What would make this better?

I just took this image yesterday morning at Lilly Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. I like it, but I'm sure that it can be improved. What do you think is missing or needs to be done?

Malok

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My instant reaction was "WOW"!!! A great shot. Beautiful background, nice reflection, great exposure etc. etc.........

But since this is a critique forum, I looked at the picture more objectively and came up with a few "critique".

#1. Since you decided to shoot the photo in a "portrait" orientation, I would've liked to see more details in the foreground. i.e., the log and grasses (this could also be just my crappy monitor at work so ignore this comment if the bottom half of the pic is not in complete shadow).

#2. A shot of this in a "landscape" orientation.

Thats it!!!

Ro1

Thanks John, I agree. It is a bit dark at the bottom. There was quite a bit of exposure difference between top and bottom, even when using a 2x GND filter. I'll have to give some more thought about how to bring out the detail on the bottom while still keeping the etheral blue feel down there.

I do have a couple of shots of this in horizontal format as well, but I feel that the mountains lose some of their drama with this format.

Malok

A bit of Shadow recovery in the foreground wouldn't hurt, I'd think.

Looks good though.

maybe show more sky and less water. very nice picture though.

i'm a sucker for lanscape photography, especially the ones that get to me. this is one of them but like i said, maybe more sky.

berto

Thanks for your suggestions Berto about having more sky and less foreground.

There were no clouds in the sky and so there was no texture or interest up there. I decided that the emptiness of the sky would actually detract from the photo and so concentrated instead on the foreground. What do the rest of your think?

Malok

I don't think you need more sky. My two comments have already been expressed above by the others... the foreground is a bit too dark and the portrait orientation causes it to lose quite a bit. Of the two problems, I think orientation is the more significant.

The mountain lacks color. I hate to keep plugging fredmiranda, but if you go over there and look at some of his shots, you'll understand what I mean. Sometimes I think he over does the coloring bit, but in your
picture I would certainly say, "Add some color there."

Ok,

For those of you who think a horizontal shot would work better, here it is. I tried to boost the color a bit, but am having a bit of trouble with my monitor and so am not certain how this will look.

Malok

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Much better IMHO.

OMG!!! Much better orientation.......

IF that log in the foreground was exposed properly, this shot would've been stunning!!!

BTW, there is a velvia action somewhere that can give your landscape photo a truly wonder pop!!! I use it all the time.

Ro1

WOW,,,now that is beautiful... Your second shot is the one.. I like the dark forground,the middle and the back,, again Excellent

JZ

The only thing I see missing is a few cumulous clouds, nice and fluffy. Both look great to me otherwise.

I like the landscape version best. Great shot!

Thanks for the encouragement on the horizontal version. I agree though that the sky is rather empty and that it could use a few puffy clouds up there. I'll have to try to do this again when the clouds show up.

Malok