Sydney Harbor

[raddox]

I'm trying to improve my travel photographs. Please critique composition, DOF and overall appeal. I'm a rank amateur who is trying to improve. Thanks for your constructive comments.



Exif data
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Exposure 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 24 mm
ISO Speed 100

[milosh]

Hey Bill,

about the composition...I assume the harbour and the Opera house are your main subjects here, but I find them to be too far away..I would like to see them closer. The water is nice and interesting, but it's not a terrific subject to lead the eye towards the harbour. I would have tried to zoom in and fill the frame with both subjects, or only the harbour and the small elegant boat.

[RichardTaylor]

+ on milosh's comment.

Also see how it looks with most of the water cropped out (make it a bit like a panorama).

[raddox]

Thanks milosh and Richard. I cropped the image a couple different ways. What do you think?





I like the closer image better even though I had to crop out the boat.

[phil24]

I agree the closer crop is better. The sky is brighter so the Opera house stands out more. I might try bringing the right edge in a little more and eliminate the tall buildings. They seem to pull your eye away from the focal point.

[raddox]

Phil24,
Thanks. Here's another crop.



Lots of megapixels is a good thing.

[MattG]

Sydney harbour is possibly the most scenic natural harbour inn the world and I like the idea of keeping a sailing boat in the image to compare with the sail like properties of the Opera House design on the foreshore.

I think that you would benefit from changing the ratio of your crop to lose the bottom third of the image (all water) yet gain a panoramic view.

[phil24]

This is the one I would keep, I do like the idea of getting the sailboat into the image, it would really add to the shot as MattG has stated.

[raddox]

Thanks everyone for your input. We had a 2 hour boat ride in the harbor, the weather was fantastic and I have over 50 images of the Opera House and Bridge. At the risk of beating this to death here's another image. Does the sailboat compete with the Opera House or is it okay to have 2 subjects? Thanks for looking.



Exif data
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Exposure 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture f/9.0
Focal Length 50 mm
ISO Speed 100