landscape comp

#2 is your winner.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18296009
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Paul,

Which one do you like the best? I mean, if you could win the competition with any of these 3, which one would you most like it to be?

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Its a toss up between 2 and 3

I love the way the light falls on #3 but I see why some see it as a bit garish
I spent more time contemplating the shot

I love #2 as it captures the mood of the crisp morning, though it was more of a quick decision as I took it on the way to work ( and the fact my hand were getting very cold)

The other + for #2 is it suits the original area (large farming) of where the Comp is.

Its also quintessential to that.

Is there any brief?

1 & 2.

3 is a good shot but it just doesn't pop for me like 1 & 2.

#2 for me is the clear winner (fantastic shot, love it) and #3 if you are choosing two photos. If you are choosing two it's probably easier to find the one that is the "odd man out" and for me that would be #1 as the comp doesn't really work. The FG trees are higher than the mountain, competing for attention almost like they are the subject of the photo, and the leading line of the trees takes the eye away from the mountain as they lead to the lower right of the frame. And then the transition from FG to BG goes bright, dark, bright, which together with the other issues doesn't give the eye an easy transition through the photo.

So, I'd go #2 and #3 Good luck!

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Bcaps wrote in post #18296984
......... for me that would be #1 as the comp doesn't really work. The FG trees are higher than the mountain, competing for attention almost like they are the subject of the photo, and the leading line of the trees takes the eye away from the mountain as they lead to the lower right of the frame.

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It seemed pretty obvious to me that the trees are the subject, and the mountains are just a supporting background element.

The way the image is composed and focused puts all emphasis on the trees, their colour, and the leading line they create, whilst the mountains are just a relatively small part of the composition in the out-of-focus background. .The facts that the ambient light is full on those colorful trees, while the background slopes and mountains are mostly in shadow, further support the idea of the tree line being the subject.

Do you think the mountains were supposed to be the subject? .If so, what makes you think so?
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One observation about image #1 is that the heavy vignette is quite bothersome. .It is especially bothersome in the upper left corner, where the falloff of light robs my eye of the rich clear colour that it wants, and expects, to see. .The vignette in both of the lower corners is bothersome because it is not natural; my eyes know that those areas of the meadow aren't really darker than the center of the meadow, and so the vignette creates a disconnect between the image and reality, and once again robs my eyes of the clear colour they expect to see in the meadow grasses. .The three corners I have mentioned seem dingy and dirty, and that is a distraction because it is incongruous with the rich, clear, clean color of the scene. .The vignette does not help to channel my eye into the center of the image - rather, it draws my eye to the corners because they are the things that stand out.

I would love to see some more EXIF data on these images, such as what lens was used, and what focal length was used.

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2 and 3. I like the atmosphere of 2 and the 'layering" of 3 with the light and shadows. 1 is OK but is pretty 'ordinary'.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18297242
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It seemed pretty obvious to me that the trees are the subject, and the mountains are just a supporting background element.

The way the image is composed and focused puts all emphasis on the trees, their colour, and the leading line they create, whilst the mountains are just a relatively small part of the composition in the out-of-focus background. .The facts that the ambient light is full on those colorful trees, while the background slopes and mountains are mostly in shadow, further support the idea of the tree line being the subject.

Do you think the mountains were supposed to be the subject? .If so, what makes you think so?
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Yes, I did think the mountain was the subject. Positioning a single snow capped mountain in the center of the background is what one does when the mountain is the focus of the image. However, even if there wasn't a mountain the comp still doesn't work with the leading line of the trees starting at the top left of the image and then taking the eye out of the frame at the bottom right. You want the eye to travel through the image to the subject, not out of the side of the image. It's just an odd comp that doesn't work (for me).

I asked for best entry and got a lot of constructive feedback as well esp on #1 - thanks

Thanks for all the feedback which helps improve my images

pelooyen wrote in post #18297805
I asked for best entry and got a lot of constructive feedback as well esp on #1 - thanks

Thanks for all the feedback which helps improve my images

You're a class act, Paul!
And a darn good photographer, to boot!
I wish you the best of luck with the competition.

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