lake

Great work Kelly. The lighting makes this..

I need help and advice! I didn't really want this rated but I wanted

to get max exposure for advice. I shot several shots in this locaion

the other night. I don't know how I screwed up the composition so

much. When I look at this all I can focus on is that ugly tree at the

right. The other problem is the sticks in the water. The sticks are

so much brighter than everything else. I used no flash, no lights.

The light is from a ball field across the way. My question is; is

there a secret to getting the right exposure on the sticks while

keeping everything else right also? I thought ND filter upside down,

but I want the color in the water. I think post pro. is the only way.

Am I wrong I'm going to re-shoot this and get that stupid tree out of

the frame. I'm thinking about this scene being a contest entry, I

want to get it right. Thanks so much for any help.

I am sold on the lighting. This is a great photo. I wouldn't change a thing. Sometimes when we think we screwed up, is when we get our best!

Thanks guys. Is the tree on the right not distracting to you? I meant to include extra stuff on the edges because I plan to print the final print out on 11x14 and didn't want to cut the important stuff. I didn't realize that I included so much of that tree. It was so dark out there. It's hard to see anything when it's that dark. This is a 60 sec. exposure.

This is workin' for me too Kelly. Touch nothing...log off. Leave it alone! Go watch Oprah or something...lol. Well done !

No distracting trees! The trees give the dark water some smooth colours. I think the trees play an important part. - Even the one that is on the far right. It lets us know there is more to this beautiful place.

Ok Larry, I trust you. Is this worthy of a contest? That is the real question. I can re-shoot this fairly easily, if needed. I've never been in a contest, I don't expect to win, but I don't want to overlook some small detail that will lose it for me......Thanks so much.

I think that the sticks are adding perhaps the most interesting element to this composition, and there is no problem with their brightness. However, I do agree with you that the tree to the extreme right of the frame is too close and thus somewhat distracting. Would it be possible to move and reshoot this?

My one suggestion if you're looking to make this a contest winner is that you should return and reshoot when the atmospheric conditions are more interesting. For example, perhaps a windy night when there is some high cloud cover would work with a long exposure to produce some sense of motion. Or a moonlit night. I see a bit of cloud motion blur so perhaps you already realize this. Otherwise, I do find the composition interesting, and whatever you do, don't downplay the emphasis on those sticks.

 

Jamie - www.thecaminus.com

I actually think the tree far right adds to the shot. Great lighting and atmosphere.

Thank you for your comment. I was hoping that more clouds would roll in that night, but it started clearing up after this shot. I can re-shoot. I have to wait until there is a baseball game because this park is locked up after dark unless there is a game. I want the lights anyway. From this spot it looks like I am standing in the water. I like that. I hope I can move to the left some and get that tree out of it without messing with the comp too much. I love the sticks, that's why I chose this spot, but exposure is tricky because they are so white. The light shines right on them.

I'd leave the tree on the right alone. It balances the scene with the trees on the left (for me anyway), and helps naturally frame the shot. I love the look of the water and the reflections of the sticks are an interesting element. Don't change them either. Very cool shot Kelly.

Thank you Fred. Thanks to everyone, I'm getting alot of good feedback.

a great capture!!! ... as others have said, the lighting makes it. As for the tree on the right, i like the way it forms a link with the sticks in the water providing a balance between them both. The reflections of light are wonderfull.

 

 

Thanks. That red in the bottom right corner is a funny story. I wanted to make a splash to see what kind of effect it would have on the water. I went and found a good sized white rock. This place is full of ducks. I hate them. I chased some off with a stick because they were in danger of ruining this shot. When I walked back to my camera with this rock, my family thought that I had captured a duck and yelled, "Kelly, no." I threw the rock in and got that spot of mud to surface, but nothing else cool happened. We had a good laugh over that.

I think you are much too critical on yourself, This is a great shot and well exposed. If you want to reduce the light on the sticks (some do appear a tiny bit washed) you can always apply a little bit of burning in PS (even for competition that require no substantial processing, dogding and burning is allowed). (You can mask during the shoot with some patience and trial and error, if you are using a long exposure which i assume you did in this case, by using a black cardboard that you move in front of the lens to reduce the light slightly from the general directon of the sticks) As for the tree to the right, i personally think that it's a great part of the picture. It leads the eye into the picture and it also provides a natural frame to the shot. Plus it offers some symetry with the tree on the left hand side also. Overall it's a great shot and i wish you good luck in the competition. Regards - michel

wonderful

Beautiful. Love it.

Thank you!

I'm weighing in way late here, but just wanted to add that I like the tree and the brightness of the sticks. It does look like the horizon is a tiny bit crooked, though. (Then again, it might be my crooked eyeballs!) At any rate, I like this one a lot.

 

Tammy

Well I didn't see the original debate, but my eye was hugely drawn to this thumbnail. close up is even better. What i want to know is if you won anything at the contest....its such a compelling picture. Well done.

Thank you so much. Yes I won second place. The winner was a cityscape at night with a blurry streak of lightning down the center. I'm a sore loser...=) Thanks again. This is my secret spot for getting night shots, but I can only go there when there are baseball games going on because it's locked up all other times. Plus the lights give the trees a really nice look.

two exposures, one for the limbs (sticks) the other for every thing else, assuming that the contest will allow that. But I like the photo jus the way it is, well maybe the tree on the right

Awesome capture Kelly. Love the lighting , reflectiions and composition.

John