Ohio River Sunset

[fatsheep]

I do realize I broke the rule of thirds. I should have been paying attention to that but I wasn't. Do you think this image would have been better if I had followed it? Why or why not?

Other criticism appreciated too.

[FrankenPengie]

From my view the rule stands.

Top 3rd = Sky
Middle 3rd = Landscape
Bottom 3rd = foreground

Left 3rd = pier + sun
Middle 3rd = tower + post
Right 3rd = water, landscape + sky

[fatsheep]

Originally Posted by FrankenPengie

From my view the rule stands.

Top 3rd = Sky
Middle 3rd = Landscape
Bottom 3rd = foreground

Left 3rd = pier + sun
Middle 3rd = tower + post
Right 3rd = water, landscape + sky

Well I guess that is another way of viewing it. I thought that since the horizon is vertically centered, it broke the rule (since that would make an equal division between the sky and the foreground). Thanks for the insight.

[fatsheep]

Any other comments? Advice? Criticism?

[jdepould]

I'm not sure I like the flare on the left side. It's cut off, which is sort of odd. Is this a crop?

Also, the colors don't have quite enough punch, waiting 5 or 10 minutes probably would've netted you more vivid colors.

It's also slightly crooked.

Sorry, this is all pretty negative, I'm not trying to rag on you. It's really a number of little things that kill the picture when you put them all together. I could overlook any one of them on their own (well, maybe not the colors), but all three together just take too much away.

The crookedness is easy enough to fix with a photo editor. If you're not sure how to do it, let us know what program you're using and we can help you out there.

Really, the best advice I can give you is stick with your subject for more than one shot. This is especially true of sunsets, the colors change very quickly, and it's important to get several different versions. Having a tripod also helps, by the time dusk falls, you'll be shooting shutter speeds that are not hand-holdable, and you don't want to be shooting at high ISO speeds.

[fatsheep]

Originally Posted by jdepould

I'm not sure I like the flare on the left side. It's cut off, which is sort of odd. Is this a crop?

Also, the colors don't have quite enough punch, waiting 5 or 10 minutes probably would've netted you more vivid colors.

It's also slightly crooked.

Sorry, this is all pretty negative, I'm not trying to rag on you. It's really a number of little things that kill the picture when you put them all together. I could overlook any one of them on their own (well, maybe not the colors), but all three together just take too much away.

The crookedness is easy enough to fix with a photo editor. If you're not sure how to do it, let us know what program you're using and we can help you out there.

Really, the best advice I can give you is stick with your subject for more than one shot. This is especially true of sunsets, the colors change very quickly, and it's important to get several different versions. Having a tripod also helps, by the time dusk falls, you'll be shooting shutter speeds that are not hand-holdable, and you don't want to be shooting at high ISO speeds.

This isn't a crop and I'm using GIMP. I'm not sure how you would fix crookness in GIMP.

[FrankenPengie]

Select all then click the Rotate Tool.



A dialog box will come up asking for angle, clipping.... Ignore it. Just drag and drop the image into alignment.

[jiminyClickit]

fatsheep, Welcome

If I could only give one comment/suggestion: a better photo would have come from a position standing on one of the pillar/posts, and framing Sun in upper left thirds intersection. Might have eliminated that particular kind of glare/flare, cut off the nothingness of the right side, and maybe shown the rest of the river.

Image could be much better if taken again.

[steevdavis62]

I think next time i would move your camera to the right, cutting the sun out, and including more water. the light on the posts and water would make for a much nicer shot...

I guess i find the sun distracting to the beauty of the scene

[mrodgers]

Welcome fatsheep, glad to see you here. See, you'll get much better constructive critisism here rather than the kids barking 'great shot' and the knowledgable ignoring you at the other place.....

Originally Posted by steevdavis62

I think next time i would move your camera to the right, cutting the sun out, and including more water. the light on the posts and water would make for a much nicer shot...

I guess i find the sun distracting to the beauty of the scene

I was going to say the same as the others here. But, instead of just moving the camera to eliminate the sun flare, I was thinking if there was more room to take it from more of the left of that sidewalk or whatever that is and rotate a bit to get rid of the direct sun. It would show more of the sidewalk and pillar. I think waiting a little bit would have thrown more colorful light on those pillars as well. But it's the Ohio river and I know what it would be like to hang out waiting for the sun to move further in this cold we are experiencing right now .