A lonely place?by
hankdatankComment by lucienaw: (¯`·._.·[Critique Club]·._.·´¯)
Ok, this is a nice place and has the opportunity for a great photo although there are a few pointers that could send you in the right direction.
First of all, the camera you're using is perfectly capable of making this a winning shot with a few small settings changed. A longer shutter speed would remove that grainy noise we can see in the sky and would help to bring out some more of the details found in this image. Be aware that digital cameras tend to falter in dark conditions when pointed directly at a light source. It completely confuses their internal processors.
My next point would be the angle at which this was taken. At DPC, the voters ALWAYS pick up on crooked backgrounds and horizons. So either use a well-balanced tripod with the grid function activated on your camera, or rotate it afterwards in some photo editing software. I read on your money shot, that you do not use such programs, I don't know if this is still true, but I would strongly suggest small touch ups to your entries if you'd like them to go further.
I think that will all that said, and some minor improvements made, this photo could certainly get into the top quarter of the final results.
Good Luck for all Future Competitions!
.·´¯`·->Lucien<-·´¯`·.