Sunset glow over the park on the lake

[dwaugh]

This is one of those photos of a place along a daily route that's seen hundreds of times before finally getting around to photographing it. It seems like it's something that happens to us all to some extent. I finally took this off my list this evening. I used my graduated ND4 to keep the sky in check, shooting at 1 second at 100 ISO. I did minor editing with the clone tool only to remove the tip of a tree branch in the sky on one edge, just so I wouldn't need to crop. Usually I do all I can to avoid needing to use the clone tool, as I don't like changing things from how they actually looked. Thanks for looking and all critiques welcome!

For larger image, with more detail: http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/x...psa884b069.jpg

[hminx]

It looks a little too dark to me, i think you have lost some of the detail in those foreground features, maybe a vibrance lift but that could be a monitor thing. Must be tough having to put up with this view every day...

[Greg McCary]

A great picture but the horizon cuts right thru the center. Panning down and getting all of the posts in the shot and eliminating about half of the sky and it would be perfect. Great exposure, colors and sharpness otherwise.

[dwaugh]

I should have addressed the horizon in my post, as that's my main self critique on this. I couldn't have shot any lower and keep a clean shot. Any lower and it's all blackberry bushes in the frame, as this is taken from the sidewalk along a main road. If I could gain access to the private beach below or find a way there I would go there. I have different angles I could try there, and I'll be going back for more. It's less than 10 minutes walking from where I live... meaning less than 5 on my bike. ;)

As for the brightness and details, it could be a dark monitor. On mine I can see the details to the grains of the closest wood posts, and nothing seems overly dark. This was also post-sunset, and this was facing east, catching the afterglow, and the evening was becoming dark.

[armando_m]

Wonderful colors!
I like how the tree reflection makes a diagonal which is the followed by the posts in the water,
Some of the sky can be cropped to move the horizon up

[Greg McCary]

Considering the limited access it's well done. I hate it when that happens. I have actually carried a six foot ladder in the past.

[dwaugh]

A ladder isn't a bad idea, except it's a high traffic area, it may be difficult. I'll certainly consider it, because I would only need to be higher. My new tripod I didn't use that time around is also taller by a little bit.

I agree about cropping the sky down, and if I ever do more with this photo I'll very likely be doing that.

Thanks for the comments!

[Mos]

It's a nice photo, I like the colours and the reflection. But the foreground is a little distracting, too many things. I think keeping the foreground simple will help the viewer focus more on the background. Good job still!

[Grandpaw]

I like this shot including the posts down in front because they give it some depth. The two things I might consider is cropping the sky just above the pink section and leave a touch of the blue. The other thing I would think about is cropping from the left hand side over to just to the right of the top of the left log sticking out of the water in the front lower left hand side of the image. Very nice photo! Jeff

[Don Schaeffer]

Very tame and stable, almost sleepy. This is decoration for a bedroom. I bet you intended to keep everything level and unchallenging.