Out of Water

[prrs4me]

I thought the 2 boats, lack of water and the rusty winches was an interesting contrast.

[marc_714]

It seems to me that the point you refer to is too last in the total picture. I think if you attacked the subject of the "out of water" boat closer or at a lower angle it may have worked better.

[RainPacket]

It's a nice shot, and I can see what you were trying for, I think: you wanted the nice shiny boat and the beautiful water as a contrast to the poor little beached boat and the rusty, forgotten winches.

Problem is, the composition isn't really thought out; the rusty winches are sort of off on the sides, not really 'in' the shot, and the boat is in the background, and...

In short, there's so much going on, nothing dominates the shot or captures the viewer's attention. It makes it more of a snapshot than an artistic shot. (And there's nothing wrong with snapshots, but they tend to have more meaning to the person taking them or the person who was there! They'll be less intriguing to random other viewers.)

I agree that approaching this from a different angle might've worked better. I'm not sure what angle, though. Maybe lower, as was suggested by a previous poster, or maybe scooting around to one side a bit to capture the beached boat and one rusty winch more prominently.

It's a great concept, though!

[jiminyClickit]

prrs4me,

Ever do a photo montage? Tell a story in 5 pics: lessen confusion, increase interest. Stretches your imagination, too. Pleasant photo, needs more . . . something.

[Nieton21]

I like the concept....the only problem i have with the image is I don't really have a place that i focus to it seems really busy and I jump all around and don't really capture the thought behind it...maybe simplify it more i'm not quite sure...i like the idea of getting lower and closer to the boat

[prrs4me]

I see what you are saying. I wish I could see what you are saying before you say it! Practice. Thanks.

[steevdavis62]

My attention was instantly drawn to the boat in the background. not the boat out of water... for a second, i was trying to work out, what boat out of water? then i saw the other. But it doesnt dominate the photo enough, unfortuantly. it isnt the main point of attraction

[RainPacket]

One thing I've found in personal experience so far... people's eyes seem to follow a 'Z' pattern when they look at a picture, whether or not they're consciously aware of it.

So start in the upper left and draw a Z, across to the upper right, down diagonally to the lower left, then across to the lower right. This helps a lot in figuring out why one element (like the boat in the background) can distract from what you intend to be the primary element (the boat in the foreground) if neither immediately dominates a shot.

If you draw a Z, you hit the background boat before you hit the foreground boat, and they're both equally in focus and neither really 'dominates' the picture... so the background boat can distract.

Granted, I'm a dedicated amateur with no formal training, so take this with a grain of salt; the Z thing is a personal experience and observation thing, not so much 'The True Word' or whatever.