Even when I don't set out to shoot, I always hit the trail with a body & lens. On the day this shot was captured, I loaded the 24-70 in case the afternoon light was decent. The after-glow turned out to be dynamic and the opportunity to include a human element presented itself with a couple distant lovebirds enjoying the sunset, balloons in hand.
In hindsight, I would have preferred a longer lens, but was limited by what I had on me. The crop may be a little imbalanced for some, however, just wanted to point out that this was intentional. I felt having them further-off to the right third was more interesting. Thanks for looking and I welcome any c&c.
I don't know why but i feel like i could see the View they see. I like that in the middle of the picture far away are these two little squares. I know it's harsh but just from my emotional side it's a 4-5
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Maik. Did you mean that the figures are hard to discern because they're so small i.e. looking like squares? I do wish I had a telephoto lens at the time to have been able to capture more detail and clarity. Appreciate your kind words about the emotion conveyed. I would have liked to have given them my card to send the photo, but didn't want to interrupt their moment together.
I like the concept. I kind of wish the horizon was cleaner, or more exciting. Or something. Maybe a blurred sky would make this pop more. I don't know, there's something I like here, but also something missing.
Much appreciated, Paul and I agree with your underlying point. Although the couple provided a sense of scale to the landscape, the hills themselves are just not all that compelling. Had they been shaped in a more interesting way or the couple been standing next to the silhouette of a grand tree, the scene would have benefited greatly.
I disagree and don't think you need to see what they are seeing, nor do you need colour or detail in the hills. It's about them and not a "view", adding in the view would take away from the overall silhouette effect and would almost make this too busy. I think for me, there's only 2 things I would personally change:
I would put them in the lower third. The sky is more than interesting enough and there's a little too much black below for my liking. I'd also sharpen them and the horizon (though this could be due to compression from uploading here). Otherwise, I like the shot and concept. Keep it simple, adding in an extra view would over-complicate the image and congest it too much as well. It's a good shot.