I assume what people are looking for is constructive criticism. If someone says, "I don't like it", I want to know why. If someone says, "I really like it", I want to know why.
Okay, so why did Shauwn choose this image to post? Was his goal to share a beautiful view?
Was his goal to gauge our assessment of whether he had included successful elements of a landscape taken with a wide angle lens? Did he want input on whether this is a successful choice for a black and white rendition? Did he want to know our emotional reactions? Did he have a vertical of the same view or a different angle that he did not choose to share?
For me, it would be very helpful if the poster of an image would explain how our responses could be most helpful to him/her. It would be helpful to know the metadata , ISO, aperture, shutter speed, any exposure compensation, focal length, what type of film, if not digital. Shauwn did nicely getting the foreground rock in focus and the distant subjects, too. What did his lens focus on when he took the shot?
The poster might tell us, what exactly was the subject? Why was the photograph taken? Why the title was chosen? What emotion was he /she wanting us to share? Was it an example of a specific technique? eg. panning to create blur. What elements of composition was he looking at, texture, tone, lines, exposure, contrasts, patterns, color, etc.
On another website a poster said he was trying out a new lens and wondered if viewers thought his image was sharp enough? Appropriately, no one criticized or even commented on the composition. He was not looking for input about that.
So, what about Shauwn's image here? I believe Shauwn had a lot of positive emotion invested here. Notice the title. Was he hiking along on a foggy, misty day, when suddenly it all disappeared and there was this wonderful long distant view in front of him, just what he had been hoping for. Suddenly a break in the weather, clear blue sky with a few clouds... Wow, a great photo opportunity. Notice a bit later he starts to get a little defensive about criticism. Can't we tell what a beautiful view we have before us? This is wow scenery we are looking at. Someone else even noticed bird tracks and not just any bird tracks, but grouse! They must have been there, too, or at least they know the territory and its unique beauty. But, do we?
How do we know that there was mist or fog or any sort of object obstructing the view? How do we know those are grouse prints or even any animal print at all? I thought maybe some snow had melted off that rock and caused a hole or two as it fell.
I am pointing out that we cannot have the same emotion as the photographer. I am probably 3000 miles away from Yorkshire. I am inside bemoaning the fact I injured my leg skiing this morning, and I am stuck inside, maybe out for the season.
So, I look at a photograph. What do I see? Composition.
I have recently learned that an effective method for adding depth and perspective to long distant landscape views taken with a wide angle lens is to include large, in focus subjects in the immediate foreground. (Look at Asnel Adams' foregrounds). Look at Shauwn's foreground...a large in focus rock. It belongs. It is related to the landscape. In the negative space between foreground and background, he has included natural lines. They lead us both left and right and down into a small valley that in turn leads our eyes to back to the distant mountains. But wait, there is a large white cloud that catches our eye for a moment. It draws us to the sky which is pleasing to look at here. It has a bit of contrast. It is not washed out. There is other contrast, too, which is important for black and white images. Again, look at the blacks that show up with Ansel Adams, now black is contrast in the extreme to balance out his whites of snow. Would Shauwn agree with Isaac's comments about lines?
My laptop screen is small, I cannot see all of the photo without scrolling downwards. What I did notice was when there was just a small amount of sky above the large cloud and just a top section of the rock showing, the composition was still successful. Maybe not all of that large rock is needed. Of course, the all-important bird tracks would be gone.
Now, does it really make any difference to know whether I like or dislike Shauwn's image?
I often do not see things that others comment on in a photo, and sometimes I find there comments and reactions the opposite of mine. To me that is how we learn.
As my Mom used to say, "if there are three people in the room who all agree, someone isn't
thinking."