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Michael Pickles's picture

Critique appreciated

Hi everyone.

I'm a new member and this is my first post.

As an amateur I'd appreciate some constructive thoughts from people who aren't friends and family. Ha.

This shot was taken at Lake Windermere from a tour boat on a gloomy day so isn't the sharpest shot. If i'd have been shooting from a static position I'd possibly have gone for a longer exposure to smooth out the water a little but let me know what you think.

Thanks

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3 Comments

Hello Michael. Brave man for posting and seeking critique! I can see the appeal of the image, especially the massed tree foliage.

Since you were on the boat, and a long exposure was not possible, a SHORTER exposure would be possible (by increasing ISO), and result in less movement-induced blurring. This is possible with all but the most basic cameras. You may get noise (grittiness), but better sharp and noisy than noiseless and blurred. You can't really fix blurriness.

As regards composition, the image feels a little too symmetrical to me with the building central. Ideally, I'd have included less water at the bottom but this may have introduced unwanted sky at the top if you don't have zoom. The "rule of thirds" is a simple way of getting reasonable compositions, especially when there is an obvious subject, or feature which catches the eye, like the building. I don't particularly follow it myself but many do.

The whole image has an overall russet tone; I'm not sure if that was intentional, but the water looks muddy and less conventionally attractive for that. However, that may be how it was, and that may be how you like it - it's your image, and creative choice! Others can only reflect their own tastes & biases.

I append an edit in which I've altered the composition by cropping, but this further saps sharpness. I've taken some of the red out of the highlights in the water, and I've increased contrast to compensate for the blurring, but this may not appeal because there is a pleasing softness in the trees in your original. Just my "take" on what is a commendable first post.

Hi Chris.

Really appreciate your comments. The only way to get better is for people to tell you what you're doing wrong!

The shot was take on a Nikon D5300 with a 70-300 Sigma lens and was fairly zoomed in.

Totally agree with your comment about the muddy water. I should hopefully be able to correct that with a little selective tweaking in Lightroom.

The reason for my composition was to show the relative scale of the boat house in the landscape, but i think your crop also shows that.

Thanks again, think I'll post one or two more shots up!

Hi again, Michael! A good way to " show the relative scale of the boat house in the landscape", (an excellent basic idea for this image), could be to do a landscape-format image with the boathouse very low, quite close to the edge (preferably the left one) and masses of trees.

This depends on the extent of the forest higher and to the right, of course, and may not have been possible.

The boathouse contrasts enough with the rest of the scene that the eye would go straight to it unless it were minuscule.

It may be preferable to put the boathouse left rather than right because we tend to "read" images from left to right. Or so some people say!