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DPChallenge Forums >> Individual Photograph Discussion >> Critique on FS entry please
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08/08/2014 08:17:28 AM · #1
I don't do a ton of landscapes but I do enough to where I should be able to create a much better image. I thought this was one of my better shots but it didm't impress. So what is wrong with it? Please feel free to leave an honest critique, I would like to use this as a learning experience.



I also have the same scene in a traditional landscape orientation.

08/08/2014 08:29:05 AM · #2
i like the landscape better but, simply put... too much contrast.
08/08/2014 08:30:47 AM · #3
left a comment.
08/08/2014 09:03:54 AM · #4
I voted 8 on your picture. I like it and in my opinion it should have scored much higher. In fact you are just behind my entry, which did also very bad
08/08/2014 09:19:08 AM · #5
I kinda liked it I gave it a 6.
It starts off nice and crisp with nice colors on the bottom then it leads my eyes up to a misty grain that was like a bad ending to a movie.

I would have given the second shot a 7 or 8 it's just a tad oversaturated for my taste.

Message edited by author 2014-08-08 09:20:26.
08/08/2014 09:37:35 AM · #6
I much prefer the landscape as well, for several reasons. First, I believe it flows better (NPI), and keeps your attention on the water. Second, it's processed better. While I like the entry, it had two major issues for me, the biggest being what appears to be a lightened vignette that you seem to have added possibly to better draw your attention to the center falls. If it's just naturally lighter up there then you should have burned that area in. My second issue is that while the foreground rocks look cool, they pull your attention away from the water, which should be the subject. I gave it a 5.

I still have issues with the landscape version that would keep me from scoring it any higher than a 7, a) the hotspot in the foreground falls is just WAY too bright, and b) it feels like it's rotated right more than just a little (I had to rotate it 6-7 degrees left before it looked "right" to me). Truthfully I probably would have given it a 6. Without the hotspot and rotation issue (perceived or otherwise) it could have gotten an 8 or higher from me.
08/08/2014 11:03:03 AM · #7
Both images feel overprocessed, too much contrast, and especially on the horizontal one, way too much saturation. Shots like this, IMO, benefit from more muted processing, a softer look to complement the softness of the waterflow. Everything that Jake (Backdoorhippie) just said is spot-on.
08/08/2014 11:20:16 AM · #8
Yes, agree its the processing. Capture looks clean, nice exposure on the water, good detail throughout. But processing has added harshness and contrast, and overall it seems grainy on my monitor. If you are shooting JPEG you should switch to RAW, which could explain some of that. As far as composition, I prefer the portrait comp you entered, though I probably would have cut a little more off the top to crop it just a hair above the upper fall, which would remove some of the competing elements and draw your eye more to the lower fall.
08/08/2014 11:55:01 AM · #9
Thank yo hall for your feedback, it is much appreciated and I have much to think about with the shot. It is not too far from me and just an hour hike so I can revisit it and see what I can do to improve.
08/08/2014 11:59:18 AM · #10
If you'd post up a full-size unedited JPG of the vertical one, I'd have a crack at it to see how I'd approach your raw material if you'd like?
08/08/2014 12:17:59 PM · #11
Landscape version is better but it still seems oof and the processing isn't helping the image at all.
08/08/2014 01:18:17 PM · #12
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

If you'd post up a full-size unedited JPG of the vertical one, I'd have a crack at it to see how I'd approach your raw material if you'd like?


Sure thing, anyone else is welcome to play with it if they like as well.

08/08/2014 01:31:52 PM · #13
In my opinion, the amount of water seen is very little , the exposure is to long so it's all a blur, in some images that works great, in others not so much and I feel in this one loosing all the detail to a movement blur and overexposure didn't help

Processing is a personal matter , in this case I like the SOOC image better than the processed ones, but that's my opinion, and taste is a very vague concept.

Happy shooting!

08/08/2014 02:32:13 PM · #14
Left you a comment.
FWIW - I scored just below you, so your entry has now been bracketed...
But, in my case, I'm climbing up from the basement, so I'm relatively happy with my score... ;-p
08/08/2014 02:45:48 PM · #15
Originally posted by MinsoPhoto:

Thank yo hall for your feedback, it is much appreciated and I have much to think about with the shot. It is not too far from me and just an hour hike so I can revisit it and see what I can do to improve.


Big thumbs up for having the cojones to ask for a critique in the forums.

I have been screwing around with some waterfall and stream shots myself and I seem to get good results with something I found on the net. I don't remember it word for word but it basically said the faster the water the faster the shutter.
You dont need 5 seconds for that fast falling water I would try in and around a second then take it from there.

Don
08/08/2014 03:09:15 PM · #16
Here's a quick 'n dirty processing from the JPG:

08/08/2014 04:53:00 PM · #17
For me, this sort of scene is already visually very complex. When everything has the same visual weight, there is no place for the eye to settle. I'd give the pp'g a try but can't seem to get more than a gif off that link.
08/08/2014 04:57:07 PM · #18
Originally posted by tanguera:

I'd give the pp'g a try but can't seem to get more than a gif off that link.

Right-click the "gif" and you get a full-sized JPG when you hit "copy image"...
08/08/2014 04:58:08 PM · #19
Originally posted by nygold:

[quote=MinsoPhoto]I don't remember it word for word but it basically said the faster the water the faster the shutter. You dont need 5 seconds for that fast falling water I would try in and around a second then take it from there.

This DPC tutorial has some great info like that. I just bracket the hell out of the shot, from 1/20 to 20 sec. because GB are cheap and good waterfalls are a long hike.

Bear's edit proves the old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words.
08/08/2014 05:33:17 PM · #20
When I right click I get this



No jpg option
08/08/2014 06:03:11 PM · #21
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