gregcoad

I love the composition, background and sky.  The only thing I find a bit distracting is the white light on the left side of the frame.  Is this from strobes that you set up, or from different colored exterior lighting on the building?  I know how challenging it can be to deal with differing temperatures of lighting when shooting buildings like this and sometimes there isn't much that you can do about it when the bulb choices are the architect's.  When using strobes for supplemental lighting, usually a CTO gel helps somewhat though.

While skimming through the thumbnails of your fantastic portfolio, this one jumped out at me.  I can see why it was one of your favorites.  I love it because it is quite unique.  As others have said, it breaks rules, it is simple and unadorned and it conveys a sense of carelessness and bliss in a way that is hard to match.  I could sit and stare at this one for quite a while.  Fantastic job!

I wish Amir hadn't mentioned the tree cause now I see it.  I still wouldn't change it....

The composition is perfect.  I really like how the linear texture of the greenery on the right hand side of the frame lends to drawing the eye inward towards the focal point of the fall.

I also agree with your choice of shutter speed on this one.  Any longer and I think the feeling of motion in the water, especially in the forground may have been lost. 

All around a terrific shot.  Really love this one.

Beautiful photograph.  Your timing to capture the light at this perfect moment is impeccable.  Very nicely done.

I don't know what others are talking about in terms of the foreground highlights.  I think they add to the mysterious feeling.  I wouldn't change a thing about this.  Its too bad that the star trails and the clouds weren't both moving in the same direction, but that's just wishful thinking and getting a bit greedy now isn't it?  Wonderful shot.

 

Peter.  Thank you for taking the time to take a look and provide your thoughtful comments.  I really do appreciate the feedback even when it is not positive. 

I actually did take one from a similar angle to what you suggested.  I have posted it in my portfolio here:

 http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=11714992

 I like the one with the rock better though.  I think the rock makes the image more dynamic as it allows the eye to move through the picture from foreground, to middle, to distance. 

Maybe if I had composed the one without the rock differently it would have been more effective??  As it is, it feels flat and lacking something.  I think it is lacking a foreground and a background.

 

One of my first serious attempts at baby portraiture. Thanks for looking

and providing any criticism/feedback.

I agree with many others who have posted already, that while the shot is not highly unique or original, it is masterfully executed both in-camera and in-post. I see what John A is saying about the transition from the blue foreground flowers to the purple ones towards the middle and the shift in the greens at the same point, but I rather like what you have done here. I also very much appreciate the opportunity to see another version of the shot as I am just a learner and PS is still a major mystery to me in many ways.

I don't think that the color is overdone at all in the fore and middle ground. In the right light, alpine flowers can become flourescent like this, I have seen it many times but never succeeded in capturing that effect in the same way as Brian has here.

I do however have issue with the sky color. I find it distracting and feel that it is the only element of the image that makes me question its "authenticity".

 

Michael.  You're kind and thoughtful words are very much appreciated and encouraging to me.

 

No photoshop here.  I do love what PS can do but at the same time hate using it as I spend enough time in front of a computer at my day job.  The only PS work I did here was basic RAW tweaks and darkening the edges.  No layers or fancy techniques (I don't know any really).

 

About the light.  I visited this place twice that day.  Once in the morning, but the sun was too direct and harsh to make a picture worth keeping.  I continued on with the group I was with but on the way back to our camp I had to go back to this place.  I told the rest to go on without me and that I would catch up to them later on.  The sky had clouded over which made the lighting situation much better.  I took 4 or 5 shots from different angles but wasn't getting what I was looking for.  I was ready to pack it in, but decided that since pictures are what I had hiked 40 km for I wasn't going anywhere until I got one.  So I sat down for a few minutes and took in some of the sites (my camera position here is on the edge of a 100 foot drop).  Then I turned around and saw the shot that I had come for.  I composed it, set my camera at the ready and took a few test shots.  Within a few minutes the light "arrived", illuminating the rock in the foreground.  I felt my heart jump up into my throat, realizing that this was it.  I snapped the shot knowing that I had the one that I had come for. 

 

I've come to realize that in a lot of cases, shots like this only come after a significant investment (4 days and 40 km of hiking for example).  My only lament is that I'm a working stiff who doesn't get lots of opportunity to invest such time.  But days like the one that got this shot will keep me coming back for more.

 

 

Spectacular image.  I'd love to hear a bit of the story behind this shot.  It must have involved some high altitude climbing in the dark no?

Thanks for the compliments.  The exposures were all identical.  The dark spot in the centre of the sky is somehow caused by the circular polarizer.  I haven't read much about this but I see it everytime I try this type of shot.  It can actually be seen through the viewfinder.

 

One of my first attempts at stitching 3 images together.

Thank you all for taking the time to provide feedback.

 

Regarding "Kitsch"...  I suppose this depends on the what the viewer perceives the intention of the work to be.  I do not consider this an original work of fine art.  In fact if I am rating the photograph myself I would give it very low points for originality.  My intention with a photograph like this however is more of a documentary purpose I suppose.  I had the pleasure of visiting such a beautiful place and wanted to create something that would convey that impression over and over each time I view the image.  I wanted to create something that did justice to the place and time.  But I was not attempting to create something completely fresh, unique or original. 

 

With regards to the comment about the exposure of the water, I agree that the water is perhaps a bit brighter than I would have liked.  I had actually bracketed my exposures with the intention of blending them to create an image with more dynamic range (even though I have no idea how to do that - I planned on learing with this image).  I had originally planned on using the water from the -1 exposure in the final image.  But when I got the image up on my computer monitor I kind of like the brightness of the water and felt that it created the focal point that I wanted so decided to leave it (also sparing myself the tedious process of HDR processing and the learning curve associated with it).

 

Thanks for taking the time to look and provide critique and feedback.

Thanks for taking the time to look and provide any critique.

Thanks Bela for the critique. I really appreciate you taking the time. I used a photoshop ND grad effect to tone down the snow in the foreground as I felt it was very distracting and I wanted the middle of the frame to be the focal point. Looking at this again I wonder if I should try a different crop. Thanks again.

Your comments and critique are welcome. Thanks for looking.

I love the framing of this shot.

Thanks for looking. Any comments/tips/suggestions welcome.

I agree that this is stunning, but I have to know if this is a single capture or an HDR image. One comment above said "almost HDR". I had it pegged for HDR at first sight. Was I wrong? Not trying to take anything away regardless, HDR or not, it is a gorgeous picture.

I don't know what everyone is talking about regarding underexposure. I think that the exposure was perfect considering the mood and feeling you were going for here. I also would bet that the image you have produced is a very close replication of the actual scene as you saw it. I do agree that the blue wheelbarrow is totally out of place.