[jellinga]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some feedback about this photo - I think it looks pretty good but obviously there are a few things about it which could be improved - any suggestions?

(Unfortunately I do not have a wide-angle lens aside from the kit lens, nor do I have a tripod - otherwise I would have made this a longer exposure to get that glassy feel on the water.)

-Jellinga

[RussV]

I think you could crop it to a little above the sun and a little below the floating foreground object giving the image a panoramic look. By losing water and sky that doesn't do much, attention is focused on the more detailed section of the picture (and makes it look like you own a wide-angle!)

[asp1880]

If you smooth out the water with a long shutter speed, you risk blurring the foliage. It must be perfectly calm weather.

You ought to clean up the dust specs in the sky. They come out easily with a clone or spot heal tool.
And you might want to clean your sensor.

Otherwise it's a nice picture. Perhaps it lacks some foreground interest other than the rock. Like a fisherman or something.

Regards,
--Anders.

[smf]

It is a pleasant image. The very minimal sepia toning is tastefully used.
I like the sky. And thus, although I respect RussV's opinion, I would not crop down from the image's top.
If you didn't want anything to appear to be sharply in focus, please ignore my following comments.
I'm unfamiliar with the capability of your camera at higher ISO settings. I suspect that a higher ISO would have allowed you to use settings yielding sharper focus and even greater depth of field.
Best wishes.

[jellinga]

I think you could crop it to a little above the sun and a little below the floating foreground object giving the image a panoramic look. By losing water and sky that doesn't do much, attention is focused on the more detailed section of the picture (and makes it look like you own a wide-angle!)

That's a nice idea, and might make it look a bit more panoramic. One thing I worry about with regards to that, though, is that you lose the effect of the sky, which sort of aids the minimalist feel I was going for. I might like to try it and see how it turns out though.

If you smooth out the water with a long shutter speed, you risk blurring the foliage. It must be perfectly calm weather.

You ought to clean up the dust specs in the sky. They come out easily with a clone or spot heal tool.
And you might want to clean your sensor.

Otherwise it's a nice picture. Perhaps it lacks some foreground interest other than the rock. Like a fisherman or something.

Regards,
--Anders.

Thank you so much for the input - yes, I noticed the sensor spots after uploading the image (they've been cleaned up now in the image that is currently stored on my computer, and my sensor has been cleaned). I hadn't thought about the foliage blurring, but if I recall correctly it was a completely calm evening, so I'd still have liked to try it.

It is a pleasant image. The very minimal sepia toning is tastefully used.
I like the sky. And thus, although I respect RussV's opinion, I would not crop down from the image's top.
If you didn't want anything to appear to be sharply in focus, please ignore my following comments.
I'm unfamiliar with the capability of your camera at higher ISO settings. I suspect that a higher ISO would have allowed you to use settings yielding sharper focus and even greater depth of field.
Best wishes.

Thanks! I think I could have even done that without bumping up the ISO - the shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second probably could have been brought down a lot without getting any blur. I think one of the biggest problems with the image is the cheap lens I'd used! It probably contributes to a lot of the blur you're seeing.