Winter Ride

[ahop]

Have been following this forum for a year now, but this will be my first post. How could I have improved the composition of this photo? A different crop possibly? As my daughter and I were riding in a wooded area I really didn't have the ability to pose this photo. I just swung around in my saddle and snapped. I like the fence line coming from the bottom left, but am not sure about the large tree on the top right. Any suggestions would be appreciated. It was a rather gray winter day.
Thank you!

Nikon D50
F/5.6
SS 1/100
ISO 800
Focal Length 120 mm
AF-S 24-120 lens

[klam]

Not sure about how to crop but I agree with you about the large tree trunk as it leads the viewers eyes out of the frame. But I like this photo

[Doug Sundseth]

Composition: Interesting subject positioned well left/right in the frame. I'd like a bit more space above the rider's head and I think you could sacrifice some space at the bottom of the frame without detriment. I rather like the way the foreground tree and background leaning trees frame the subject. It draws my attention without being too obviously manipulative.

Focus: Hard to tell on this small image, but it kind of looks like you have better focus on the horse's nose than the rider's eyes. If it looks like that on the real image, you might want to do it differently next time.

Exposure: Overall exposure is good if your intent is to show the gray day. If you want a bit more pop, you could selectively brighten the horse and rider, though I wouldn't push that very far.

General comments: Strong image that tells an interesting story with a nice dynamic imbalance. I look forward to seeing more in the future.

[ahop]

Thank you both for your replies. And in the original it does appear that the horse's nose is in better focus than my daughter's face. I guess we will have to take another snowy ride and see if I can't find a better place along the trails for a photo. I just hope that I can capture a similar facial expression - I think that is what draws me to this particular photo. I had others that were much sharper, but not with this thoughtful pose. Next time...