Photo Critique #174
tuts workshop

Photo Critique #174

on Feb 1st 2013 with 11 comments

Friday Photo Critique is our weekly community project, where we publish a photograph submitted by one of our wonderful readers, then ask you all to offer constructive feedback on the image. It’s a great way to learn more about photography, express your viewpoint, and have your own image critiqued!

Quick Ground Rules

  1. Play nice! We’ve deliberately chosen photographs that aren’t perfect, so please be constructive with any criticism.
  2. Feel free to offer any type of advice – composition, lighting, post-processing etc.
  3. You can also link to photographs that you feel offer a great example of this type of image shot exceptionally well.

Without further ado, here is this week’s candidate for Friday Photo Critique!

The Photograph

example

Photo Details & Inspiration

  • Canon 7D
  • 17mm
  • 1/60
  • f/7.1
  • ISO 100

The main vision I had for this photograph was to make the viewer feel like they could jump into the picture. At the location, just above Dollar Lake in Kings Canyon in California, I was immersed in the complete and utter beauty of the scenery and went off the trail (John Muir) just before completing an exhausting 20 mile day of backpacking on my 19th birthday. My main goal was to capture the contrasting color of the green meadow and immense beauty of the sky against the water.

Photographer: Brian Lovelace

Please let us know what you think in the comments – how would you have approached the scene or taken the photo differently? A massive thank you to everyone who commented last week.

The most constructive and helpful comments will be featured on the site. Interested in submitting your own photo? You can do so here!

 
Enjoyed this Post?

Subscribe to our RSS Feed, Follow us on Twitter or simply recommend us to friends and colleagues!

By

Rollover to read this author's bio or click through to see a full list of posts by this author.

I was raised in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio. After high school, I left for Western Kentucky University where I obtained degrees in photojournalism and cultural anthropology. I am currently employed by CityBeat, an arts and entertainment weekly in Cincinnati. The work I am doing here is very rewarding and I suspect it will continue to be. I am available for freelance work in all areas of photography.  

Plus Premium
 
 
  • Omega

    i don’t like the sky colour. i think its a little underexposed too.

    the rest is fine, not an exciting shot.

  • Omega

    i don’t like the sky colour, it was over processed. And i think, in general, the shot is a underexposed.

    Nice leading line with the river, but it leads to an underexposed tree.

    The rest is fine, not an exciting shot for me.

  • jessica

    I think this is a lovely lanscape, but agree that the color is unnatural and the photo underexposed. But.
    , I wouladd that there is too much here. This would be much more powerful in a square format without the left third of the image, which is adding nothing of value.

  • Matty

    I like the composition, but the overall color cast is muddying up the details, and it seems a tad underexposed.

  • Thinkeye

    Nice image.

    My tips for this kind of image:

    Sky is nearly ok, but the bottom is too dark. Use ND graduated filter for images like this.
    Try to compose the horizon line above, or below the middle of the image (golden ratio).
    Put something (i.e. tent), or someone (a friend?) in the foreground.
    Try to make a couple of steps to the side, turn slightly, or crouch and look for different perspective. There is always potential to see more.

    Happy shooting!

  • Bill Bentley

    It’s a pleasant enough image but I agree with the comments re: slight underexposure, slightly off clouds and cropping the left third. Hard to pixel peep with such a small image but I would also suggest Brian have used a slightly smaller aperture to gain possibly more depth of field and sharpness. Maybe bump up the ISO to 200 to get to f10 or f11 and 1/125 or 1/160 instead of 1/60. Not sure if a tripod was used or not but I’m guessing not. Most likely using a 10-22 without IS (I also have and love this lens) so 1/60 was probably not a problem but better to be safe than sorry.

  • Jeighseauxn

    I like the composition and the shot! I like the contrast of the shot a lot too.

    Does seem a bit under exposed and the left side of the image doesn’t offer much..but that cloud on the left is interesting..
    The greens are a bit vibrant but in my opinion works for this image. Also lower aperture for more dof may be beneficial.

    I say good work!

    Always room for improvement no matter whos shot it is.

    Thumbs up mate!

  • Steve Hartley

    I think the composition is nicely balanced with the profile of the mountains and the S bend in the river. The exposure is not as good as it could be but I am guessing that after a long hike this was an ‘opportunity’ shot rather than a planned ‘waiting for the light’ photo. I have lots of those, usually taken on holiday when you only have a limited time at a place and you have to make the best of what the weather throws at you. A grad filter, and maybe a polorizer, might have made more of the shot, but a good picture all the same. Worth going back to the same spot at dawn or dust to see if those hills really light up?

  • shane

    i don’t seem to be able to bring up the full size image as normal to take a closer look but i really your shot. i love the almost painting-like vibe you got in there with the heavy saturation, high contrast and slight lack of sharpness. Lends itself well to such a picturesque setting in my opinion and the composition is great! Good work!

  • http://twitter.com/Dfinepixel Dfinepixel

    Yes, the underexpose is the biggest problem with this picture, the landscape and placement are very good tho!

  • http://www.wix.com/simonabarbu1/simonabarbuphotography Simona Dumitru

    the exposure does seem fine to me. not very fond of the clouds color either. I would like to see a b&w version of this picture. I have the feeling that it will work very well.