Does this work?

[gcflora]

Hi everyone. Took this photo on the way home from work yesterday afternoon with my new 10-22mm lens.

Cheers, Craig

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_6vdPqp2Fxq4/SjleOqVig9I/AAAAAAAAASA/VIEKNR83Q08/s640/23528250.jpg

Edit:
Here is the photo straight from camera (converted from RAW to jpg) with no adjustments.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_6vdPqp2Fxq4/SjniDO_N5eI/AAAAAAAAASc/pPcrXzbXeC4/s720/Austinville-Valley_MG_2046_20090617-straightfromcamera.jpg

[GorgeShooter]

The water has nice colors. The trees seems a bit chopped off to me as does the foreground rock. The small amount of sky is a bit distracting. I see something in the water in front of the big rock. Perhaps getting down low with a wide angle and making the water the main part of the frame would provide an interesting image. Or filling the frame with the water and vegetation (sans sky) would be a good choice.

[superdiver]

Not sure what it is lacking, but it just doesnt grab me. I like it, but it doent have a WOW for me... and there is nothing I can really point out as a problem either...

[Advisor]

Looks like a cool spot but the pic doesn't "wow" me either - maybe find a different angle like Gorge said...I think eliminating the sky would help a lot too...

[benny g]

i think it was missing a little... pop...

i just adjusted a few things... like levels and curves, then popped it a little( added more contrast... would look real nice with a deer or dinosaur drinking at the creek;) or maybe a unicorn... its got that kinda mystical look to it...

benny

[rumplepigskin]

you added to much blue with the saturation

[tonydee]

Is it cropped from a larger image? I can't shake the feeling that the camera hasn't been held horizontal, and we're seeing some convergence towards the top of frame. Given the centre of the picture would be in amongst the trees behind the water, and at least 50cm to 1m off the ground, it doesn't look like there's a large drop in height, but that analysis would be incomplete if if you've cropped some off the bottom. This ties in with my initial feeling - that different parts of the image suggest a need for different straightening rotations. The harsh white area at top right is distracting, as is its reflection. Overall though, I'd say the image isn't going to be a stunner, whatever's done with it. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, but it lacks any magic to make it memorable. Sorry for being unable to suggest anything concrete. Cheers, Tony

[benny g]

you added to much blue with the saturation

thats weird... i didnt even touch the saturation levels... must of happened with the overlay...

should tone that blue down...

[tonydee]

Hey Benny... sorry to say, but it looks like you spilt your chocolate drink on the photo there... big blotches of it in the water at right. Cheers, Tony

[benny g]

lol
i had so much time this afternoon... just looking at reflection stuff on the net... couldnt find the right unicorn image...
ah, takes me back to the days when rooms were filled with a weird smelling herb...

[gcflora]

Thanks everyone for the replies and excellent feedback (as always).

tonydee: unless the little spirit level that I stick in my hotshoe is broken (it could be) then the image was level both horizontal and vertical. It's not cropped either. What annoys me also is the line/curve of the crack in the rock on the left which carries on into the tree. This is only my 4th photo with the 10-22mm, so maybe there are some quirks I have to work out.

Gorge and Advisor: It's not far out of my way when I drive home from work, so I think I'll give it another shot next week and try different angles and look at eliminating the sky.

BennyG: Thanks for the different ideas regarding saturation etc. What happened in the second photo, with the strange hot chocolate (to borrow tonydee's phrase)? :-)

On a side note, the blue on the left hand side of the photo on the rocks... I dunno where that blue is coming from... would it be from the sky?

Cheers, Craig

[gcflora]

Not sure what it is lacking, but it just doesnt grab me. I like it, but it doent have a WOW for me... and there is nothing I can really point out as a problem either...

Yes, it does appear to be lacking the wow. I sometimes forget that what I see as wow does not translate well for the wider audience... it's good to be reminded of this often :-) Thanks for the response.

[gcflora]

Tony: I just thought of something else that might be causing your unease. The trees are growing oddly in real life -- this stream often floods. Those palms are bangalow palms (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) and if they get knock over when young -- which would happen often in this stream (especially since high rainfall coincides with the germinating plants) -- they grow all wonky. Further, they get wonky *together* (display similar wonkiness when they're close together). Perhaps a different angle as someone suggested might alleviate the feeling of unease the photo causes?

Cheers, Craig

[gcflora]

or maybe a unicorn... its got that kinda mystical look to it...
benny

This is the second photo that I've posted where people refer to unicorns and mysticism... maybe I was a unicorn trainer in a previous life, lol.

[tonydee]

Tony: I just thought of something else that might be causing your unease. The trees are growing oddly in real life -- this stream often floods. Those palms are bangalow palms (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) and if they get knock over when young -- which would happen often in this stream (especially since high rainfall coincides with the germinating plants) -- they grow all wonky. Further, they get wonky *together* (display similar wonkiness when they're close together). Perhaps a different angle as someone suggested might alleviate the feeling of unease the photo causes?

I see... fascinating. Thanks for filling me in.

I'm not sure about a different angle, think I'd need to be there to see all the options in person. Definitely worth consideration.

Cheers, Tony

[gcflora]

think I'd need to be there to see all the options in person. Definitely worth consideration.

Sounds OK to me. Meet you at 4PM next Tuesday at the Gold Coast Australia airport? ;-)

[tonydee]

Hmmm... if you can throw a 3 month C++ contract into the bargain, I'm coming... :-)

[gcflora]

Hmmm... if you can throw a 3 month C++ contract into the bargain, I'm coming... :-)

Yeah, you can work on my latest wxWidgets based open source project. I will contract you. Can't pay you though, sorry. Lol ;-) I'll also get you working on my custom linux kernel, but that is C, so you'll have to dust off ya non-OO gloves :P

[benny g]

Thanks everyone for the replies and excellent feedback (as always).

tonydee: unless the little spirit level that I stick in my hotshoe is broken (it could be) then the image was level both horizontal and vertical. It's not cropped either. What annoys me also is the line/curve of the crack in the rock on the left which carries on into the tree. This is only my 4th photo with the 10-22mm, so maybe there are some quirks I have to work out.

Gorge and Advisor: It's not far out of my way when I drive home from work, so I think I'll give it another shot next week and try different angles and look at eliminating the sky.

BennyG: Thanks for the different ideas regarding saturation etc. What happened in the second photo, with the strange hot chocolate (to borrow tonydee's phrase)? :-)

On a side note, the blue on the left hand side of the photo on the rocks... I dunno where that blue is coming from... would it be from the sky?

Cheers, Craig


lol,,, to much time... not the right image... hot chocolate it is...:(

benny