Fisherman's Launch

Fisherman's Launch taken at sunset just moments before a huge downpour. I was lucky to just get my camera packed up in time, but had a couple of hundred meter walk back to the car.

Honest critique appreciated.

Taken with the 7D, 10-20mm @ 11mm, 1sec f/18 ISO200

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I really like this picture, great work.

Repo Man wrote in post #12915112
I really like this picture, great work.

And the critique?

This is the critique section of the forum. If I wanted "great work" I'd have put it in another section.

wayne_eddy wrote in post #12915150
And the critique?

This is the critique section of the forum. If I wanted "great work" I'd have put it in another section.

All well and good Wayne but not all members are like you and can't take criticism. I learnt the hard way that, if I can't praise somebody's work, not to say anything.

David

Woodworker wrote in post #12915288
All well and good Wayne but not all members are like you and can't take criticism. I learnt the hard way that, if I can't praise somebody's work, not to say anything.

David

Maybe, but I have asked for honest critique.

I have critiques several images tonight and have seen that all your posts in the critique thread thus far are pretty much "great shot". That's NOT what people post in this section of the forum for, is it?

If people cant' take a proper constructive critique they really are just self inflated and posting "great image" to an image that is not will not aid the betterment of that persons development.

This topic belongs in another thread.

wayne_eddy wrote in post #12915302
Maybe, but I have asked for honest critique.

I have critiques several images tonight and have seen that all your posts in the critique thread thus far are pretty much "great shot". That's NOT what people post in this section of the forum for, is it?

If people cant' take a proper constructive critique they really are just self inflated and posting "great image" to an image that is not will not aid the betterment of that persons development.

This topic belongs in another thread.

Honestly I think he needs to stop posting all together. Everything he says is out of context and is the completely wrong criticism. He is giving people false feedback which is the worst thing you can do.

As for the image...I love it. I wonder what it would look like with less vignetting at the bottom but other than that I cant find anything that I would want to change. I think you nailed it.

It's tough to come up with suggestions for improvement. You took what you had to work with and did a good job with composition, contrast, tonal quality, etc. that goes into a good B&W.

The seaweed in the bottom of the shot is particularly effective at directing your eye back to the converging lines of the dock leading into the center of the scene.

mrbubbles wrote in post #12915355
Honestly I think he needs to stop posting all together. Everything he says is out of context and is the completely wrong criticism. He is giving people false feedback which is the worst thing you can do.

As for the image...I love it. I wonder what it would look like with less vignetting at the bottom but other than that I cant find anything that I would want to change. I think you nailed it.

Even you have praised the image, so why amuse yourself by attacking me? There are too many egotists on these forums who enjoy telling others what to do!

As has been said, personal attacks don't belong on this forum!

David

Wayne,
If you've ever seen me post you know i'll flat out tell it like it is.
In the critique form it's almost "if you don't have anything BAD to say, then don't say anything". Not really, but you know what I mean

The picture is stunning to me.
I could only think maybe a tiny bit darker and spookier?
Is that dock under water...that kind of blows me away a little!
Very nice work!!!

On to other things....
Woodworker...i'm not personally attacking you, but come on dude/chick...people posting here are trying to improve. Just running around saying "nice shot...great start....good work....etc..." is going to help no one. The real people that come here to improve are, more than wanting to know what is right, want to know what is wrong with their work. It's soooo hard for me to see everything about my pictures. Bringing them here lets a bunch of different eyes see them in as many different ways. Ways that I haven't seen. Knowing this helps me. Knowing this helps others.

Really...if you don't have critique, why even come here?
You've never posted a picture yourself that I can find.
Are you just here to see photographs? That's cool and all, but please let the people that want to learn, learn.

DISCLAIMER: No attack was made during this writing.

Interesting shot. It feels philosophically unusual for a boat launch to lead me straight to a nearby island, but that's not a photographic or compositional fault. Exposure and variety of grey tones is nice.

The only things that I think I would try: I would probably crop out the pile of seaweed but keep the tire. I think doing so makes the leading lines and the island itself more prominent. With the seaweed, my eye tends to wander between the seaweed and center of the frame.

That's the benefit of multiple critiques. To me, the tire alone is too strong without the seaweed. The seaweed has no strong element within it, so it leads my eye back to the dock edges and when I get to the tire my eye is moving and doesn't get 'stuck' looking at the tire. Very interesting to hear different 'takes' on composition.

Great job on the conversion but is there any way to improve the exposure in the cloud highlight? Might even want to darken the top clouds a bit to match the dark bottom (masked?)
Please keep the crop as is as ....nice texture going on (maybe even sharpen more). Rare that I would like a portrait orientation. If you crop out the bottom, you might as well have gone landscape.

Woodworker wrote in post #12915887
Even you have praised the image, so why amuse yourself by attacking me? There are too many egotists on these forums who enjoy telling others what to do!

As has been said, personal attacks don't belong on this forum!

David

I did not personally attack you nor did I tell you what to do. I made a simple observation that is not only my own but one that others have seen as well. If there is anything you should "learn the hard way" it should be that if you have no criticism in the "Critique" section then just keep it to yourself. The photo sharing section is a much better place to post "Great Shot" comments. Thats all I have to say. Youre a nice guy David. Not trying to be rude. Just hoping you understand.

I agree with Kachar: The image is very visually stunning but could possibly stand to have a bump to the blacks to darken things up just a bit.

Excellent subtle use of vignetting keeps your eye in/around the center of the image. Lots to see in this capture that keeps my focus much longer than a typical shot. Only part I would change is to PS out the posts sticking up out of the water near the right/center of the frame. They are a bit distracting to me. Excellent use of an ultra wide angle as well. It is really what makes this image complete.

Wayne,
To tell you the truth I'm handicapped by the portrait orientation. It took me a while to figure out that I was only seeing parts of the whole and that was what was bothering me. I can't get the whole thing on my screen. I wonder if this is what's making people want to crop it.

I'd like to see this on a wall - very large. The whole thing.

I see what you mean about the vignetting. And creating shadows. You're using it well, I think.
Edit: Okay I figured out how to get it all in one view. Outstanding. Don't crop it. Put it on a wall.
Better yet. Sell it to somebody and get THEM to put it on a wall.