The eye is drawn right off the edge of the picture

[DannyF1966]

Hi,

Guess the title says it all, I thought this scene would make a half-decent pic when I was looking through the viewfinder, but when I got it on the PC I thought the colours were all washed out, there's too much sky, and the canal & path lead the eye right off the image on the right....

Am I being too self-critical?

The image was shot in RAW, the only thing I've done is to convert to jpg and reduce file size to make it postable.





Dan

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 200 200
Exposure Bias: +2/3 EV
Flash: No Flash

[Jheri]

I am no pro, but I have to say I love the "washed out" feel of this.

[DannyF1966]

Originally Posted by Jheri

I am no pro, but I have to say I love the "washed out" feel of this.

I've got about 80 other pics I took on the same walk that all look washed out like this! Typical mid-afternoon Lancashire light I suppose, just look at that sky, hardly a trace of blue anywhere

[sascha]

I like it. My eyes are drawn a bit around the picture but it is a nice relaxing scene and the color is just fine to me. What a great place.

[Arun]

You can fix this in the RAW conversion program which shipped with your camera or in Photoshop. I played around a little with your pic (attached).

I like the composition though, it is a very picturesque location.

Thanks for sharing

[SusanH1970]

I rather like the composition. The walkway and canal give a line for the eye to follow. If you don't like the washed out look, you could always up the saturation a bit.

[B..]

Looks like a watercolour to me. I looked at the later offering with increased saturation, but I prefer the original.

My husband immediately picked it out as winter, based on the sky and the turning-brown grass. And he knew it wasn't from the part of the UK he emigrated from (though he didn't recognize it as Lancashire until I told him).

I don't find that the canal draws my eye off the right edge. It might have, except that handily-positioned tree "bounces" my eye back over to the buildings.

I think you're being too self-critical.

[Lakitu]

Is that Winter Hill? Anyway, I like this picture as far as the composition is concerned. I wonder what is around that bend.

[RoyL]

Several problems, but not the washed out color.

There is no object of interest or leading lines into the image. This can be fixed with some cropping. I have done a bit, may not be perfect but it works, then Curves adjusted and sharpened a bit. You need to convert the image properly with a Raw converter to get the best....

[skipjack]

I actually kinda like this "washed out" feel. However, if you really want to make it more lively, just boost up the saturation. The composition looks pretty awesome to me anyway, love the lines.