C&C Please

[tegan]

Tegan; thanks for the critique though I'm not quite sure what you mean.... the picture was sharp and I put a 50% Gaussian Blur on it to give it the "soft focus" look... it is indeed lacking in sharpness, but that was what I was going for

**edit** oh, I re-read it and I see what your saying now... I'm still very new at this so I'm just playing around with settings and PP until I get a firm understanding of it all . Getting the approval of high level enthusiasts would be awesome, but I am well aware I am not quite there yet

When you consider an approach such as "soft focus", the way you should think about it is photographically. Does my "soft focus" technique contribute to the overall photo, in what way, and will the viewer see it as positive?
The general guideline is that the centre of interest should always be sharp and in focus. The problem with this shot is that most viewers: pro, enthusiast, and otherwise see it as having no centre of interest. I know from getting a lot of similar feedback at all levels from similar shots.

Tegan

[tirediron]

Oh dear, I'm going to agree with Tegan? Well, the first thing to remember about any image is: If you like it, that's what counts. I'm just going to add my thought on a couple of points. First, I don't see the blur adding anything. I understand why you did it, but my first thought on looking at the image was, "HDR misalignment?"

These images are indeed somewhat cliche in the contest and commercial worlds, BUT they're nice images nonetheless. I think the reason is that like sunsets, they're an occasion when almost anyone can take a really scenic picture, and hence they're everywhere.

From a technical standpoint the image is good, however the sky is week. A circular polarizer might have really helped to pop the contrast between the sky and clouds and enhanced the overall effect of the image. The use of the road/path to take the eye through the image is very good, but I'm reminded of your "Fire in the Sky" image in that a change in camera position might well have improved the image, again, perhaps down low.

What I'll suggest if I may is that for the next few days, each time you take a picture, take it the way it first occurs to you, and then reshoot the scene from different positions, that is, with you and the camera in different positions, down low, off to the side, up above, etc. After you've done a few of those, compare the results and see if you don't find that the ones taken from different perspectives are just a little more interesting.


Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.


~John