Autumn Stream

[rgeorge911]

I am posting this specifically for critical feedback.  Please don't worry about being gentle!

_VIV6133-1-2.jpg by reed_flickr, on Flickr

Criticism welcome.

Reed

[LarryD]

OK I want to see it frozen in winter....

[br1078lum]

Beautiful shot Reed.  One suggestion would be to do a square crop to get rid of the tree shadow on the left.  Love that leaf on the rock.

PF

[radiophoto]

Oh, I dunno, I like the tree shadow there: it gives the hint of additional life in the woods.  The rock in the stream looks like a croc's head at first glance, which is a nice bit of illusion, and then the leaf on the rock gives it away.  The colors are softened by the water's reflection, and the textures of the rocks on the edge of the water look as if they might go on to infinity.

Overall there's a sense of serenity.  It's a provocative, yet meditative photo, Reed.  I like it very much.

[rgeorge911]

PF:  I did fool around with a square crop - maybe I'll try it again and post to see what people think.  I felt that I lost too much of the glowing water, but it was a judgment call (as always).

Thanks for the comments so far.  I like but don't love this shot.  When I captured it, I thought it was love.  I'm trying to figure out how to get it just right next time.

Reed

[radiophoto]

Reed: you don't love it?   Then I take back everything I said.  It's rubbish. 

[br1078lum]

Yeah, Pete's right, it would loose too much if cropped square.  That wide shadow goes with all the skinny ones as they tend to lead the eyes to the rock in the stream.

PF

[jamesmck]

Reed,

When I looked at your photo right after it was posted last evening, I made some notes about it.   What follows is based on those initial reactions, without benefit of seeing what others may have said.

The strong point about this image is the apposition of the strong rocks and the amorphous water with the gentle reflections of muted colors.  But, my eyes have a little trouble with the composition.  The upper rocks so forcefully dominate the image that it is difficult for the eye to move beyond them.  Then, when the eye tries to move downward, there is nothing to grab attention and you find yourself falling off the bottom of the image.  The submerged rock tries to arrest this "fall" but cannot succeed (for me).

The almost straight-across rocks on the top seem static.  It would have been nice to capture some of their curvature that is suggested by the gentle curving down on the right.  Maybe a shot from a different angle?  Also, I find the rocks a little over-dominant here.  Of course, they occupy less of the real estate than the water, but their "strength" seems to win out.  Maybe cropping the rocks horizontally by about half?  Also, it would be nice to give that partially submerged rock (with leaf) a little more power in the image.  Possibly a vertical crop near its left (also eliminating the distracting tree shadow)?

All of these thoughts lead me to a crop like that below.  Note the increased apparent curvature of the cropped upper rocks, and what I find to be a pleasing diagonal balance of that curve with the submerged rock.  Somehow the beautiful reflections seem more evident in the crop than in the original. [I put a small black border on this crop, but it'd be OK without.]  What do you think?

[shadowfox]

Reed, beautiful photo.  I'd be glad if I took it.

I am nodding vigorously when reading James' critique.

I also in agreement with Pete that the shadows adds the hints of what lies beyond.

So I'll venture to suggest a crop that is even more aggresive:



That's almost panoramic isn't it?

[rgeorge911]

James:  I like your crop a lot.  I agree with the rock perhaps making the image seem static.  It's interesting - the flow of the water from the top right was a major attraction for me, but I didn't succeed in making it draw the eye.  I think I may have been trying to include too much.  Your crop retains the only really noticeable part of that stream.

Will:  Losing the rock all together troubles me, but I like retaining the dark shadow on left.  Hmmm.

I will look at the square crop again, as well.

Thanks for the great feedback!  This is instructive.

Reed

[rgeorge911]

Okay, here's a square crop:

_VIV6133-1-2-1-2.jpg by reed_flickr, on Flickr

Thoughts?

Reed

[LarryD]

OH I love the square. That is the winner in my heart.

[jamesmck]

The square's good!  I wish that damn submerged rock didn't look so much like the corpse of a baby whale :cool:, and that the leaf were a little smaller, but you can't have everything  The reflections are dynamite.

[taulen]

Many good crops, and here is my suggestion, after using some of Photoshop CS5's new features (puppet warp).
Hehe, kinda strange, but hey, had to try

[Wayne]

I think that the square crop is good Reed - either that or just crop a little from the right of the original. I would also change the levels to darken the picture and also burn the leaf to make it stand out a little more (my personal taste):