OK here i go... Please C&C all

[Dublinnewbie]

just back from a couple of days in Galway and came across a boat race with these Galway 'hookers'. Interested especially in composition comments as I am a complete newbie and I have a number of shots and I am having difficulty deciding on cropping. Also any other comments welcomed.

[OC Zoom]

There's not really anything special. Look like a snapshot. Composition would be much better if you would have used the rule of 1/3's. The color is drab and it is out of focus.

[joedlh]

They're really chugging along.

If you look at your levels histogram, you will see that you're not using the tonal range all the way to the black end. I adjusted that. I also sharpened a touch, as it looks like your sharpest focus was somewhat closer to your position than the boats. See what you think.

[canonnoob]

I think it might look great In Black and white.

[joedlh]

There's not really anything special. Look like a snapshot. Composition would be much better if you would have used the rule of 1/3's. The color is drab and it is out of focus.

Sailboats are always special in my book. These are particularly interesting because of the two head sails. I'm tempted to classify them as gaff-rigged cutters. Am I wrong?

Might I suggest that a critique telling somebody what's wrong with an image is not especially helpful. Next time, try to say something about how the image might be improved. By the way, unless one is in a chase boat or a helicopter, it's not easy to take pictures of sailboats that are not snapshots. It looks like these were taken from shore where your compositional and lighting control options are limited.

[jetcode]

Some folks believe the rule of 1/3's is gospel never to be challenged ... not so!
And some folks will tell you all you have is snapshot ... not so!

People get lost in rules of composition because they think the techniques used to capture the glorious splendor of the Tetons must be used to capture the mystery and charm of a late night party between friends ... not so!

I think Joe did a fine job bringing more glory to this image. I think a sharper focus on the sailboats would be handy and of course I know full well how difficult that can be at times. I think the distance between the sails to the top of the frame and the water edge to the bottom of the boat should be the same but only because I think there is some water there that is not helping the subject (IMO).

[Dublinnewbie]

Thank you all for your advice. This is a great forum to get good ideas about what to look out for. The comments about focus are noted and I will pay extra attention to this in the future. Joedlh, your tweaking certainly improves things

I was on the shore taking these shots so could not do a lot in terms of my whereabouts for lighting etc. (however I did think the light was quite good). The comments about rules of thirds is the reason I posted this, I was not sure what to do. I have attached the original pre cropping to see if anybody wants to have ago at what might be best.

Every day is a school day!

[cheggy]

I prefer it with the background included. I think it ads a nice touch. I added some graduated saturation to the sky to give it a little more colour.

[DragonDan]

compo-geeks might disagree, although I've made some fine exposures while intentionally ignoring the rule of thirds.
You could experiment with cropping closer to the boats on the left, which might lend a bit more tension to the feel, or adding more 'room' to the left which might give us a more relaxed composition.

It's digital, so no reason not to play with it!

[Dublinnewbie]

Thanks all for comments. time to start experimenting!!

[Bill Boehme]

Thank you all for your advice. This is a great forum to get good ideas about what to look out for. The comments about focus are noted and I will pay extra attention to this in the future. Joedlh, your tweaking certainly improves things

I was on the shore taking these shots so could not do a lot in terms of my whereabouts for lighting etc. (however I did think the light was quite good). The comments about rules of thirds is the reason I posted this, I was not sure what to do. I have attached the original pre cropping to see if anybody wants to have ago at what might be best.

Every day is a school day!

The original version of the image that you posted lacked context for me, but the second uncropped image is a vast improvement as far as I am concerned. If the original image was about the sailboats, there just was not enough there to hold my interest. However, in the second image, I see it as a landscape image with the sailboats being a strong foreground point of interest.

As far as lighting is concerned, sometimes atmospheric haze and other lighting conditions can be a problem, but I think that this is a very nice shot despite the slightly hazy appearance. If you are not shooting in RAW, I would highly recommend it because it allows you to rather easily deal with some issues such as dynamic range (except for blown highlights).

I agree with those who say that the "rule" of thirds is not really a rule. To me it is just a compositional guideline that is not meant to be a requirement for all image compositions. I don't let any so-called "rule" interfere with taking a photo. I can always decide later what to do with the image. No electrons are harmed when a digital image is discarded -- they just get recycled into something better.

[Dublinnewbie]

Thanks for your comments Bill.

I can see now that the cropped shot is not strong enough to hold interest and that the original has more going on. The advice I had read talked about having a defined subject and to avoid a cluttered photograph that can confuse the viewer. This was why I cropped the background.

In a nutshell it seems that this shot is neither one thing or the other and I can see that now thanks to the C&C. This makes me more determined to get it right.

Will also be looking at shooting RAW from now on and making sure I get crystal sharp focus.

Rob