Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

Thank you John. I know the technical side has issues but I do like the shot. Linda pm'd me a crop that I think really works.

Linda, please feel free to add your crop to the thread. I liked it a lot.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Thanks, Carol! The technical shortcomings were not a deal breaker for me (I am rarely accused of posting images that are too sharp ) because I found the subject so engaging.

slynn Loc: poland ohio

Maybe tone down the brightness of the water a bit to direct attention to the main subject- like your use of the rule of thirds.

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

Thank you Linda! I do like this crop. I liked the emotional impact of this scene myself but maybe next time I will nail it both ways - technical and impact. A gal can dream!

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

I consciously used rule of thirds for the composition but I am inclined to really like the centered version that Linda posted. The lake and distant shoreline are still visible providing a sense of place. Someone else also mentioned the brightness of the water. That is something I can definitely tone down. Thank you for taking a look and sharing your thoughts.

slynn Loc: poland ohio

you are welcome

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I also like Linda's crop.

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

The closer crop also eliminates a lot of the sparkle in the water which is good.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

The two comments I quoted above dovetail nicely with Graham's comments today in the Masters Topic about creating photographs that elicit emotion and that to ignore the emotion misses the reason for the photo.

I think we will find examples in FYC where Billy has found emotional impact in a photo and was more than willing to relegate the technical imperfections to lesser importance.

I'm also reminded of CSand's recent technically imperfect, but highly engaging shot of children on a dock:

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-426281-1.html

I think it comes down to what we as viewers are moved by (nature vs. cute children vs. gritty street and so forth) and may vary from image to image. I think if one is rigid in pursuit of technical excellence (in their own work or others'), they might miss the bigger picture. So to speak

Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

Good snapping generally starts with a properly exposed and focused image. Most of us invest large amounts of cash in equipment designed to achieve these objectives. Everybody can make a mistake using complicated pieces of kit and in ones hurry to capture and image not take the care required to get things right. The result is a less than perfect image generally that no amount of feeling, emotion, assorted visions etc will put right. One can fiddle one can play one can try and disguise the faults but the faults remain as exactly that. Its not a sin and often good practice to try and rescue a dud as long as one remembers its just that a dud. No amount of Photoshopping or application of filters can truly resurrect a dud. How much time one spends trying to breathe life back into pixels that deserve a decent burial is down to the individual.
If we are expected to pour praise on sub standard images whats the incentive to post what would generally be considered to be good work. Why invest hard earned cash in good gear. Just grab a cheap point and shoot from Ebay cos the resulting image is not important as long as it feels good? Got a feeling most teachers of photography would take issue with that and may fail a student with that end in mind.

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

Dear friend Billy, please don't feel the need to hold back what you think because you are concerned about my sensitivities. I realized that this shot had issues before I posted it. For years I have practiced tossing the print or now hitting delete. In this particular case I was moved by the subject matter and the feeling I got from the shot. Many times on FYC I have seen even you sing the praises of shots that I personally thought were far from perfect so I thought my shot might at least be accepted as interesting or emotionally pleasing. I do hope my post has not caused you any stress.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

LAF

Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

Its unlikely any of us with our limited skills will achieve perfection or anywhere near it most of the time. That does not mean we should not try for future projects or sing the praises of obvious mistakes. Your image is not without merit is interesting but the faults get in the way of emotional pleasure. But I like you think it could have been quite splendid if it was closer to technically correct. Not much causes me stress dear lady and certainly none is caused by what happens on FYC. My concern is that if we accept not quite there as the goal to aim at then standards drop to a level where anything is acceptable. I do not include you in this as you were quite willing to admit you did not feel the image would be acceptable in the world of good photography because of camera movement. Let you and I strive for all round excellence and leave others to not properly look and heap praise on the nearly but not quite shots.

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

Thank you Billy. You've set the standard high but I'll do my best to move in the right direction!

infocus Loc: Australia

Beautiful image Carol.