Creek Reflection

[Stoneface]

I've got this shot of a creek reflection that I think falls a little more in line with the rule of thirds, though there's not too much of a subject outside of the shadows in the reflection. I'd like some critiques on the composition (I lthink that's what it's called - the arrangment of the photograph?), the coloring, sharpness and anything anyone would like to add.



God bless,

Rowdy



Rebel xsi
18-55 mm lens
Not sure of camera settings
Reformatted in Elements 8

[LeeR]

Like a lot of shots I see on this forum, this one could use a little time in the "Levels" department. We nearly always want a true white and true black in our image somewhere, with rare exception. I slid the white marker down to the bottom of the mountain shaped curve and then darkened the overall image a bit to really create some real drama.
The composition is simple but effective. The dendritic shape of the branches is repeated in several trees which works well and I like the fact that the water reflects in some areas while being transparent in others. I only have one question and only you can answer it: If you had moved your camera straight up and taken a second image to be stitched together with this one, would you have ended up with something truly remarkable? I have seen that kind of shot done very well before and you have many of the elements to make that happen here.

[Stoneface]

That's a great question. I never even considered it. I've been trying to get a good series of photos to try and splice together to make something like a panerama.

I don't get how to do the levels. I'm trying to work it out, but my Elements didn't come with any kind of instructions. I also can't figure out how to use the detail smart brush tool. I select a part of the photo and three bushes and a little red and black box comes up, but doens't do anything.

If you have a photo with several midtones how do you broaden the range to achieve some true blacks and whites?

Thanks for your comments.



God bless,

Rowdy