be the actual waves from the rock. I would look at the photo in your photo editing software and see if you have those ripples and if so, you'll need to pull back some of the effects. Also, I think it would be cool if you cropped the third one to a more panoramic photo to stretch out the bridge and remove some of the black foreground. Just because picture frames are in those sizes doesn't mean we can't make digitals any size we want. Good job!

 

[firefitindivR]

Hey, Sierramister in photo 1 the only editing I did was adjusted the "levels" a amall amount to brighten it and added +12 Saturation. As for #3 a simple crop made a nice improvement. Thanks for the advice guys