Along the river
by ed728

Comment by Azrifel:
~~~~Critique Club Comment~~~~

Composition (content)
I have mixed feelings about this composition.
I like the lines of the river banks and tree lines (especialy on the left), it gives a lot of depth to the image. The line of the poles with the net on it gives some depth in the foreground. The reflection of sky colors in the river is also nice.
The frame seems a bit empty however. Shame that there were clouds in front of the hills at the horizon and it would have really added something when there was a boat on the river in a rule of thirds spot in the frame ( or let it fill a large section of the frame to get some really deep perspective).
The line in the middle of the frame is a bit distracting. The odd stuff at the right seems to do that as well.

The balance of lighting (warm sunlight on the left shore) suggests this picture was taken early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Nice colors. The left side of the frame, with a diagonal from the first pole to the first tree on the right bank is the part that I most like.

Subject is no problem for the challenge imho. A river is just like a road, airport, bridge, tunnel etc. All are involved with transport and thus travel.

Background
Nice sky with interesting cloud formations, see above.

Camera Work (Technical)
Good exposure (the shadows contain detail, the bank on the right and in the bend included -viewed on a calibrated monitor-), nice color balance.
I think the best setting for these kind of shots is a small aperture from F5.6-F11 or more on a tripod. But when you can't manipulate the settings that is useless information.
The image looks a bit soft. I don't know if it is the aperture, the sharpening or jpeg compression at work (takes the detail out of the details).

Digital Processing (technical)
A bit of unsharp mask could be used. Compression is very agressive, save it as close to 150kb to save the detail, edge sharpness and color consistency. This one was only 50kb. A higher quality (less compression) could make the treeline look more detailed.

My opinion
The picure is a bit too empty for my taste, but has some interesting elements to build on.

Message edited by author 2003-01-07 14:16:03.

"Paper Roses"
by ed728

Comment by erin_m02:
Great photo! Like the negative space. Those sure look like real roses though...=-P 7

Along the river
by ed728

Comment by nathaliedoo:
Like it but something's missing ... depth?? intensity? ...

Along the river
by ed728

Comment by muckpond:
Gorgeous photo. I don't see anything directly indicating "travel" but I'll give ya the benefit of the doubt.

Along the river
by ed728

Comment by vawahine:
What's traveling???

Along the river
by ed728

Comment by PTLParsons:
Something doesn't look right and I can't figure it out. Maybe too dark on the right bank, and in the bend at the end? Great dof, beautiful shot, but I think it could use some lightening or maybe a little less contrast. Just a thought. Good shot though. Worth a 7. PTL