Japakomom Loc: Originally from the Last Frontier

This is a first for me. I have been a lurker in the Critique Section for some time now and decided I should just take the plunge. I am mostly blown away by the talent I see here and want to be able to learn from you all. So here goes.

(Download)

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

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Hi, japakomom,\
your Program exposure worked well. Was this taken from a tripod or hand-held? At 1/45 sec I"'d never get that sharp...even with wide angle.\
Good use of hyperfocality.\
Composition results from a well-chosen scene and good camera position. There are leading lines of perspective galore with the disappearance point at the end of the canal...and the roughntriangles of sky and water meet about there as well.\
The depth of the scene pulls me into it and I feel as if I ought duck as I approach the first bridge.}

The vertical format work well with the submitted scene. I do, however, suggest consideration of a square format with this full width but centered on the near canal bridge. The sky and its reflection and the full depth of the image endure with less upward distraction of the eye away from all the interesting aspects of the canal and its immediate environment. Not sure to what, if any, improvement that might make, if any, but I'd like to see it tried.

I like this image.
Dave in SD.

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

Welcome to the exhibitionist corner of UHH. For a first submission this is a knockout. Actually its a knockout by any standard. Perfect exposure with good detail even in the deepest shadows. Wonderful late afternoon light reflects glow off the bright buildings into the shadows - a good example of the 'golden hour'. I think your composition is superb. At 100 % one is drawn deeper and deeper into the magic of this place - exquisite detail is revealed at every corner. I particularly like that the nearest bridge has under it the reflection of the next bridge which we cannot see. There is a bit of noise in the shadows, and a bit of CA (only visible at 100%) which is easy to fix. All in all "a great shot!"

Japakomom Loc: Originally from the Last Frontier

Hi Dave,
Thank you for responding! This was taken hand held. As my husband and I were walking all the little ways we could around the city and finally came to an area that was not as congested. I actually had to hurry and take the shot as there was a motor boat coming and would disturb the water. I will take your suggestion and see what a square format looks like.
The one part of this photo that disturbs me is the sky. I feel like I do not have a handle on capturing the sky and it becomes over exposed. Do you have any suggestions on how to capture a better sky?

Thanks again!
Richelle

Japakomom Loc: Originally from the Last Frontier

Hi McVeed!
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I appreciate the feedback and the compliments. I have always been a snapshot photographer and am now wanting to learn and understand how to take photography further. I also need to learn how to properly use Lightroom. I will read up and figure out how to fix the noise and CA.
Thank you again!
Richelle

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Hi, Richelle,
The only problem with the sky in your image is, in fact, the sky you were dealt by the Cosmos in the scene you photographed!
The simple answer is that you caught that that sky as it was...an uninteresting spread of light blue...which is why I felt no remorse suggesting a crop that would reduce its proportion in the image.

It's always nice when artfully arranged clouds appear in the sky your camera sees. sadly, that's a "sometime thing"" and we either recompose the image to de-emphasize the sky,... or not. An alternative is to "composit" a different patch of sky from another image in place of the sky in your image. That's more involved and falls in the realm of the Post-processing Section.

Best regards,
Dave

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

A polarizer filter will help to darken a lifeless sky, but use with caution with a wide angle lens as it may darken the sky unevenly. Some landscape and urban scape photographers compose to eliminate the sky unless it is interesting enough to add something. There is one well known photographer who regularly contributes to Arizona Highways magazine (name temporarily forgotten) who never puts the sky in his pictures.

Japakomom Loc: Originally from the Last Frontier

Thank you McVeed!