I would love some feedback on this. I have been taking pictures for years but very new to post processing. I know the sunset purple orange red pictures get old. Would love to know how to improve this picture. Its getting pretty harsh reviews in the winter contest right now but with no comments I don't know where to go with it! Thanks
So sureal! The colors are great, but the photo lacks a real subject. It could count as abstract like now.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/my-camera-sunk-in-a-lake-and-i-need-a...
It must have been a very striking scene, where I can imagine being tempted to try a similar image, Stefan. I gather that the scene is of back-lit icicles against a sunset sky. And I suspect I would struggle to come away with a completely satisfactory result. I often come across something beautiful or striking, but difficult to turn into a good photo - for me, anyway. Someone else can sometimes envision something different that "works". Sometimes I'll take a record shot for interest, and sometimes I'll concede reluctantly I can't make a worthwhile image.
I've tried post-processing this, and it just looks different, but no better. The icicles don't have the usual transparent look and sparkle, which makes them harder to identify, and a bit dull, perhaps robbing the image of some life it could otherwise have..
I think the main problem is the composition. Stalagmites would be easier to turn into a satisfying image than stalactites. We seem to be attuned to things emerging from the ground, and this image has a disorientating effect that is somehow not pleasing, but unsettling. As Oren says - surreal, and surrealism is often unsettling but that in itself doesn't make an interesting or appealing piece of art.
As a composition, the space at the bottom is a bit big, adding to the perhaps "top-heavy" feeling. I think I might have tried a horizontal format shot with more icicles coming further down, but I'm still not sure this would work. And of course that may not have been possible for all kinds of reasons.
Sorry to say, but I think the fundamental concept of this image is lacking something, therefore hard to improve, as you ask. There's not much that can be done to it apart from cropping, which would leave little content in an already minimalist image, and tone & colour manipulations (as I tried).
Don't be too disheartened - the saying may be a cliché, but we do learn from our mistakes, and reflecting on why this doesn't work, including I hope other posters' comments, may help you come away with something next time. I get far more clunkers than decent shots every time I go out after 30 years, and sometimes look at them to learn. I wouldn't discard the image. And if you like it, that's fine!
Thank you for your response! I did take a horizontal photo with a tree in the right background but the tree was so out of focus I felt it took away from the photo! I can see you point of this being a picture with some pretty colors but otherwise lacking interesting content. I am definitely here to learn and hopefully be able to produce photos that impress people! Thanks again for your feedback.