Specifically looking for critique on this one... loved the vantage point - wondering what i could do better compositionally... it's a reasonably easy place to get back to and i will want to try this again...
I'll be interested to read others' critiques. Personally, I absolutely love this shot. The only thing that's at all dissonant to me is the hint of cloud.... I either want to know it's there or have it out altogether.
@squamloon tx for that feedback... i was debating about the cloud and second-guessed myself several times over on it... it got left in (1) because it was a bit of a by-product of increasing contrast on the peninsula... and (2) because without it the water blended into the sky and i wasn't sure that worked...
Is the horizon straight? I"m feeling like it's tilting to the left. It could be due to the rock being shorter. I would consider cropping the left rock out all together to see a peak around the corner. I like the detail in the rock on the right and the path and ground. The background focus is good like it is.
It certainly is a great shot and it is very interesting to read all the different views. For me, i think the rock in the right of the frame is just a bit too dominant, especially the top half.
It's already a great shot and I love those rocks. I'd be curious to see what happened if you narrowed the distance between the two rocks somehow. I say let the rocks dominate, and the water and sky. Whatever happens to the clouds is fine with me.
Love this northy! My subjective critique would be to move up or down a smidge so that your rocks are similar but the focal point in the water isn't dead center. I agree that the clouds could use a tad bit of contrast, which may give it the depth you need...Of course, this is MHO! :)
I like the peeking through two rocks...might be interesting to try the crop as suggested. Seriously though, I would love to see what you can do to give this image more depth so it pops! :) well done with B&W conversion!
I think this is beautiful, the textures on the rocks are wonderful. I like how the shape of the gap really makes it look like those rocks are just two pieces in a puzzle and they belong together. That's my only alternative idea - to crop out the path and play with that shape and perhaps show more sky in the process. But that's not a critique, that's just a thought that might not actually work, either. :D
@dmortega well... i *thought* so, but nothing ever ever looks straight to me so very possibly it isn't...
@tctime yeah - i realized after the fact that i'd broken that rule...
@vase hmmm... narrowing the gap means losing some or all of the peninsula, but then, i'm not sure how well that peninsula works anyway - so this might be a good thing ;p
@joa - oooh... i could probably do that... at least on a retake... it was tricky as i was using my superwide lens (my regular zoom needs fixing) so this is already a crop of a much larger shot and i was struggling with focal points...
I'm a rock lover so instantly love the subject and processing. My first thought was to eliminate the path - since the rocks and nature elements are so dominant the path seems the odd one out. Then, with the path eliminated, the eye is led from the lines in the rock on the right, straight out to the distant trees.
I just cut the bottom path out and you get a totally different feel to the image. Would also bring out more texture in the rock on the right - again, just to add more 'rough rock look' to the image.
I love your composition & how the lines in the rock echo the island on the horizon. I also really like the texture of the rocks.
I sort of wish the path wasn't there as it adds a 'human' element to the lines if that makes any sense.
Anyway, I'd be rather happy with this if I'd taken/processed it.
These are small points. Overall, I like the photo but agree more contrast is needed. The brick path removes some of the mystery -- in other words, you haven't just discovered a place no one else has been. I bet using a different lens will make a huge difference! The cloud is fine -- I like its reflection on the water.
It's hard to say! I mean, I love it as it is, I especially like the processing, that kind of blue is like a fish hook to my eye. I like the textures and the blur in the sky. It makes the scene surreal and the b&w fits. That's all I can say really.
By the way, when I went to Stonehenge I took more than a thousand very similar, quite boring photos of rocks, making sure to circle the whole place a dozen times. And it was rainy too, ugh. Anyway, my point is... the only good photo was one of a man on the other side of the rocks, sitting on a bench. Of course, he was tiny against the huge rocks but that was the cool thing. I guess if you want to improve this as you said, maybe add the human element. Do a surrealistic selfie! :)
Last comment, I promise! I just had a quite ghastly idea. When I said surrealistic selfie I imagined your nails dug into that space on the right bottom side of the rock. Just a random creepy idea you could use if you want.
@violeta oooh! awesome! tx for those ideas! these rocks aren't that large, so won't be nearly as impressive with a human element ;p i went back late afternoon to try again but it was very crowded (first truly gorgeous day in forever AND a holiday)
I like it. Good rule of thirds, yes, except for the island. (Love the title by the way). I wonder if you couldn't make more use of DOF to make it a little bit more mysterious? Maybe take from a lower POV?
At first I thought the rocks should be closer but the more I look the more I like the little piece of land - you couldn't get them to move the rocks for you.... ? I also like the path as it leads you into the picture. Love it as is fav
@ingrid2101 ha ha... no, i don't think they're gonna move the rocks for me ;p but if i move a bit to the right i can close the gap a bit... tx for the fav :)
I like the peeking through two rocks...might be interesting to try the crop as suggested. Seriously though, I would love to see what you can do to give this image more depth so it pops! :) well done with B&W conversion!
@tctime yeah - i realized after the fact that i'd broken that rule...
@vase hmmm... narrowing the gap means losing some or all of the peninsula, but then, i'm not sure how well that peninsula works anyway - so this might be a good thing ;p
@joa - oooh... i could probably do that... at least on a retake... it was tricky as i was using my superwide lens (my regular zoom needs fixing) so this is already a crop of a much larger shot and i was struggling with focal points...
I sort of wish the path wasn't there as it adds a 'human' element to the lines if that makes any sense.
Anyway, I'd be rather happy with this if I'd taken/processed it.