Critique my shot, I like it

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drgnmastr/2690632831/

Do you like the composition of it?

Joe Fretzel wrote:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drgnmastr/2690632831/

Do you like the composition of it?

Less beach, more ocean.

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:12:30 +0000, Joe Fretzel
wrote:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drgnmastr/2690632831/

Do you like the composition of it?

No. It's too static.

If you're going to do something like this (minimalism) then you should study
composition from Japanese and Chinese cultures. It might have worked, maybe, if
you did a tight vertical frame and included much more foreground, cropping out
the background above the birds. Doing it right would have required shooting it
right in the first place. I doubt that you have a frame like that and you can't
go back and shoot it again.

Exposure is also wrong. You managed to lose too much in the highlights to try to
get the exposure of the birds right. Is your camera lacking dynamic range? It
also has a nasty color-cast of magentas where it should not exist.

I also read the comments that others posted at flickr and realize that these
must be people who are desperately starved for something to look at. A photo of
any heron is nothing new, doing it right might have been something new. I now
believe that most netizens and flickr fans don't get out much into the real
world. This would explain most everyone's gushing and fawning over each others'
soulless and mediocre photography.

On 2008-07-28 09:12:30 -0400, Joe Fretzel said:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drgnmastr/2690632831/

Do you like the composition of it?

I'd like it better if you would crop the top down a bit and the bottom
just below the reflections. Makes it a wide screen image but I think a
better picture.
--
Michael

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:26:25 -0400, Michael wrote:
: On 2008-07-28 09:12:30 -0400, Joe Fretzel said:
:
: http://www.flickr.com/photos/drgnmastr/2690632831/
:
: Do you like the composition of it?
:
: I'd like it better if you would crop the top down a bit and the bottom
: just below the reflections. Makes it a wide screen image but I think a
: better picture.

I agree in principle, but would crop the bottom only. I don't have time to
think about what aspect ratio would work best, but you might try 16:9. That's
the aspect ratio of a wide-screen TV and will probably be increasingly
popular, in the U.S. at least. (Remember that the VGA (4:3) aspect ratio was
chosen to match that of a "standard" TV image.)

Someone bitched about the blown highlights. I suggest you ignore that
criticism. I think the highlights are OK for this picture. (There's usually
not much you can do about blown highlights anyway.)

Bob

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:12:30 -0300, Joe Fretzel wrote
(in article ) :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drgnmastr/2690632831/

Do you like the composition of it?

Given that it isn't your shot, the owner has appreciated the unprecedented 6000 views that were generated by your attempt. The owner of the shot also would like to thank the community for their honest critiques.,