Gold Field

[dctread]

Hello everyone,
This is my first image submitted for critique, so I hope I am doing this correctly. This is an image taken just outside of the town in which I now reside. I am looking for ways on how this image could be made better. To me this image seems just out of focus. I was cropped just a hair and I adjusted the blue color luminance a tad to make the sky a little bluer.

EXIF Data:
Dimensions: 4281x2294
Exposure: 1/640 @ f/ 8.0
Exposure Bias: 0EV
Exposure Program: AP
Metering Mode: Pattern
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 22mm
Camera: Nikon D5000
Lens: Nikon kit lens 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 G

[Krusty79]

Welcome to DPS. You have a nice scene there, but it lacks a subject or focal point. Shooting in the golden hours could give you a more interesting sky, but I think you need a focal point to take it to the next level.

[SwissJon]

Hi.. Congratulations.. First correctly done thread in a long time.. You win.... A critique

Your camera appears to be focussed at infinity.. The trouble with that is that pretty much everything in front of infinity will be out of focus, which means the field. You need to learn to use the hyperfocal distance as this will help you to get as much of your picture in focus as possible.. There's a few articals on the parent site to this forum, here's one that explains what I'm talking about far more clearly than I could.

The Secret to Ultra-Sharp Photos

I agree with Krusty about the lack of focal point. A tree, house or scarecrow in the field would be great.

The road on the right hand edge is a bit of a let down, you need to examine the edge of your frames for things like that encroaching.. People tend to go blind and forget to look, and things on the edges can really spoil a shot.

[EOBeav]

Ah, canola. Ours will be blooming in a month or so. Krusty and Jon have some great advice, and the only thing I would add is to not be afraid to get down lower so we can see some of the individual flowers up close.

[danbaileyphoto]

Nice effort. I'd echo the advice about having a focal point- Essentially, you have great vivid colors and an attractive scene, but in order for it to be a compelling image, you need an identifiable subject element that draws the eye in and tells some kind of a story.

Getting down to show individual flowers could work as an effective compositional idea.

Photography is a lifelong learning process, keep shooting and pay attention to photos that you like by other people and in time, you'll improve and your images will become stronger.

Good luck and thanks for sharing.

[dctread]

Thanks Krusty, Jon, EO, and Dan, for the critique. Have to say now that you mentioned it, it does really lack a focal point. It looks just kind of there, and thanks Jon for the tip on hyperfocal plane. Thanks for the great advice everyone. I will take it to heart. By the way do any of you know if there is a way to just copy the EXIF data from LR3 to post.

[NewGirl13]

I hav to say that I wonder what this shot would look like shot from the other side of the road, and angled towards the curvy part of the road with the field behind it. That way you have contrast of the road with the yellow fields in the background. Just a thought.

[audiman90]

It's all very well suggesting that you use a A tree, house or scarecrow, as a focal point, but you don't always remember to take one with you.
If there is not one handy then it is not very sensible to suggest that he uses one of these.
Lets have sensible suggestions please.