A Photo in Training

[Trankonia]

This photo was taken from the back of the train on a very wide turn. Does the contrast seem too strong? Is it over exposed? I like the rocks but with the bright sun they seem almost too busy.

Camera: NIKON D5000
Focal length: 55*mm*(equiv. 82*mm)
Aperture: F5
Exposure time: 1/400"
ISO speed rating: 200/24°
Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Pattern
White Balance: Manual
Flash: Flash did not fire

[dvtldav]

To me the bright green leaves in the foreground is distracting. I would crop from the lower right side of the photo up and in to get rid of the green foreground and make the train more of the focal point. Maybe make the upper left quadrant of the photo, the whole photo. Other than that I really like the photo.

Dave

[Corey Thompson]

I agree about the green leaves in the foreground being distracting. For me, there's too much foreground and background to really be able to identify the subject in this photo. The train gets lost in everything around it, my eyes are left wandering. I think if the photo were zoomed in and focused on the train more, that would help.

[Trankonia]

Thanks. My only reservation about cropping is that the magnitude of the cliff that train is riding on gets diminished. I agree the plants in the front are a bit of a distraction. However, many times the suggestion is to have foreground to add depth.

Here is a cropped version of the same photo:

[dvtldav]

To me that looks better. I know what you are saying about the magnitude of the cliff but you can still see the depth of the canyon on the right side of the photo.

Dave

[Corey Thompson]

Yes much better, and Dave is right. You can still see the depth of the canyon to the right in the photo. In the end though, it's your photo. Do what's most visually appealing to you.

[SwissJon]

To be honest, I like the original better, with the cliff., it's a pity about the greenery, pergaps you can use some creative d&b to make them less obtrusive.

[Trankonia]

Thanks for all the feedback. I can see why some like the cropped version but I still believe you lose the impact of the cliff. Am I correct that the main issue was the brightness of the foreground? Per Jon's suggestion, here is a processed version that I used DB to darken the foreground to make it less dominant. What do you think?

As a quick laugh Jon, this is the moving train I said some of my earlier posts were made from.

[dvtldav]

With that PP the foreground does not draw my attention as the original post did and it does show the grandeur of the canyon.

Dave

[SwissJon]

Yeah.. That's a huge improvement.