Dragon Hill

I waited at the camera position because I liked the composition of the

shot. I sat there for probably 5-10 minutes for a point where there

were no people in view (it was a relatively busy place to walk on a

pleasant sunny afternoon). Eventually I gave up and took the shot

with two figures in the distance. Now, I guess about 6 years later

looking at the image again, the presence of the people is one of my

favourite features. So do you prefer it with the figures present or

absent? How could I have made this image more interesting?

Hi, The human figures are good, they help to give scale to the picture. For me though, the thing which hits my eye when i first look at the photograph is the big white path. Actually the really interesting things in the picture, for me, are the things beyond the path. I really like the hill and it's setting amongst beautiful lush greenery. For me the path doesn't lead my eye in to the picture - it stops my eye from going further, because you have given so much of the picture over to it. Just my thoughts, i am no great photographer! Regards, erik

While I like to do "landscapes" and not "people," the inclusion of a human often adds a lot to a landscape photo. IMO, this would have been more compelling if the people had been much closer, actually on the white path that can be seen (perhaps just going around the bend). This would have had them walking toward a very interesting landscape, as Erik pointed out. That said, this is a very nice photo as is: good DOF, a rich and varied landscape, and the design element (the path) that so interested you. There are many ways this could have been captured; perhaps you should go with the one that first caught your eye. But in answer to your primary question, no, the humans are not a distraction.

Very good !

Thanks for your comments everybody. For what it's worth, the white thing is not in fact a path. It is part of the Uffington White Horse, which is a gigantic piece of prehistoric art: the figure of a horse cut into a hillside, in chalk.