Please critique - taken on a dull day

The first shot is not bad considering the "dull day" as you said. I almost want to crop the top. Nice use of the rule of thirds, and the textures are nice. If you can get a better day (dusk or dawn especially) lighting and shadows may make this a much more interesting shot.

I would even try playing with a more shallow DOF, but that's just me.

The second shot really doesn't grab me. The powerlines and all kinda distract me. It almost seems like the trees are the focus. Maybe a few cropping experiments, I'm not sure.

Thanks for posting!

Hi readingr,
The closer shot is where it's happening for me. Clear subject, no intrusive power lines.
The highlights are blown out but your comp is nice. I find the digitals tend to overexpose and compensation has to be made before the shot. I
just feel it could be spiced up with a bit of angle. I like to get in close on my widest setting and see what that gets me.

Please critique - taken on a dull dayI like the soft colors of the first shot and the nice highlights in the hay of the large bale. Beautiful.
I guess it's bad form to post my shot here but I wanted to show that great minds must travel in similar patterns.:D


Edited to change to lighter photo.

No problem here.

But black hay!!

I like the way you have the farm in the background and the tufts (if thats the right term) of wheat in the foreground. Nice photo.

I like the first one. For me if you had positioned your angle so that you caught more dimension on the tuft, it would be better. Also, I agree with JK_Photo, grab the wide angle and get closer.

Sorry, but as composed, the second shot does nothing for me. I hope you don't mind, but it seems to lend itself to a panoramic style view.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/bbqsgt/haybarrels.jpg

readingr -
Nice composition on the first picture. The one thing I would do to improve it is to crop out the top bushes and just concentrate on the hay. I really enjoy shots like this that show how interesting patterns can be and subjects like hey. The dull day has a lot to do with the picture not having as much impact, but the important thing is you knew why the shot wouldn't work. Even tho you didn't have the perfect conditions, you made the shot work anyway.
Good job. :) Cheers.

First thnks to all for the comments. I went back the following day when it was a bright sunny day and the rolls of hay had already been picked up and stored somewhere.

AA20 - when you say firts photo and tufts are you talking about Chunks photo of hay in the snow? or are you calling the rolls tufts - I got a little confused.

Jon, Tao, - point taken - I was in a suit and tie on the way home from a customer visit when I stopped for this - Taken from the gate using a 3x magnification. Now I have a Powershot Pro 1 I should be able to get closer and have better control over exposure. Must carry some boots in the car for these shots.

This is a shot I have been hoping to take for a while now. I drive past fields like this all the time and I always thought they would make a nice photo, but I have yet to capture it the way I wanted to. I like your DOF in the fist photo but the large bail in the fg grabs me and doesn't let me wonder thru the photo like I want to. It seems to hold my attention too much. Perhaps moving the bail to the lower left corner of the photo would alow you to keep it in the photo, and help to open up the rest of the photo as well. I like the lighting and the soft colors also. I really like the second photo, except for the power lines, but not much you can do about them sometimes. Now you have me thinking of summer and wanting to try a shot like this myself. Nice work.

No problem here.

But black hay!!

I like the way you have the farm in the background and the tufts (if thats the right term) of wheat in the foreground. Nice photo.
Boy, I really goofed. I changed the photo to a better version. I usually have to lighten things up before posting here and I forgot. The bales being backlit didn't help me much either. The bales are cornstalks, which the farmers use for bedding in the wintertime. The foreground tufts are roadside grasses.

Readingr: I apologize for the confusion. I was referring to your top photo where you have a hay bail up front. I like having it up front like that, but if it had some angle to show 2 sides it would give some dimension.