Woods Lake

[tallshot]

Hi,
I took this snap of a bird santurary.Tell me about the composition and the reflections....



Exif data
Camera Olympus FE310,X840,C530
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture f/4.8
Focal Length 6.2 mm
ISO Speed 80
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire
X-Resolution 200 dpi
Y-Resolution 200 dpi
Image Description OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

[Krusty79]

I think the composition could be improved it there was one distinctive tree that could act as a focal point. I think the main issue is the time of day. If you shot this at dawn for example, the water would be glassy (most likely), so you would have better reflections and the sky would not be blown out.

[SwissJon]

I think you should have moved your viewpoint down.. You've clipped off the top of the tree in the reflection. The stick in the top left is annoying and would have been left out too..

As Krusty says, the time of day was a factor here, the lighting is far from interesting, but even so, you need to think more about your composition. It's not always neccesary to put the camera in landscap to take landscape orientation shots. Turning the camera into portrait and zooming so you just have 1 tree and the entire reflection would have been a big boost, you don't appear to have enough space here to get many trees and their full refelctiosn in, and even if you did, they're not very interesting, so choose a tree (I'd suggest the dead one) and use that.

Three other things to help you..

What you have here is a snapshot.. i.e It's an accurate representation of what you saw from eye level. Try different positions, perhaps putting the camera low, close to the water. something a bit different to what you see.

Second. Look in front of and behind your subject, is it lost in among the other things going on.. The biggest tree here in no way stands out from all the other trees, it's the same shade, and it's just getting lost.. Again, a lower perspective will allow you to separate the tree from its surroundings.

Third.. Examine the edges of your frame.. Here you have a small stick in the top left that spoils that area, and the bottom of reflection is clipped off and you can see mud, shoreline and sticks and things.. The left edge is half a tree, and the right edge is 2/3rds of a tree. I know it's not always possible to get everything out of the frame, but unless you examine the edge of the picture, as well as the centre, you will miss these things and end up, as you have here, with a snapshot instead of a good photo.

Hope that helps.. Oh yes, and Krusty is dead right.. Evening, or even better, dawn, when there's a slight mist on the pond, will give you a much nicer light to work with.

[tallshot]

Hi , tell me about this stand alone...

[SwissJon]

One critique a day my friend

[graciousness]

What were you trying to achieve with the photo? Just to take a photo of the trees and reflection on the water? Or did something captivate you that you weren't able to convey on the photo?

Just looking for an angle as to what motivated you to take this photo because to me, it's missing that.

[Krusty79]

Your 2nd shot definitely has a cleaner composition, so that has improved. Unfortunately, I don't find that one tree that compelling as a subject. Although I suggested finding a distinctive tree, it looks like there may not be one that really stands out there. Plus, you still have the problem with the time of day. If you cannot find a distinctive tree for a good subject, you could focus on one tree and use a large aperture to keep that tree in focus and blur the background. As Jon suggested, a lower viewpoint may add interest to your shot. Do you ever get fog there? This looks like a great shooting location if you do.

It also helps us if you tell us what feeling/story you are trying to convey.