Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: dwood on September 14, 2009, 10:30:29 pm
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This is an early morning scene on the coastline of Stonington, Maine. Under clear skies, you'd see a point of land to the right of the dinghy, islands beyond and open ocean. The fog was so thick, I'd guess you couldn't see more than 50 yards in front of you. It was dark and the air was thick with moisture. It was the perfect setting (IMO) for this picture.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3526/3921053761_ba53453e94_o.jpg)
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With no horizon, the image makes me look again and again. I think it's splendid!
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This is an early morning scene on the coastline of Stonington, Maine. Under clear skies, you'd see a point of land to the right of the dinghy, islands beyond and open ocean. The fog was so thick, I'd guess you couldn't see more than 50 yards in front of you. It was dark and the air was thick with moisture. It was the perfect setting (IMO) for this picture.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3526/3921053761_ba53453e94_o.jpg)
I like it. Very serene, slightly eerie.
Jeremy
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Very calming, very nice, I would put it big on my wall
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Simple and elegant.
JMR
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beautiful shot....lack of hoirzon makes this (IMO)
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Classic Maine fog. Very nice.
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Thanks to all for your kind comments.
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Doug, I agree with geotzo. Hang it -- at least 11 x 14.
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I hate to sound like a broken record, but I'm with everyone else. Serene and beautiful.
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I like it. Very serene, slightly eerie.
Looking at it more closely, I see four tiny black dots where the horizon might be, between the boat and the rightmost upright on the pier, above the rope. I'd be tempted to clone them out, to preserve the uninterrupted background.
Other than that, the more I look at it, the more I like it. Well done!
Jeremy
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Looking at it more closely, I see four tiny black dots where the horizon might be, between the boat and the rightmost upright on the pier, above the rope. I'd be tempted to clone them out, to preserve the uninterrupted background.
Other than that, the more I look at it, the more I like it. Well done!
Jeremy
I enlarged it a bit and noticed that the black dots are not really in a straight line. I'm pretty sure they are gulls or ducks sitting on the water. But since one can't be sure, it might be good to clone them out.
Eric
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Looking at it more closely, I see four tiny black dots where the horizon might be, between the boat and the rightmost upright on the pier, above the rope. I'd be tempted to clone them out, to preserve the uninterrupted background.
Other than that, the more I look at it, the more I like it. Well done!
Jeremy
Good eye Jeremy. Those dots are lobster buoys in the distance. If you look very closely, you'll see more of those above and to the left of the pier, along with a couple of mooring balls. I thought about cloning those out as well but in the end, decided to keep them as they were. I've been known to change my mind, however.
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Very nice image. I love it the way it is. I also like a more minimalist square crop that removes the left third.
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^what they said^
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I think it's a great shot! Good composition and mood. The only question I have concerns the relatively high contrast. I wonder if you moved the black point up, whether directly or through levels, curves or contrast. If so, I would try the image with less intense blacks, as my guess is that that would enhance the mystery and mood.
Either way, though, I'm envious!
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Very nice image. I love it the way it is. I also like a more minimalist square crop that removes the left third.
It is indeed a very nice shot. I agree with this statement about the square crop though (even if it will get me on Russ's bad side). The height of the tree and its closeness to the edge of the frame gives it an awful lot of visual weight. Cropping that section out gives you a simpler composition that gives more prominence to the pier and boat. But really, the star of this image is the wonderful mood created by the way the water blends into the fog/sky without any real horizon. The tones are also lovey
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It is indeed a very nice shot. I agree with this statement about the square crop though (even if it will get me on Russ's bad side). The height of the tree and its closeness to the edge of the frame gives it an awful lot of visual weight. Cropping that section out gives you a simpler composition that gives more prominence to the pier and boat. But really, the star of this image is the wonderful mood created by the way the water blends into the fog/sky without any real horizon. The tones are also lovey
Jeff, Well, here it is with the left 1/3 removed. I suspect that if that's what Doug wanted, that's what he'd have shot.
[attachment=16587:39210537...453e94_o.jpg]
But I have to admit, it's not bad. Actually, I'm not sure I don't like it better than the original.
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Jeff, Well, here it is with the left 1/3 removed. I suspect that if that's what Doug wanted, that's what he'd have shot.
[attachment=16587:39210537...453e94_o.jpg]
But I have to admit, it's not bad. Actually, I'm not sure I don't like it better than the original.
I'm not convinced. My vote stays with the original.
Jeremy
A first, perhaps: Russ says crop and I say don't!
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I'm not convinced. My vote stays with the original.
Jeremy
A first, perhaps: Russ says crop and I say don't!
It works either way. I'm a sucker for square crops, tho.
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I like them both, but I think I prefer the new, square crop. Maybe it's just because it's so much fun to see something that Russ has cropped.
Eric
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Easy now, you guys. I'm still not convinced I like the cropped version better than the original. The two pictures are very different. Dark seems to want a square format as a general thing. Maybe he spent too much time with a Rollei or a Hasselblad. I tend to think that in most cases a 2 x 3 or 4 x 5 aspect ratio is better than a square. But the square format can project a calm, static feeling, which is appropriate for this subject, which is calm and static. On the other hand, I really like the tree and the sort of fortuitous way the dock meets the rock. So, the moral of this story is: always meditate quietly in a dark room for at least an hour before you crop.
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The same morning I made this picture, I also shot one that omitted the tree. I liked it but in the end, the frame with the tree won out. It just "felt" better.
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Jeff, Well, here it is with the left 1/3 removed. I suspect that if that's what Doug wanted, that's what he'd have shot.
[attachment=16587:39210537...453e94_o.jpg]
But I have to admit, it's not bad. Actually, I'm not sure I don't like it better than the original.
Like I said I do like the original, I just thought I'd offer my thoughts on another possible approach. I do think both versions have their merits, they're just different. The crop changes the overall impression of the shot quite a bit, actually, which I find interesting.
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This is an early morning scene on the coastline of Stonington, Maine. Under clear skies, you'd see a point of land to the right of the dinghy, islands beyond and open ocean. The fog was so thick, I'd guess you couldn't see more than 50 yards in front of you. It was dark and the air was thick with moisture. It was the perfect setting (IMO) for this picture.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3526/3921053761_ba53453e94_o.jpg)
Lovely image indeed.
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I'm going to be boring and disagree with you all I'm afraid. There are 3 very strong and stark elements here, all competing for attention so that I don't know what to focus on. I don't know what the subject is and my eye keeps darting back and forth between the elements. I just find it too busy. If the tree and pier were elements leading into the subject, the boat (that's how the symmetry would have it) then it would work, but they don't 'lead into' they 'compete' with the subject.
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A really beautiful and well composed scene, this calmness is very very appealing. A place (also as the other images with the many boats indicates) to totally relax.
Not an image where I thought about cropping at all but still the crop is a good suggestion even if I prefer the original.
I feel in direct comparisation the square version gives me a slightly boring/normal feeling wich I dont get looking at the original version. It doesn't quite hold up for me.
I alsi would not clone out the lobster buoys. They give depth, these are the typical small details you encounter on second or third glance. I simply love such details.
Christian
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As soon as I saw this, I thought 'square crop', but have to admit, the original is better. Dunno if it was possible, but my preference would have been to move left and recompose to isolate the pier and boat from the shore, giving a more minimal composition. I find the rock unbalances the image a bit, but really I'm being super critical, it's still a cracking image as is.