Critique #54 *Landscape Theme* 5 Participants

[RayPA]

Welcome to this critique thread. Please read the purpose statement and the guidelines/ground rules regarding participation.

Purpose
The primary purpose of this thread is to provide a forum where photographers can give and receive constructive criticism on one another's photographs. By setting up some basic guidelines we hope that this thread will provide a forum where the give and take of honest constructive criticism can help us become better photographers.

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The thread has very specific rules regarding participation. The one basic rule is that you cannot provide criticism on an image or comment in a critique thread unless you also have an image posted. To post an image to this thread you must be a participant. Participation in this thread is limited. Here are the guidelines and ground rules for participation:

• Participation in this thread is limited to 5 photographers
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If you'd like to participate in a critique thread and need some ideas about how to proceed with viewing images critically, you may find this thread helpful:

How do you look at photos (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26459)

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Critique Feedback Thread (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26611)

Remember: Please do not provide criticism on an image or comment in a critique thread unless you also have an image posted.

This thread is now active, please follow the guidelines if you'd like to participate! Have Fun!



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[nico]

I go for this one...
nico

[Gabriel M.A.]

Yay! A free spot! I'm in.

[raid]

I'm in.

Raid

[kmack]

Landscape, Ok, I'm in this one.

[nico]

Bump!
just one last volunteer for this "bloody photobutching" (don't know what I wrote...) :D

[ClaremontPhoto]

Bump registered, and I'm in.

[nico]

Good morning Jon!

[ClaremontPhoto]

Here is 'Montemor o Novo Castle':

[ClaremontPhoto]

Morning Nico.

[nico]

... Montemoro o Novo ... I remeber a friendly chat with a photog. who has a very nice collection of cameras in his shop; I asked him to sell me a minolta autocord but he wouldn't; he just showed me a bunch of old nice cameras. A real photo gear history lesson!

[ClaremontPhoto]

Yes, I know that guy.

[nico]

Yes, I know that guy.


:eek: Gosh! ... ain't that big this world!!

[kmack]

Catoctin Creek, sunrise.

[raid]

This is my image: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, USA.

Raid

[nico]

Here mine:
Untitled
BessaR+Nok50+ilfordHp5
Lucca

ciao
nico

[Gabriel M.A.]

Here's mine:

[ClaremontPhoto]

kmack: Very nice composition and good range of tones makes this a very pleasing photo. The water featureand its placement within the photo is especially attractive.

The picture may be slightly improved by darkening those leaves in the upper middle background, but improvement is relative and it's still very nice.


Raid: The movement blur in the water and the color makes this a very arresting image. A peaceful scene with a hint of X Files perhaps. Also the outer border works well.

Would including more on the right (less on the left) have been an option?


Nico: The placement of the white path gives it a good graphic and you've got the people at exactly the right place.

Recropping to lose the shadow at the end of the path and some of the sky would make it even more eyecatching. Suggested crop: right border edge of tree, top border skimming the first building.


Gabriel MA: I love the color, the shapes and the emptiness. Very nice and very 'put it on the wallish'. There's really nothing more to say as its perfect just as it is.

[kmack]

Gabriel M.A. : Pleasing color, I would normally complain that the shadows are too dense but in this case it emphases the lateness of the day. Good job at keeping your own shadow out of the composition. (Easy to do with low light like this.)

Good overall composition, nice balance of vertical, horizontal and diagonal elements. You could tweak the crop a little, tighten it up, but it is a strong image as it is and does not require it.:

Nico:
Something challenging and a little quirky as always. You were able to get divide the image in a unique way to achieve a good balance of light and dark. It would help if it were a little sharper, to get some additional texture.

Raid:
This had better been taken on a tripod, other wise you are one steady dude: very sharp. Excellent exposure and good balance of color and luminance. I agree with your composition, bisect the frame
with the stream. However ti is difficult defining a focus for the composition. You have two strong elements: the bright yellow mass of leaves and the wonderful milky texture of the stream. But that is indicative of the Smokes. So much color, texture, it is hard to simplify the Smokes.

BTW: is this the lower portion of Indian Creek?

Jon:
You lucky dog, to have such subjects at hand. Technically it is very good. I would crop it closer to the
Keep. That would tighten up the composition a bit and it would get rid of the pesky little cloud in the middle right. That cloud bugs me for some reason, sorry I can't articulate why.

[haagen_dazs]

can i still join ? :)

[nico]

@ haagen_dazs: no problem for me, if also other members agree you can still join :)
@ other members: sorry for being late posting my critiques but it has been a quite busy day (sometimes it happens) i'll post tomorrow morning (it's midnight here).
bye
nico

[raid]

Kevin: Your image is very nice,but the flowers in the foreground take away from the depth of the photo. The highlights in the center of the image become more mysterious looking if you crop away the flowers and maybe look at the image as a vertical image starting close to the water.


Nico: I have taken many photos nearly identical to the one you have posted here, but not tilted. Is this Virginia Tech ? There is "too much"white space in the top right corner of the photo.

Gabriel: The blue is amazing in your image. What was the purpose of including the wooden stand in the forground? Is this an old life guard post?

Jon: I took the liberty to enhance (?) the contrast and color balance in your image. I think that now the image looks great.

Raid

[ClaremontPhoto]

Raid: Thank you. But don't you think it looks too contrasty now? My wife always thought the (untouched) original had been digitally enhanced anyway.

[ClaremontPhoto]

can i still join ? :)

Ok with me, but why not wait a day or two for the next one?

[shiro_kuro]

Hey I want to join too... : ) ..... nah just joking but some of us live in different times zones and always miss ....I got a few chances but it took awhile ....

[ClaremontPhoto]

These things usually take more than 24 hours to fill up so time zones shouldn't be a problem.

[nico]

Sorry for being late guys, here my critiques:

Kevin: I like it, there’s a lot to see here, flowers, water, trees. This landscape also has a nice range of tones and an interesting composition. As an alternative version I’d like to try a vertical crop with a slight darkening of the leaves in the upper middle background.

Gabriel: I like these gorgeus colours (I agree about the amazing blue). I also like composition (well balanced among vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines).
The upside down boat and the long shadow of lifeguard stand give the shot a melancholic mood (it makes me think about the end of the day). I think I wouldn’t change anything here.

Jon: Nice place to take photo there, I like composition and colours. The landscape in the background completes the photo. If I should try to improve the shot I’d try a slight crop on the right. It’s also interesting what Raid did on colours.

Raid: Good job on the exposure, I like the blur in the water and soft colours too. I like composition, with the photo divided by the waters. I like this one as is, so I do not have any improvement to suggest:

:)
Bye.
Nico

[raid]

Raid: Thank you. But don't you think it looks too contrasty now? My wife always thought the (untouched) original had been digitally enhanced anyway.


Jon: I am used to Velvia slide film with landscape photos, so tome the contrast is now fine, but I know that many others prefer "natural looking" contrast. In nature, there rae few things that look "natural". We make things look they we we like to have them look like in an image. It isj ust my opinion and means nothing more.

Raid

[nico]

Hi raid,
it's not Virginia Tech but just Lucca'a ancient surroundings :), I was up on them and took the shot of the gardens all around . I tried the crop you suggested and it works, I'll post it when all the others will have posted their comments.
Ciao
nico

[Magnus]

Here's mine:



Gabriel M.A.

My god you must thank god on your bare knees on an hourly basis for providing the world with color saturation tools which go all the way up to 35001

Or might this be the original location where Mickey Mouse lives?

[ClaremontPhoto]

Raid: Thank you for showing me the higher contrast. I usually use Reala and had no idea that films could be as contrasty as your enhanced version of my photo. I guess I'm used to Reala's take on color, and Sensia processed C41, and am grateful for your information.

[Gabriel M.A.]

Sorry for being awol on this thread. I should post later this evening. :o I like to take my time looking at the pics, and don't want to do a drive-by here.

[Gabriel M.A.]

Here is 'Montemor o Novo Castle':
I'm not quite sure what to make of it, although there is an adherence to the rule of thirds. There's nothing wrong with it that I could concretely point out as being "wrong", yet it needs something. Some photos are best seen in a larger print, this may be one of those cases.

Perhaps a B&W version or this scene in a more "dramatic" environment (as much as I'm allergic to the use of that word).

I do like that this is leveled, and appears to be carefully composed.

[Gabriel M.A.]

Catoctin Creek, sunrise.
My very first impression was that this was a very very busy piece. It needs to be observed for a long time in order to appreciate the placement of elements; this is one instance where perhaps color would have been a better choice than B&W, in order to aid the viewer discern the various elements.

I did notice the triangular shape placed in the middle of the frame, with what appears to be placement of diagonals that help frame the rest as if it were a cup. It's interesting.

[Gabriel M.A.]

This is my image: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, USA.
A nice image; very pleasing subject, with the technique pinned down in order to get that nice waterflow blur. The yellow leaves may be a bit off-place, but give it an (obvious) sense of time placement. The flow, diagonally from top right to bottom left is well done.

[Gabriel M.A.]

Here mine:
Untitled
BessaR+Nok50+ilfordHp5
Lucca
Very unconventional composition. The photo has given a sense of movement from left to right by this view, and gives it a sense of being a long path. Much longer than if this had been taken "straight" or even tilted a little as most other people would have. I'm still not sure whether I like the parking lot in the frame or not, yet I would suggest trying a crop where you can get rid of the area right of the right edge of the tree.

[nico]

Hi,
here's mine cropped on the right and slightly darkned in order to see more patterns (very difficult to see the surroundings bricks because are very small).
What do you think about it?
thanks.
nico

[ClaremontPhoto]

Nico: It's a big improvement. Are you happier with it?

Have you also tried cropping the top to reduce the sky?

[raid]

Hi raid,
it's not Virginia Tech but just Lucca'a ancient surroundings :), I was up on them and took the shot of the gardens all around . I tried the crop you suggested and it works, I'll post it when all the others will have posted their comments.
Ciao
nico

Hi Nico,

Virginia Tech has a similar looking campus, and I used to take photos of the old stone buildings. So it is in Lucca after all.

The cop looks better. The emphasis in your photo is on the "long path" taken by the two people, and my eyes were immediately drwan to that path. I would try to make the image either square or horizontal with cropping from the top [ as Jon also has recommended]. Again, this is just a personal observation.

Raid

[raid]

In my photo, I placed the camera on a tripod to get stability and sharpness. I included the area on the left to get the yellow leaves into the image. The blur in the water is obtained at speeds slower than 1/15.

Raid