Winter Stream

[Iguanasan]

Hey! Just wondering if someone could do a quick review of this one. I like what I ended up with but do you think it's good enough to win an office contest?

I think the composition is good and the exposure is alright. I just feel like either I'm missing something or I just don't appreciate my own work very much. There seems to be something wrong but I can't place it. Can anyone help me out? PS: If you follow the folder link there are a few others that I have to choose from but I feel like this one is the best.

From Potential Contest Entries

1600×1282 pixels – 573KB
Filename: IMG_1776.JPG
Camera: Canon
Model: Canon PowerShot SX110 IS
ISO: 80
Exposure: 1/250 sec
Aperture: 4.5
Focal Length: 6mm
Flash Used: No

[jujitsu1]

I'm no pro very far from it but I like 4-5-9-12 better....They just seem to have more charather to them I think...This is still a good shot and I'll probably be shot down in flames for my comment but hey thats just my two cents.

[Carme Riera]

Hi there!

It feels like you've had a good oportunity in front of you and you haven't seen it. This pic is pretty much the same as lots of others you'd find about snowy landscapes. How about the reflections on the water? Look for the original point of view, the one that makes your pic special. You could maybe shoot at the reflection of the trees and the sky on the water and turn the picture 180º, you'd get a special look on those.

[barabe]

I like it but the suggestion from Carmeriera would be amaizing, a real head turning shot (180 degrees) that is.

[AnnetteJ]

Originally Posted by jujitsu1

I'm no pro very far from it but I like 4-5-9-12 better....They just seem to have more charather to them I think...This is still a good shot and I'll probably be shot down in flames for my comment but hey thats just my two cents.

This one is 9 isn't it?

I like 2 best, the snow peeling off the wall, but that is beacuse it's my kind of pic, quirky - well spotted! I also like 12 with all those ducks! How come there are so many ducks crammed in that small river? Is that where they are fed? Are they actually held captive there? It's a funny pic. And I like 15 better than the one you chose, it just stands out more to me.

As for the office contest, it depends how big your office is and how good your colleagues are! I'd say have a reasonable chance and it's always worth a go. Good luck, let us know how it goes!

[Iguanasan]

Originally Posted by AnnetteJ

This one is 9 isn't it?

I like 2 best, the snow peeling off the wall, but that is beacuse it's my kind of pic, quirky - well spotted! I also like 12 with all those ducks! How come there are so many ducks crammed in that small river? Is that where they are fed? Are they actually held captive there? It's a funny pic. And I like 15 better than the one you chose, it just stands out more to me.

As for the office contest, it depends how big your office is and how good your colleagues are! I'd say have a reasonable chance and it's always worth a go. Good luck, let us know how it goes!

Thanks! Yes, this one is 9. There are three categories in the contest and one is "off the wall" so I thought that fit.

As for the ducks. I have no idea why they were all there. I suspect they were looking for water that wasn't frozen. They probably should have flown south for the winter but I think they get fed by people all summer long at a nearby pond and are kind of lazy. I was driving by and spotted them and stopped to take a few shots.

Regards, Iguanasan

[tvoelcker]

I love the diagonal line of the log and and the reflection of it in the water. That alone makes the picture a keeper. I would however like to see more of the reflection and less of the landscape above or should I say behind the bridge.
That big tree in the foreground just isn't doing anything for me. It's un-appealing, obtrusive and leads the eye up and out of the frame. Perhaps by turning the camera from right to left so that this tree was either out of the frame or all the way against the right side of the frame.
You might have had to take a few steps back since I would want you to lose that incredible log in the foreground.
I'm sure people are tired of hearing me say it but, have you tried a b&w conversion just to see if you like the effect? My way of thinking is, if the colors in a scene aren't adding any real interest than try a b&w conversion and see if it works better. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

[Iguanasan]

Originally Posted by tvoelcker

I love the diagonal line of the log and and the reflection of it in the water. That alone makes the picture a keeper.

Thanks! That was the subject of the photo, really so it looks like I'm learning something!

Originally Posted by tvoelcker

I would however like to see more of the reflection and less of the landscape above or should I say behind the bridge.
That big tree in the foreground just isn't doing anything for me. It's un-appealing, obtrusive and leads the eye up and out of the frame. Perhaps by turning the camera from right to left so that this tree was either out of the frame or all the way against the right side of the frame.
You might have had to take a few steps back since I would want you to lose that incredible log in the foreground.
I'm sure people are tired of hearing me say it but, have you tried a b&w conversion just to see if you like the effect? My way of thinking is, if the colors in a scene aren't adding any real interest than try a b&w conversion and see if it works better. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

I was so focused on the log across the stream that I don't think I spent enough time checking out the other items in the frame as I never really noticed that tree until later.

How's this one?

[AnnetteJ]

I think the crop is an interesting idea but you have lost half of the log reflection, which was the best thing about the pic. The snowy trees in the background are OK but a bit generic compared to the reflections, which is what lifted the pic from the ordinary. Try a crop with the same sides as this, but retaining the bottom and losing the top instead and see if that works.