Lone Bench

Been trying to get people to critique my photos. I love photography,

but need some input on what I'm doing well and what I'm not doing

well... anyone?

 

I like this photo because the bench seems to have a light shown down

on it to make it the center of attention, but it also brings about a

sense of loneliness..

This is a tough image to create well whether using film or digital. I am going to assume that the warm light source on the bench is some kind of

sodium deal along the boardwalk? I like the colours in the image but it might be worthwhile playing with a crop or two to get a feel for what works best.

 

The way I see it, since the railing is in the way and is basically blocking the ocean behind it then your main focus here is the bench and perhaps the railing itself. You might want to crop the sky down a little and bring a more panoramic vibe to this image. This may make it stronger compositionally, play with it a little and see what works and where it takes you. Bottom line is there is no right or wrong only what aesthetically pleases one person compared to another. If 50 people don't like my photo's it matter's not, the main thing is if I like them and am achieving my own goals.

Generally I like it but the light seems too un-natural.

Generally it's a beautiful photo, a nice idea and it's well taken. The few flaws I see, however, is that the sky completely dominates it. Even if there were clouds, there would still be too much sky, but with the completely stark blue sky, there's way too much. Definetaly try cropping, if cropping evenly takes too much from the right side and changes the feel, try just cropping from the top, I think this would make a beautiful panoramic. Also, the overall blue coloring, I'm not sure what caused this, whether lighting, filters or digital editing, but it gives it a very unatural feel and takes away from the nice, lonely mood you're portraying.

I will play with the cropping and see what I can come up with .. as for why the bench is that "bright" .. no clue. I can't remember if there's a street light somewhere nearby .. it's a possibility.

 

As far as the colors are concerned .. I guess the clouds, rain and utter darkness of the morning (this was before sunrise) was just too much for my camera to deal with. I think it adds a little bit of spookiness to the photo.

 

Thanks!

I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels and contrast in PhotoShop. I actually think it's now a better composition. Your thoughts?

 

http://www.comptonsunshine.com/misc/bench2.jpg

Brad,

This is more like it, though for my money you need to take about 40% off the sky from between the sky and the railing. We get the idea that things are moody and blue from whats already behind the railing. Don't give up now!