markrupert

Aside from the digital manipulation, this strikes me as a visual cliche (and one that has its roots in nationalistic propaganda to boot).

Mark

I like this photo very much as it is. If you had an exposure long enough to produce streams of light, you would also lose the distinct outlines of the cars and the sense of urgency the photo generates by positioning the viewer in traffic.

Nice work.

Mark

Spectacular sunset, Bob. My suggestions may be pretty lame (I'm a rank amateur), but here goes:

(1) 50/50 horizons are kind of boring, so I think this photo might have been improved by moving the horizon down in the frame, pushing out some of the foreground and emphasizing the sky against the mountain; (2) the foreground is almost completely blacked out, suggesting that the range of contrast in the scene was beyond your film's latitude. A neutral density graduated filter might have helped to narrow the contrast rang and hold some more detail in the lower part of the frame. (3) Alternatively, you might have found some interesting shape (a tree?) to silhouette against the mountain and sky.

Had I been threre with you, though, I probably would have come back with pretty much the same photo you did. Sometimes I'm over-awed by a spectacular subject and forget how to think like a photographer.

best wishes,

Mark

One of the things that is distinctively beautiful about spitfires is the graceful curve of the wing. It's a shame you couln't get a somehat more vertical angle to silhouette that wing shape, but I suppose in doing that you would have had to sacrifice the dramatic sun. Tradeoffs.

Mark

The composition would work better for me as a vertical (emphasizing the depth) or, alternatively, moving the receding doorways off to one side or another.

Mark

"Telling us the lens is crappy is a cop out."

I disagree with Keith about this. Too often photo.netters talk as if we all have - or ought to have - the finest available pro-quality optics. Chris is just reminding us here that that's not always a realistic expectation.

I think the other commentators are correct about the filter, though.

Mark