Sailboats and Sunsets

[PrevailingConditions]

I know these are kind of cliche', but do either of these work? I welcome any and all feedback, even the bad kind. It all helps me learn.

Thanks in advance,

PC

[starriderrick]

I like #1.It presents a great sense of depth, the Portrait framing works .Excellent tonal range on the colors.Great moment captured.
Nice work!

Rick.

[Len J]

Nice captures.

I like #1 also......good color range, but not to busy.

#2 has too many boats, although I really like the sky.

What was to the left of the picture (What did the hill end with?)

Len

[Greg McCary]

You could come to my house and hang #2 on my wall and I wouldn't complain any. I think on the first one you need a little more seperation between the boat on the right and the edge of the frame.

[readingr]

PC

its #2 for me - the reason being the second boat in #1 is too close to the right hand edge it needs a bit more room.

#2 on the other hand has great depth and perspective especially with the land in the background to give real dimensions to the photo.

Lovely sunsets though and great colours.

Roger

[PrevailingConditions]

Rick, Len, Greg, and Roger - Thanks for the feedback and the comments.

Len - I actually had the same thoughts, but my wife was leaning toward the second. I'm not sure what you mean by "to the left": there's a cloud bank that went along for a while, but there's really nothing more than water.

Greg - I would be honored to have one of my shots grace your wall.

Roger (and Greg) - I also agree with your thoughts about the boat on the right being too far right. I was going to try some PS work to move it left, but I hadn't done that yet.

Great feedback. Thank you.

PC

[Len J]

Len - I actually had the same thoughts, but my wife was leaning toward the second. I'm not sure what you mean by "to the left": there's a cloud bank that went along for a while, but there's really nothing more than water.

The (what appears to be) hill rising from the center towards the Right (I know I posted left D'uh)....wondering if there was anything interesting in that direction that might have balanced the large boat (& moved it left). Just wondering what a slightly different composition would have given you.

Sorry for the confusion.

Len

[KenB]

#1 is working REAL well for me.

I like #2 as well. It has great depth. I really like the way the boats kind of fade off into the distance to the right and want to see more of them fading off into the distance.... like if you had another 10mm or of lens.

The colors and comp in both are excellent.

[PrevailingConditions]

Len, now I understand. The area on the right is an island and was basically covered in clouds so nothing too interesting there.

Ken - thanks for commenting as well. I tried a couple shots with the 10-22 and the boats seemed too small to me. I'll have to see if I can find one somewhere in between.

PC

[GB1]

They're both nice IMO, though I think the bottom shot is much stronger of the two (the first may have just a little too much blank area). The bottom one fills the frame nicely. Boats by themselves rarely hold one's interest, but here you've captured great background color and texture, so I feel the shot works. I also like the matting you added to both of them.

G

[DrRoebuck]

I like the simplicity of the first one and the sky of the second. Both seem a little too sharp, for some reason.

[jgredline]

I really like the first one...I think they are both good though..The second one is a little too dark for my taste, although it could be my monitor..

[PrevailingConditions]

I'm not sure what happened, but I tried responding earlier and got a bunch of "Server Busy Errors" - sigh.

It sounds like 1 vs 2 is pretty mixed, but that's OK too.

G - Thanks for the feedback on the composition. I appreciate your insight.

DrR - I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying that they're over-sharpened? I will usually apply a smidgen of sharpening after resizing for the web, but I try not to get too heavy handed with it.

jgredline - Thanks for the feedback on the lighting. Both were taken at the same place but the second one was a bit later after the sun had gone down, so it is a little darker.

Thanks again for looking and commenting.

PC

[DrRoebuck]

DrR - I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying that they're over-sharpened? I will usually apply a smidgen of sharpening after resizing for the web, but I try not to get too heavy handed with it.

Not sure. Either too sharp or maybe too much contrast ... I don't really know what I'm talking about so it's kind of hard to express it correctly.

[gahspidy]

#1 is too tightly cropped, but still has a beautiful sky and reflection on the water. #2 is very good only I wish therre were a bit of color on the water as with #1. Still, both are very nice with the second one being the strongest I feel.
Good

[MarcusK]

Well, I am not gonna repeat what everyone like...coz i agree... colors and mood are great!

But i think both images have the same issue, which in the second is overcome by the many elements in it!

They don't feel "balanced"

The crop (from left and right) is virtually the same in both photos.... there is more space with the boat on the left than the one on the right!

It's a shame you didn't have a gigantic reflector to throw some of that sunset color in the second

Good job!
Marc

[PrevailingConditions]

Gary and Marc, thanks for sharing your perspective.

Marc, you make an interesting observation about the balance, but I'm not sure I completely understand. Should I eliminate the boat on the right from the first shot? I understand about the lighting in the second. If I decide to print this I may try to lighten it up a bit before doing so.

Gary, it's always great to get your feedback.

Thanks,

PC

[MarcusK]

PC, the "balance" issue i was referring to is about the space between the boats on the left and the left border v/s the space between the right border and the boats on the right!

It would have made more sense, for example, if the boats on the left were the ones close to the edge, suggesting therefore what their direction already does.... that they are heading out of frame towards the right!

I guess it is safe to assume that you do not have enough space on the original's right side to make a different crop, and am not quite sure if cropping from the left will help instead of just "cramming" the photo (by making it a tight crop)....

I remember reading about a photographer who used to frame portraits according to the model's age (if anyone knows who he is please do share I can't seem to find him).... Young models were placed on the left slightly turned towards the right because it meant for him that they still had a long way to go, their life lay before them.... Old models on the right and slightly turned right, because their life (most of it) lay behind them!

Whenever I have some time (a minute or two) when shooting a subject in motion, I usually tend to leave some extra space in front of the subject to add emphasis on the "journey" or "travel" of the subject. This is what i mean by "unbalanced", in terms that it seems a bit off..... Maybe more space to the left would have been good too.... but i guess you get the point after this bit of rambling!

This "balance", i believe, is what makes the 2nd more interesting than the first, since its elements compensate for it!

As for colors (yes i know, it seems like i am in a talkative mood), i think a little touch up in adding color to the dark part only (maybe a warming filter in PS) might help out!

I'll stop now! (basically because i ran out of things to say)


Marc