Did I capture the mood?

[Andreaau13]

Hi,
I'm new to DPS but have been doing a lot of reading since I joined. This is my first photo submision. I took this photo a few months ago on a camping trip. I wanted to practice some low light/night photography.
This was taken right around twilight, I wanted to capture a calm, tranquil mood. Do you feel I succeeded, and are there any suggestions for composition/lighting that could be improved on?
This was originally captured in RAW, adjusted exposure, clarity, vibrance, then in Photoshop adjusted the black/white points.
Thank you,
Andrea
[IMG][/IMG]
Camera: Canon XSi
Shutter speed: 2.5 sec
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
f-stop: f/22
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 18 mm
Lens: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Flash: did not fire

[Krusty79]

Posting Photos from Flickr [July 2010 Update]

Yes, I think you have captured the mood. Ideally, you would have more clouds for a more interesting sky and reflection, but sometimes it isn't there.

[whoda19]

This really is a beautiful picture! I think it totally captures the stillness of the night approaching and the beautiful tranquility of the location.

I do think you can recompose the front ground. Maybe add more shore or just the lake. Just a thought. Regardless, it still looks good.

Oh, and did you shoot this with just a kit lens?

[Andreaau13]

Originally Posted by whoda19

This really is a beautiful picture! I think it totally captures the stillness of the night approaching and the beautiful tranquility of the location.

I do think you can recompose the front ground. Maybe add more shore or just the lake. Just a thought. Regardless, it still looks good.

Oh, and did you shoot this with just a kit lens?

Thank you, yes, I used the lens that came with the camera. I was wondering about the shore, whether to crop it out or not. I do have another shot without the shore in it, didn't know if it was needed for a foreground element or not.

I actually setup before sunrise and started trying to get some night shots and then the approaching sunrise through early morning. Still have lots of practice to do.

[NgaiHill]

I like the peaceful serenity of this scene, I think you have done well to capture that.

Did the colour in the sky change much? I wonder if there were any more pinks & reds? Without there being much in the way of clouds some more colour would've given a bit more interest.

Also I find the centered horizon bothers me a little. My general rule of thumb is if there is nothing in the sky then crop it out. I think that the little bit of foreshore that you have is tantalizing and if it were me I would include a some more of the shore to give some foreground interest and crop down the sky - the large blue expanse is a little boring. The shot would end up as a panorama but this kind of scene works well like that.

[nickposh]

Originally Posted by whoda19

This really is a beautiful picture! I think it totally captures the stillness of the night approaching and the beautiful tranquility of the location.

I do think you can recompose the front ground. Maybe add more shore or just the lake. Just a thought. Regardless, it still looks good.

Oh, and did you shoot this with just a kit lens?

I agree with Justin. Perhaps a little more foreground elements like the shore would enhance the storytelling aspect of the photo. I think you nailed it with the exposure and aperture. Great job!