Cascais Lighthouse 1

Colin, this image has a lot of potential, all lost due to the dirty lens. The composition has a serene, balanced feel, and the channel/river flowing out to sea presents a nice leading line. A small move to the right and back (if possible) would have taken the sun out of the picture, diminished the effect of the spots on the lens, and provided a more even exposure across the entire scene. 

David

Many thanks for the comments, but you are way off the mark, the lens is pristine and the camera is a brand new and hence the sensor is also pristine, it was shot with a 10 stop filter on a 45second exposure and the "dust spots" are the sun's light hitting small particulate of beach sand being blown by the wind, also this is the effect i was looking for. Also i wanted to try and extend the suns rays as far as possible into the image but without detracting from it.

Colin, given those criteria, your image is a success. Obviously, my own proclivities would have had me approach it differently, thus my comments. This is just more proof that our opinions are far more subjective than objective, and we need to remember it. Sigue siguiendo...

I think this is a great composition, and I know exactly what you were going for with the sunburst in the corner.  While I think this is a very nice image, I think if you're looking for ways to improve you could try bracketing exposures for an image like this and blending it in PS.  That way you could stack the images to get a clean sunburst.  Otherwise, the flare from the sun hitting blown sand can be a bit distracting.  Nevertheless, good image -- love the color, the long exposure and the sunburst.  

David

You are absolutely spot on, and i thank you for taking the time and effort to offer a comment.