As I was walking down this wonderful beach, just outside the fortifications of this old town...

I used the highly sophisticated diagnostic device of holding a blank sheet of white paper over the top part of the photograph and moving it up and down. Like it or not the dark part of the cloud is integral to the success of the image and its eerie ambience. If you were to crop a (very) narrow slice off the top, then it would also be necessary to crop an equal slice off the bottom to maintain the balance of the composition.

I scrolled up until I reached the spot where the dark clouds meet the lighter ones on the left. I like the way it looks as is, but also if it is cropped at the point noted above. wonderful shot.

 

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VERY nice! Composition is fine. It might be my monitor, but my personal preference would be a smidge more exposure--1/2 stop, no more, to add a ltiile more detail to the shadow areas. It is just fine like it is , tho. NOW, if this PITA system will let me rate it. <&%#

I used the sophistcated "white paper" technique also... and the only place I could find to crop was the bright side of the building at right.

NICE SHOT!!!

I like this shot a lot.. the mood, the subtle/pastel color, angry cloud formation. The placement of the horizon does not bother me at all. I think this one has a lot of potential. I have played around a bit with this image.. basically increased the overall contrast, selectively increased local contrast and darken the foreground (as I found that the dark cloud was too heavy and need a more heavy support). Just to give you some of my ideas.

Great shot, Alex! Symmetry and balance are good. I like it the way it is

Wonderfully dramatic image! I do feel it could go in the direction Stephen suggested but perhaps not quite so far as it becomes almost too poster like. At this point, I would crop either nothing or a lot as I like all the details evident as it is.

 

The possible whittled version is attached.

Nice! I like this shot a lot. The composition is great. The combination of high clouds and a shoreline that seems to extend forever gives this shot a lot of depth. The only crop I would do is a little off the top so that the horizon is dead centre. Centring the horizon works well for reflection shots to emphasize the symmetry. Well-done.

I really LOVE this image. The soft muted colors make this special. So often the photos we see on this site are so saturated that this is a nice change. I like Fred's cropping too. Something about this seems dreamy and romantic to me...really nice Alex!

I just realized this horizontal sand stripe on the right-hand side that cuts off the reflection of the wooden pilars. It bothers me quite a bit. Is it too evident?

Thanks all for your valuable comments. I would agree to just crop out the light cabin on the right. Placing the horizon totally dead centre sounds appealing to give the pic more balance. So does darkening a tad more the foreground (not as much as you did Stephen), or even make the whole image a panorama, as you did Fred.

And Regina, I think too that the pale kinda subtle tones make this image so romantic.

Again thanks all!