Wavy benches

[Krusty79]

I'll show the image first, then ask my questions below so I won't cloud your minds before you see the image. This was my first blended exposure where I copied and pasted the sky onto the foreground image. I'll learn to do that with a layer mask soon.

f/10
ISO 100
18 mm
.3 seconds



So, my questions to the jury are:

1. Is the subject strong enough to keep your interest?
2. Is the debris on the deck, to the right of the benches distracting? I didn't really notice it when I was taking the shots.
3. Does the wavy pattern of the benches give the foreground deck area a bit of a Dali-ish feel to it, or is it just me?

Thanks for looking.

[milosh]

1. Yes, those are some pretty cool benches.
2. No, I find this debris to be a transition to the area with lots of it, on the right side.
3. Yeah, you could say that..
4. The water just behind the path and the water in the distance seem to be overexposed.
5. I find this composition to be somewhat ineffective, since the whole path (and especially its right edge) tends to lead my eye out of the frame and away from the subject.

[theeventof]

milosh is right about number 5 when I look at this I kind end up falling off the right side of the image...between the pathway leading that way and the sharp overexposedness of the waves in the water I think something gets lost before you get to the sun... yah know?

My question would be if there was a way to expose a reflection of the setting sun on the water it'd almost lead from the benches to the sun and then you'd have that line leading to the subject.

You could also try a lower angle with more sky (of course you need the clouds to be interesting).

All in all it's still a nice shot and a great job at doing multiple exposures so bravo on that end!

[SwissJon]

I like the idea of lowering the angle, it will accentuate the "waviness" in the benches.

I find the front of the bench abit of a block to the eye.. I wonder if it wouldn't be better to start that bench either at the very edge of the frame or further into it, a lower angle would allow you to see under the bench, the eye would then find the bench an attraction.

I think the foreground is all a bit too grey and over exposed for the background. You might want to play with your white balance to put a bit of colour in it so it matches the colours in the sky, and perhaps increase the blacks and contrast so that the shadows are a little stronger.. With the sun in that particular spot, the shadows shouls be long and strong.. so you need to do a little something, even though you want to keep foreground interest.

[Krusty79]

@milosh - you're right about the water being overexposed, but my blending skills at this point are not good enough to use the water from my underexposed image. When I get comfortable with layer masking, I'll attempt something more complicated like that. I did wonder if the path led the viewer's eye off to the right, but I was hoping the viewer would follow the line of the benches instead. Thanks for the feedback.

@theeventof - I was hoping the overexposed water would not be that noticeable, but apparently it is to you guys. I'll have to pay more attention to those details in the future. You and Jon have both suggested a lower angle, so I'll have to try that. Fortunately, it's not too far from where I live. Thanks for the comments.

@Jon - I was wondering if I should crop any off the bottom of the image. I think the foreground issue may be a result of the blending. I could adjust the foreground a bit. I'm not sure exactly what to do, but I'll play around with it. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

[milosh]

The first time I saw this photo, I asked myself "How could this be composed better?" but I wasn't really sure about the answer. I think that the curvature and direction of the path will always be a distraction. Unfortunately, there are some things that are just not placed the way we would like them, but you should experiment of course. If you're not successful at it during sunset, you can try framing it for a sunrise.. Just a suggestion.

[Krusty79]

Originally Posted by milosh

The first time I saw this photo, I asked myself "How could this be composed better?" but I wasn't really sure about the answer. I think that the curvature and direction of the path will always be a distraction. Unfortunately, there are some things that are just not placed the way we would like them, but you should experiment of course. If you're not successful at it during sunset, you can try framing it for a sunrise.. Just a suggestion.

I actually went back there last night and tried some different compositions, but there was no way to really cut out the path leading out of the frame while keeping the benches in the foreground. Oh well, I'm not going to keep forcing it if a better composition is just not there. I guess that's one of the constraints of landscape photography. I did take some more shots, but I don't think any were a noticeable improvement and I didn't have time to edit them last night to post them today. Thanks again for the input.

[SwissJon]

I think if you were able to put a bit of colour in the highlights and tone down the exposure of the middle ground, the eye may not be tempted to leave the picture.. The problem for me is not the direction of the path.. The second bench leads the eye directly to the sun, it's just that there's this great white barrier between the benches and the sun, so the eye thinks it's supposed to stay on the path.

I think if you can get the colour back in the foreground, the composition might make a bit more sense. I think you need to put the colour in the original pictures, before you blend them, rather than try to do it after the fact..and maybe try a different blending option.. Soft light seems to be a favourite among photographers.

[Krusty79]

Originally Posted by SwissJon

I think if you were able to put a bit of colour in the highlights and tone down the exposure of the middle ground, the eye may not be tempted to leave the picture.. The problem for me is not the direction of the path.. The second bench leads the eye directly to the sun, it's just that there's this great white barrier between the benches and the sun, so the eye thinks it's supposed to stay on the path.

I think if you can get the colour back in the foreground, the composition might make a bit more sense. I think you need to put the colour in the original pictures, before you blend them, rather than try to do it after the fact..and maybe try a different blending option.. Soft light seems to be a favourite among photographers.

Well, after reading your guys' comments, I wish I wasn't so eager to put this image up for a critique. I should have paid more attention to the overexposed areas before posting this. I can see how the overexposed water acts as a dividing line. I have seen a YouTube tutorial using the soft light blend mode, so I'll give that a try. Thanks again.

[milosh]

Originally Posted by Krusty79

Well, after reading your guys' comments, I wish I wasn't so eager to put this image up for a critique.

Why? Isn't it better to post anything you have and learn something, than to post nothing? No matter how good or bad it is, you still learned something.

About soft light b. m.: Reflections