Sharing Comments and Criticism..

[Chernabog1940]

Here's a shot of the cottage in the Canada pavilion. I would be interested in how youl would improve it. Thanks.

 

[havoc315]

Here's a shot of the cottage in the Canada pavilion. I would be interested in how youl would improve it. Thanks.

Landscapes often live and die by the light. And here you have very bad mid day light. Most of the photo is buried in shadow, with a bright patch of light cutting through the middle. In the early morning or late evening, you would have had softer light, maybe dramatic shadows, instead of just burying the photo in shadow.

Working with what you've got... I mostly like the composition. Some would disagree, but I like the tree branches on the right to give perspective. I may have cropped just a bit tighter, cropping off from the bottom left. When taking the show, I may have stood moved more to one side, and framed the cottage more onto one side of the image as opposed to centered.

The bigger issue, assuming you shot in raw, I'd bring up the shadows and exposure significantly. You can play with some of the HDR-tone-mapping-like processing as well, try to add some pop. While not everyone likes those types of images, it's a way to add interest. Right now, you have a snapshot.

 

[bob100]

Here's a shot of the cottage in the Canada pavilion. I would be interested in how youl would improve it. Thanks.

I'll agree with Havoc about lighting (avoid shooting in mid-day sun with shadows) and perhaps moving to the side to help the composition.

And I would add that a smaller aperture can make building pics sharper

a random building pic at f7.1

Untitled by c w, on Flickr

 

[havoc315]

I'll agree with Havoc about lighting (avoid shooting in mid-day sun with shadows) and perhaps moving to the side to help the composition.

And I would add that a smaller aperture can make building pics sharper

a random building pic at f7.1

Untitled by c w, on Flickr

Late in the day light, making the shadows more interesting. I'd try to crop out of photoshop out the girl in the bottom left, as well as the girl in red on the far right. Beyond that, I would lift the exposure by a half stop. I think those changes would really elevate the shot.

 

[havoc315]

Here are my quick edits... With a photoshop content aware brush, you can delete the remaining bits of people on the edges of the frame.

23091749934_3928d3d9e1_o by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

[fractal]

@Chernabog1940 I took a stab at it. Looking at your photo, I saw a cute little cottage nestled back in the trees. It seems very inviting, you want to go to it. How to express that in a photo? First thing I did was recrop it to a square. This had the effect of removing some of the obstacles (stone wall, water) to the cottage and made the cottage more of a focal point. I did keep part of the tree on the right to give that feeling of depth, as if we are walking towards it. The crop also (unintentionally) created a bit of a zig-zag path in the grass leading us to the cottage. I brought out the shadows which revealed more interesting detail in the cottage and using LR graduated filter, toned down some of the highlights in the upper right corner. I also brought down the saturation a bit to make it look more natural.

 

[havoc315]

What do we think of these:

DSC_5835.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

DSC_5841.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

[TheBigE]

What do we think of these:

DSC_5835.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

DSC_5841.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

Of the two I like the first ones with the leading lines of the bridge and the impact they have in the foreground. The second one really does not do much or say much to me. Maybe it is about the tree branches, maybe it is about the river....really cannot tell.

The colors seem flat (as likely is the time of the year) and not very inviting.

So IMO, again, the first makes something out of nothing...but not much more. Maybe come back in spring or summer with the sun setting...not sure which way you are facing or where the sun would be in these photos, but a orange hue of a sun setting on the river, bridge and such I think would be something.

 

[havoc315]

Of the two I like the first ones with the leading lines of the bridge and the impact they have in the foreground. The second one really does not do much or say much to me. Maybe it is about the tree branches, maybe it is about the river....really cannot tell.

The colors seem flat (as likely is the time of the year) and not very inviting.

So IMO, again, the first makes something out of nothing...but not much more. Maybe come back in spring or summer with the sun setting...not sure which way you are facing or where the sun would be in these photos, but a orange hue of a sun setting on the river, bridge and such I think would be something.

Agree with the sentiment... Needs interesting light.

 

[fractal]

@havoc315 As a fellow northeaster, i find it very challenging to find the current landscape worthy of photographing. Throw in some fresh snow, or golden hour and you may have something.

The biggest issue I have with the first shot is, yes you have "leading lines" but they are not really leading you to anything interesting - not even the open end of the bridge. I feel somewhat trapped looking at that shot.

The second shot, at least the water "leads" me into the photo which takes me along the path, which shows me a couple out for a walk. It's not a grand landscape but it captures my interest for a few seconds. Maybe shoot it from a lower angle?
Also, too much brown and yellow. Kinda depressing. Shots need more green and blue even if you have to cheat - or go B&W.

 

[TheBigE]

Another one...I guess I want to like this, but the more I critically look at this, the more I conclude it is really not all that...Fire Away

 

[bob100]

Another one...I guess I want to like this, but the more I critically look at this, the more I conclude it is really not all that...Fire Away

OK, I'll 'fire away'

your conclusion may be correct, there is something large and unfocused blocking the subject !


here is something large and unfocused blocking the subject but fortunately it was only smudgy glass !

 

[fractal]

Another one...I guess I want to like this, but the more I critically look at this, the more I conclude it is really not all that...Fire Away

I like the idea of framing the action - it's just that the action is hard to see here. I did a quick crop to bring it closer. I attempted a similar shot a few years ago and like you, never really fell in love with it.

 

[fractal]

What do we think of these:

DSC_5835.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

DSC_5841.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

Took a shot with the second one. Cropped out the tree and the gnarly branches.

 

[fractal]

I think this is such a great spot for photos, but never seem to get any I really like.

How can this be improved?

 

[havoc315]

Took a shot with the second one. Cropped out the tree and the gnarly branches.

B&W was a good idea, but I prefer it on this image:

The bridge by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

[havoc315]

I think this is such a great spot for photos, but never seem to get any I really like.

How can this be improved?

The image is very busy without any clear focus. The flags cover the face of the statue. Then you have the plastic cooler on the left side, ruining the authenticity of the scene. This scene could have called for some telephoto detail shots.

As it stands, it's a little flat. Could use a detail and contrast boost.

 

[TheBigE]

I think this is such a great spot for photos, but never seem to get any I really like.

How can this be improved?

Overall I think some color saturation could help improve the image. My biggest distraction is the flags over the face of the statue. I think if those were not there it would work for me with a just a touch tigheter crop or wait another couple of seconds for the person in the left to be out of the image.

Maybe a touch of mid-day harsh light as well, if possible a bit of fill flash could be use to bring out some of the details of the statue and lower the exposure so the highlights of the flags are not blown out.

 

[sharona]

I think this is such a great spot for photos, but never seem to get any I really like.

How can this be improved?

Been following along on this thread and wanted to contribute some thoughts. For this, I agree that it's just too busy with no main subject. There are a lot of individual points of interest though. I would try one shooting up into the hanging laundry, especially if you can get a little motion of it from a soft breeze or some sun flares peeking through. Not sure how low you can get with that railing there - this is definitely a spot where the tilt screen on my 5100 would come in handy. Also looks like a better vantage point for a pic of the statue from the right side patio with the laundry in the background.

 

[sharona]

What do we think of these:

DSC_5835.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

DSC_5841.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

B&W was a good idea, but I prefer it on this image:

The bridge by Adam Brown, on Flickr

I think the reason the b&w of the bridge is better is that it eliminates most of the distraction caused by the two people walking on the left. In the color version, they really draw the eye and distract from the photo, especially the red jacket. If you eliminate them from the color version, it's a different picture altogether.