boats and calm water

[MattyD]

Hi all,

First time post, looking for some feedback. Any thoughts or general criticisms greatly appreciated 

All shots taken at Burnham Overy, Norfolk, England

[David Eckels]

Nice, Matty. Welcome to the forums. Keep posting! I prefer 1 & 2, BTW.

[dhancock]

The fun thing about the internet, there's such a variety of viewers. I actually like #3 the best. It seems to have the strongest composition to me.

[RSL]

Welcome, Matty. All three are very pleasant.

[Ed Blagden]

Hi all,

First time post, looking for some feedback. Any thoughts or general criticisms greatly appreciated 

All shots taken at Burnham Overy, Norfolk, England

Matty,

Welcome to the most civilised and knowledgeable photography forum on the internet.  Looking forward to seeing more posts and images from you. 

I really like number 1.  Very elegant and simple composition and you did well to keep the horizon in the upper third, and you did well with the light.  Lots of interest in the sky, but the shot is really about the boat and the water / reflections.  Very nice.

Number 2 is a "nearly" shot.  Great colours and composition and the posts give the image a lot of strength.  But unfortunately the boats and masts in the background give the image too much clutter and this spoils things.  Nothing you could do about this of course but unfortunately the background detracts.

Number 3 is well composed but would have been better shot a minute earlier just before the sun rose above the horizon.  It is blown out, unfortunately.

[Harald L]

Nice, Matty. Welcome to the forums. Keep posting! I prefer 1 & 2, BTW.

+1

[MattyD]

Hi Guys,

thanks so much, esp Ed. Perfect feedback

[Ed Blagden]

Hi Matty,

I had a look around your Flickr page.  Some very good stuff there.  Keep posting.

Ed

[brandtb]

The color in the images is generally interesting and creates a very nice "mood/atmosphere" - the subjects (and negative space) are problematic for me in all three.

#1 There is so much negative space i.e. sky/water...are the shapes of your subjects in silhouette really strong enough to hold it together? I don't think so. Part of the reason is that your subjects are viewed straight on...and don't have enough of a distinctive/prominent shape (understandably these are just masts without sails above boats). As an example, your image "Turf Fen Mill at Sunset" shows the vanes obliquely which tell the "story" graphically - that couldn't be told if they were shot in profile or sidelong.  Lastly, in your image "Fog at Horsey" there are a "number of masts" and reflections making a nice composition...and they read more strongly...and they hold the negative space better. (as an aside...you might crop so you have the upper right quadrant left...and look at that)

#2. I don't think that there is anything too interesting or singular about that row of pilings in silhouette seen nearly sidelong.

#3. Same as in first image. The boat seen headlong and its mast...don't really have enough graphic interest to hold all the negative space. The curve of the shore is helpful...but not nearly enough.

[PeterAit]

Lovely, a wonderful sense of tranquility. With #1, have you tried cropping a bit off the bottom? I like it better that way.