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Great capture of a moment not often seen by people. As for the lighting, it works for me but I don't think it would have hurt to use some fill to brighten up the eyes. As it has been suggested, you can certainly do some work in PS to brighten up some areas. I'm not so sure about the crop though. From my understanding, this is a captive shot which would have allowed you to feel safe enough to move around to find the right composition. I do understand though that this is a 'moment' and you just have to depress your shutter when it happens, otherwise you'll miss it. For the comp, I would have liked to see the whole head or at least the ears. I can see that the ears are back and in my opinion, this would really add to the image since it is a part of their warning. Otherwise, the DOF and exposure here are dead on. Very nice!

Found you on Five and was having a browse of your portfolio. This one caught my eye and I really can't say much more than what already has been said. I love the diagonal lines and the light gradient of the shot. The angle is perfect and the crop is really effective to show the origin of the birds path. Very nice and the detail is superb.

Thanks for your comments and to you, Lorenza, for your honesty. When I looked at this photo in colour, I had the same feelings in that I wasn't sure if I liked this or not. I then converted it to B&W and then I knew I definitely liked it. I figured that there would be people who liked it and those who might find it a bit confusing and not like it at all, and then those who just weren't sure. I have mixed reviews here at home but that's what I love about photography, it can be so random and spontaneous at times.

Thank you again for your comments. This has to be one of my favourites from Rothenburg.

 

I could agree with Randall and Chris about getting some darker tones, as I tend to like images with more contrast. On the other hand, I don't know that I would like it as such, as Rich has noted. I like the subtlety of the tones and how they work with the repeating lines to a vanishing point, and that you can still see the very end, whereas if I increased the tonal range, I fear would be lost. As for the framing, I didn't feel I had much choice, as I wanted to see the end in sight. For me the balance is even although I can see how it might feel weighted on the right. As for the exposure time, I don't think it was really all that long. (I'll have to check the metadata and come on this). It was a very sunny day and this was shot under the roof of the town wall, everything was either wood or stone which was light and reflective. I will get back to this and post the details soon and even play with the tones in PS, just for the sake of playing with my pictures. :)

Thanks for your comments. I would agree that the colours are too saturated but I honestly didn't do anything with the saturation to get these colours. The only thing would be having my in camera settings set to "Vivid" for colour which I tend to keep on for most of the time. I found this day to have the perfect overcast for picture taking and this is the result. Other than adding an s-curve (which is maybe why the colours appear to be so saturated), I didn't do anything to alter this image. Just a slow shutter for the water. I have more of this area that I will get on posting where I don't have so much of a foreground. Thanks again for looking. :) And I'm glad this image brings fond memories.

This is one of my favourite reflection images. Thank you for all of your kind comments and enjoying this as much as I have. :)

Thank you for your comments. I have to thank the wonderful streets of Venice for this image and hope that I can return soon to find some more. Cheers.

Thank you for your comments. I will doing a little playing with this one on the crop and B&W as suggested.

 

Alon, when I shot this, I had a strange feling too. I think that's what makes this image though, that feeling. :)

 

I wasn't sure if this photo would work and had moments of really liking it and then moments of not being so sure but in the end, I think everyone's feedback has made me look at this and really enjoy this composition. Thanks!

Wow! Thanks for all of your comments. I was quite surprised that this image would garner so much attention. I'm glad this shot shot was so "a-peeling" to you all. ;)

Shawn, I'm so glad you noticed the fish, they're my favourite element of this shot.

 

Thank you to all for your comments. I have gotten a lot of good feedback on this image previously and am glad that you all have enjoyed it here as well.

 

I think this was my first real attempt at shooting reflections and it wasn't even my intention to find a reflection, I just happened upon it. When I first presented this, it was 'upside down' (as originally shot) but someone flipped it and I loved it. I was hooked on reflections at that point.

 

So yes, this is a sail boat with its masts and don't forget the fish. :)

Thank you all for your comments. I was working on a "learning to surf" photo essay when I shot this. The students were out to sea and I was standing in the surf when I looked down and thought, "Wow, those bubbles look pretty cool," SNAP.

 

Shawn & Chris, I really like the ripples too and will work on doing a crop of them. I presented it this way because the bubbles looked like clouds and I liked how the ripples give it away when you look closer. I'll try and post soon (like this month). Cheers!

Thank you all for taking the time to look and for your comments. Who knew that mallards could make such a wonderful subject for me? I was very pleased with this shot as well. :)

with frame and the snow exposed with some added conrtast.

 

This is my last post for the night. Phew!

Sorry, I didn't crop that very well. I left a small bit of the border on the bottom. In any case I think you get the idea (it's late and my eyes aren't up to par for the moment)

I'm not sure what Mike F meant by wanting you to expose for the snow, as it looks pretty white to me. Maybe he would like to see this with more contrast and the coyotes more as shapes (without so much detail), if this is the right idea I have, I can see how that would be appealing too. In any case, I really like this shot and would seriously think about entering this into a wildlife photography competition. I think it would do well. I like how the coyotes are travelling through the barren snow (looking for food). The three appear to be companions, looking out for one another. The one in the foreground encouraging the other two to carry on, the second coyote checking up and waiting for the third coyote. The position of the heads makes this photo work very well as it tells a story. I like that the first coyote is walking out of the frame (untraditional composition) but without the third coyote approaching, it wouldn't be as balanced. With such a large area of negative space (which I think works nicely here), I would consider cropping this as a square, it just feels more balanced, whereas now there seems to be a bit too much neg space that outweighs the coyotes. I've posted my crop here as a visual suggestion. A very nice shot that I think is worth a lot. :o)

At first glance, I considered rotating this image but I like it the way you've presented it, with the darker/heavier colours at the bottom. I'm really intrigued by the red and white colours at the top (where I first look) and then follow the yellow and white lines that take me to the pink and green floaties. A nice journey takes place in this shot. On the other hand, I'm not sure that I like the effect (oversaturation?). The sharpness of colours at the top don't balance with the noisy colours at the bottom, in my opinion. I can see how some people might enjoy that though. It's nice to see other's vision of reflections, as I enjoy them myself.

I really enjoy these types of images. It really sets the mood having such a large negative space and knowing you could hear the people in the kayak really elaborates this tranquil moment. Often we see these types of images with the neg space being white but I like the grey fog here. As a suggestion, I have seen these types of images taken with a Hassy and I really enjoy the square framing, I feel that it gives these types of images better balance.

This looks like a wonderful place to take photos. I would love to go one day! The title really compliments this photo but even without it, it stands on its own. These simple yet complex figures against a slightly textured fore and background make for such an interesting subject. I bet you could spend all day and night here! I wasn't sure if your horizon was off, so I played with it in PS and found that I prefer the straight horizon compared to the slight diagonal you have here. While I was playing (I hope you don't mind) I found that there is a lot that you can do with this image. It would make a great B&W, sepia toned and even some psychedellic colours would give this image wow and punch. But I do like it as you have presented here (with a tad more contrast). Another thing that I thought about was taking this type of composition from different angles. Try composing so that none of the trees actually overlap and then some that create interesting shapes by overlapping. I could really go on about this shot and other ideas for the area but I'm sure you already know. Thank you for sharing this wonderful place, I hope I will get a chance to visit it in my lifetime. :)

I came to visit your portfolio and this photo stood out for me due to its simplicity and colours. A fantastic composition and I like the saturation of the colours here. If I were to make any suggestions to improve this image, it would only be to get lower so that the foreground is mostly yellow, without the brown stems and green grass in between. I feel that it would play nicely against the solid green and blue. And just a small nitpick, I might remove the small tree/bush on the horizon on the right, it just slightly distracts me. Otherwise a beautiful setting and composition.

Now that's a wave! That looks so awesome and I hope you had your camera on motordrive. OK, now that I'm over the wave, here's my critique. :)

Because this wave is so big, I want to see more of it but not sure whether you could do this or not. A panorama would look really sweet with the little surfer dude. It does bother me to some extent that the surfer is centered but how can you decide? Surfer off center or catch the big wave and all that spray? Tough call. Because of this dilema, I don't think there is anything you can alter with this shot (cropwise). I could say I'd like to see more of the barrel on the left, or more sultry blue water in the foreground but I definitely won't say cut out the spray, it's just too cool. Just keep shooting is my only advice. Besides that, exposure, WB and focus are dead on for me.

I really love this image and more so than its B&W counterpart. The reds and greens compliment each other nicely and the blue and white helps break up the two and complete this image. I like the tight crop, it just adds more to the already 'in your face attitude' of this classic car. The car, for me, even creates a face which gives this car added character. The only thing I'd nitpick about are the two reflections of yourself, the photographer, in the chrome. I think it's something that can be corrected in PS, as I think that you may have already done that on one part of the bumper. Otherwise, a sweet shot that I'd hang on my wall. :)

Thanks for your detailed comments. I agree that the lighting is pretty drab. It was a very overcast winter day but I went out regardless because everything was lined with snow. Although I took a numbers of shots of this barn, I struggled a lot with the light. I brought a couple of them into PS and messed around with them and actually found a midnight action to achieve this effect. I decided to present it this way because it felt a lot warmer and softer than the original (which I've now posted in this thread).

 

Thanks again for your insights and I hope to return to this barn on a better lit day. :)

OK, so it is river surfing...I just read your description. Sweet!

Kudos on stopping all that water and perfect exposure and DOF. Now I'm not a pro on sports photography but have been involved in those critiques. So this is my two cents:

First, you can't see the face of the surfer. You can see a bit of it but because you can't see his nose or mouth, it looks a bit strange, IMO. Often in this type of shot, the viewer is interested in the surfers environment (how big is the wave, where is the surfer headed etc). This surfer looks like he's mybe in a river, as you can see people standing on shore in the background and you, the photographer, is on the other side. If this is river rapid surfing (never heard of it but sounds cool) I would love to see more of the environment. As for what kind of trick this surfer is doing, it seems like he's going crash face first into the water (which he may have done after this shot). As for composition, the board gives a nice line to take you through the image but that's about it. I'm not really intrigued by the surfer and don't spend much time looking at him. It's really just the boards that catch my attention. But your WB is totally dead on, IMO.

 

As a suggestion, if you're really into 'extreme' sports photography, I'd recommend www.wheelsandwax.com I know a couple of guys on that site and they know their s**t and will give you a good honest critique.

 

Happy shooting :)

As you've commented on one of my reflection photos, I had to comment on yours! This is a really great image, the ripples in the water are just enough to distort the buildings so that they are still recognizable. I wonder if you had to clean up any of the water, as I have had to do this on occasion. The colour saturation is very appealing and gives a warm feeling to the image, although I've heard that Tromso is quite cold (I have a friend there). The posts running along the bottom give a nice border and a clue to how the image was taken. The only thing I would change is just to do with the border. Because you have chosen a thick black border, the lower left side of the image seems to blend into the frame and tends to give an unbalanced feeling overall.