Photo Critique #179

Photo Critique #179

on Mar 8th 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

finished3example

Photo Details & Inspiration

  • Nikon D300
  • 35mm
  • 1/500
  • f/8
  • ISO 800

The lighting was daylight, overcast and very misty. The white light balance was set to shade to warm up the autumn colours. On the computer screen, it looked almost like an impressionist painting. I like the calming moody feeling created by the mist, the canal water and the autumn colours.

Photographer: Rory Ferguson

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!

 
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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.  

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  • Ethan C

    I’m just going to say that the things that need improved are the clarity of the subject matter and a little more attention to the open spaces. I understand how you took the picture because I have also gone through the same thing myself. When using the mist as another nice effect, sometimes the fog can overwhelm the landscape and remove a lot of detail. I like the point of view but I would get a better angle to include possibly an interesting foreground at the bottom. I also like the color palette you used, very warm and calm.

  • http://www.facebook.com/chris.pugh.3701 Chris Pugh

    I too get what you are going for

  • George

    I like everything about this photo. Your description of calming and impressionistic is spot on. I might add a touch (just a touch) of saturation and contrast to get a little more autumn going on. I would not sharpen this photo. That would disturb the calm. Really nice presentation Rory.

  • Anthony

    This is a really good picture, I like the view going up the canal, where you in the water or on a boat? I tend to avoid taken pictures in these conditions, but feel inspired to give it a go now. There’s a certain peacefulness about this picture. The only thing I might do different with this picture is to crop a bit of the bottom and maybe a tiny bit of the top, just to loose some of the “empty” space in the photo. Also adjust the color balance to bring some of the blues and cyans back in the midtones. Basically I think you’ve taken a great picture,

  • Brian Stirling

    I agree with you that it has an impressionist feel to it. There’s something about the shot that holds your attention and I think that’s a good thing.
    However I also agree with Ethan that it could benefit from some foreground interest. Either that or somehow remove the darker areas on each side that distract me from being fully drawn into the image. Perhaps some vignetting may help?
    Generally a good shot, I like it.

  • John

    Your picture, though quiet and subtle, has a decided effect on this viewer. The space you provide around the objects permits them to speak: the water in the foreground draws us in, the tree clouded by mist is like a fading memory, the banks gently enclose the scene, the colors invoke composure. I hope to take a picture like yours some day.

  • Low_Budget_Dave

    I like the picture because of the way the river bank points you toward the middle. I like the way that the tree plus reflection remind me of human lips. There are some horizontal stripes in the tree that look like a fence, and they are a little distraction, because the view can see them, but can’t quite make out what they are. Also, the river banks seem to point toward the stripes, as if those are the subject of the photo.

    I would consider posting the image upside-down some time, for a couple of reasons. First, the river banks would tend to make a “smile” rather than a “frown”. Human brains are naturally wired to seek out “smile” analogies, and to linger on them longer. Second, it would add to the analogy of human lips. (Try it.)

    I am not sure it works, because it makes the smaller tree look odd, but it might be worth it anyway.

  • Steven Schultz

    Here what I did, so show what could be done to clean it up and keep the feel of the misty morning. I kept the foreground a little over saturated be get the photo color and interest. I do not have the original and all the color data, but it works. In general I agree with most of the comments. I just think if your going to give your two cents, show what you would do with it. It is easy to say I would, I would, blah blah blah… If you want to know how I did it Ill screen capture the layers and you can see from there kinda.

    • geo

      I prefer the blah blah blah.

  • http://www.facebook.com/esquives Martin Esquives Ramos

    @facebook-829458290:disqus of course the shoot is muddy, it’s a photo of a misty morning!? No the trees shouldn’t be sharp. To do that the photographer could have taken the photo in the middle of the day when the mist was gone.

    The mist creates a totally different mood than a photo of the same river in clear daylight with everything visible for 1023498 miles!
    I would though suggest one thing to the photographer, next time you are photographing a scenery like this, try putting the horizon in either 1/3 of the top or 2/3 of the bottom. Almost never put it in the center of the image. It creates a more dynamic image when you avoid the center.
    Keep up the good work! :)

  • Simona

    I like misty photographs. They give you a special mood and they often look mysterious. I understand that you wanted to achieve an impressionist look, that is why you chose the warm colors. This is a choice. I would have preferred to see the natural feel of that day, of that mist, of that morning( if that was the case). To see the natural mood of that day enhanced and not deliberately switch to a different feeling. If the picture was taken on a foggy morning, the colors are usually greyish, the atmosphere is somewhat dark and overall you get a feeling of coldness and isolation. This is why I believe that enhancing the atmosphere of coldness will convey much better the feeling of isolation, of haziness, that misty pictures usually help to achieve. B&W versions usually work very well with misty pictures, but also colder colors. Warmer colors usually gives you a sense of happiness, of sunlight. I list a few examples from my photographs, also taken on a misty morning. I also enhanced some of them using warm colors, just to compare and to think about the result.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/createsimona/sets/72157627003753426/detail/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/createsimona/4948648994/in/set-72157624863873073

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/createsimona/5532385572/in/set-72157624863873073

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/createsimona/5531786487/in/set-72157624863873073

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/createsimona/5532452628/in/set-72157624863873073

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/createsimona/4948675048/in/set-72157624863873073

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/createsimona/3112998389/in/set-72157608602724119

    and these are a selection where I chose warmer colors instead of going for the natural enhanced feeling of the picture.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/createsimona/2769300417/in/set-72157608602724119

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/createsimona/2770076042/in/set-72157604214915545

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/createsimona/2770606522/in/set-72157604214915545