New Zealand Fjord

[Elbie]

Hi all, it's been a while since I've posted on DPS but I would love some critique on this shot.
Specifically, is the black and white conversion a bit blah? Maybe more contrast is needed? Does it bother you that the boat is moving out of the frame rather than into it? General critique and opinions would be most welcome as well.

Thanks.




EXIF

Exposure 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture f/7.1
Focal Length 50 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias 0 EV

[milosh]

I don't mind the fact that the boat is moving out from the frame, but I would like to see more detail in the shaded side of the mountain. Maybe you could try increasing the exposure of that side just a bit, only enough to see the the surface of the woods/terrain.

[xpostmanx]

I agree with Milosh, I feel the mountain lacks some detail.

Composition is spot on and I really dig it. I would also like to see the snow-capped mountain in the top right corner getting a bit of dodge/burn for a bit more contrast.

[judicator]

Do you have this photo in colour at all?

[Elbie]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I agree about the detail in the mountain. I've done a bit of a re-edit and tried to bring back the detail. Don't know how successful I've been though!



Judicator, here is a link to the colour one - very blue!

New Zealand Boat 2 Colour | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[TimK0728]

I prefer the "original", high-contrast version; there's more drama there. The flatter, "more detail" shot is just that: too flat. It's boring and cluttered. More detail is not always better, and this is one of those cases.

[milosh]

I like the second, edited version better. In the original version, to me at least, the mountain looks and acts like a huge block of solid black colour, and blends with the sea beneath it. In the edited version, it's surface is more defined, but not too detailed, just as I expect it to be. Also, the differentiation between sea and land is more clear now. However, I agree that it lacks some contrast. You need to be careful adding it, since you don't want to change it back to look like version #1.

[Hill Country Hack]

I have to agree with the other folks. I do prefer the first image, but I would love to see just a bit more of the dark side of the mountain. I feel the second went too far.

I like the composition of the matching and aligned verticals of the forground mountain and the masts. Part of me wants to see what is around the corner on the camera left edge of the frame. Good job as to making me want to see what might be there.

[Elbie]

Thank you so much for all the feedback everyone. I will keep playing around with it and see if I can come up with a good balance!

[Krusty79]

If you shot RAW or bracketed your shots (ideally both), you would have more leeway in trying to recover detail from that dark mountain.