Autumn Colours

[Piet]

I tried to capture Autumn.Did i succeed?

[Seb]

I tried to capture Autumn.Did i succeed?

Hello Piet,

I'd say that the location where you have shooted have serious potential but there are few issues with your picture.

First of all and most importantly, it looks like there is some flare in the center top of your picture where it is totally washed out. There are also few others hot spots. Also, the picture seems a bit overexposed. Shooting earlier or later in the day when the light is softer would help. I don't know which kind of camera you use but if you have an hood for your lense or a polarizer filter use them. This may be all it needs to correct these issues. Finally, I would slightly crop the bottom to get rid of some grass (let say half the grass moreover).

I don't mean to sound negative. Your composition is interesting and the reflection of the tree in the water is a very nice element. I just think that you need to rework it a little.

best regards

Seb

[tubaman2010]

I agree with everything Seb said. The tree is beautiful, perhaps if you had moved closer to the tree maybe to make that the main subject then it would be better. The flare at the top really draws the eye, so does all the grass. I believe a crop is in order ;) . Good shot though. Keep Shootin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Elysian]

There are several things wrong with this shot Piet;

- Frontal light

To get everything well exposed you will have over exposure in the direction of the sun. It can also lead to glares and reflections caused by the lens. Light coming from the sides adds more contrast to an image and the colors will be more saturated/vivid. It also leads to an image that seems to look sharper.

- Horizon is not straight. Unless there's a good reason for it, I really don't like it, it's distracting.

- There is too much going on in this image. I always advice people to consider what to leave out instead of trying to include as much as possible. The fact that the image lacks depth of field doesn't help either.

- There is no focus point. You have to understand how the eyes and brain work when a person looks at a photograph. The eyes don't look at the total image all at once, it travels over the image, lead by the elements in the image. Compare it with road signs, telling you in which direction to travel.
Once these elements are missing, the eyes get lost and confused and when that happens the image loses impact on the viewer. The creek is one of these elements that could have worked, if it wasn't for the fact that it leads the eye to nothing of particular interest.

You can only improve Piet if people are going to be honest and that's what I always try to do. It might not always make me popular, but it's the only way to help others to improve.

I would like you to go back and take another shot with some of the things on your mind that I mentioned in my post. Give it a try Piet, you'll be amazed how little changes can have a huge impact on a photograph.

Thanks for sharing

[jcharris]

Hallo Piet

Not much that i could add here . I think you got some excellent advice from all these people replying back to you.

For JoeD :
I have always received excellent advice ( hands on advice ) from you .
Do not worry about being "popular" If beginners like me don't get that honest advice we will never progress and learn in the photography business.
There is some excellent advice i got from this forum . One should be openminded to all the info you can get .
And thanks for your critique on my photo's as well JoeD , I really appreciate your time and input into each of my photo's .
If a photo sucks i will appreciate it if you say so , and where i could work on .
It is a hobby i only started recently and i am hooked !

Regards
james

[Piet]

Thank you for all the comments.I take note of them and I am sure with your guidance and advice I will be able to get that perfect shot.Thank you - all.

[CaraRose]

It's hard to tell sometimes how much is my monitor (*mutters something about wanting to fling the crappy thing out the window*) when dealing with colors and focus since the screen projects shadows from all graphics... but here's my take, to be taken with a lot of salt since what I'm seeing may not be what it really looks like...

Anyway I agree with what most people said already. The shot definately has potential and I like the composure. The one thing that jumps at me right away though is that it seems to have the background in softer focus than the foreground (this may be my monitor though). I think to have the background trees sharper and the foreground grass more blurred would be a better effect.

[Elysian]

And thanks for your critique on my photo's as well JoeD , I really appreciate your time and input into each of my photo's .
If a photo sucks i will appreciate it if you say so , and where i could work on .
It is a hobby i only started recently and i am hooked !

You're welcome James and I'm glad to hear that you're hooked, I know all about it, what a great hobby isn't it!