Your Best Photograph from the Previous Month - Critique and Discussion Encouraged

[Steven Ruttenberg]

Thanks for the comments. The border should go all the way around. I think it is Flickr screwing with images. I generally add a black border all the way around. My first impression of the clouds are they look fake. I may try to redo them and see if I can make them less flat. I may have over done sharpening by few points. I only use high pass and with this lens I am finding if I nail focus, I most likely do not need to sharpen.

Question, if we give critique suggestions a try should we post the updated version for follow on comments?

[Corran]

Good question. I was thinking that would come up when making this thread.

I think a significant rework to address issues may be appropriate, but we should all use our own judgement on how much to do that. I would say one reworked image post would be appropriate, but if you want to iterate a lot and really dig into one image after discussions perhaps an individual thread would be more appropriate.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

Good question. I was thinking that would come up when making this thread.

I think a significant rework to address issues may be appropriate, but we should all use our own judgement on how much to do that. I would say one reworked image post would be appropriate, but if you want to iterate a lot and really dig into one image after discussions perhaps an individual thread would be more appropriate.

How about a thread for a before and after critique? Each op gets 1 post a month in conjunction with their submission for critique on this thread. Once you feel you have enough critique /feedback, and you actually made changes, then post your before and after image in the second thread.

Yes/No?

[Pat Kearns]

Bryan, as said before, your photos have very nice flow to them and the photos with water always grab my attention. You have mastered the skill of giving water just the right amount of exposure showing it's movement without it going too white. The three tracts you laid out of the foreground rocks, the fallen tree with the middle rocks, and then the shrubs are well thought out. The highlight of the tree in the background is excellent. The one thing that distracts me are the three small high lights in the lower left water under the foreground rocks. That caught my eye immediately and continually pulls my eye back to it. I moved the image down until it cropped off your foreground just above the foreground rocks. My eyes then travels up the right diagonal plane of the fallen tree over the rock to a left diagonal plane from top of the fallen going to the highlighted tree in the background. It forms a pathway through the shrubs. If you do a revision see if a crop of the foreground rocks takes too much out of your image to you.

[scheinfluger_77]

Bryan, I think the previous remarks about ‘flow’ and layers are spot on so i will not add mine. The one thing I would like to see is a little more separation between the lighted tree and its forest background. And I think darkening the forest background as opposed to lightening the tree would be the better approach.

Steve, not much to add here either. The burned down clouds don’t trouble me much. I would like to see a little more detail in the darkest parts of the canyon, and perhaps a half-stop darkening of the rock highlights.

But then we are not looking at actual prints either... oh and my eyes are getting old

[Gudmundur Ingolfsson]

My most recent 4x5"s. From this summer in the North West of Iceland Ebony Fujinon 300 mm C TMX 100 film.

[Tin Can]

Thank you Gudmundur for presenting both profane political and esoteric wonder side by side.

The first perhaps a statement about government.

The second our native spirituality.

Well done!

My most recent 4x5"s. From this summer in the North West of Iceland Ebony Fujinon 300 mm C TMX 100 film.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

Interesting juxtaposition of two images. I like the second one better. The light and contrast range is well done. If anything maybe some additional drama in the clouds with selective dodging and burning.

[Gudmundur Ingolfsson]

In defence I say selective drama is the curse of digital photography since it became so easy on the computer.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

That is true.