Pere Marquette State Parkby
MyeReadBikComment by CEJ: Hello from the Critique Club!
I have studied your image and have the following to offer:
Composition/perspective - your location in the shot is nice, but moving a little more to one side or the other would have been nicer. The path acts as a nice leading line taking you through the shot on its own, placement in the middle of it is not necessary. Also, it is not centered in the shot exactly, but it is close enough to make it become a distraction in that regard. Moving to one side or the other would eliminate this as well as a different crop on the shot. Your angle to the shot is good - not looking down or up, but straight ahead. This really lends strength to the path as a leading line. The focus seems soft. Nothing is really clearly defined. Even the limbs and trunks appear to have soft edges.
Color - the colors in this shot are nice and you have a broad palette to work with. Some of them get lost in the bright and dark areas of the shot (see below). Work with contrast, saturation, etc. cannot overcome this. There are a lot of natural contrasts in the shot which add to its appeal.
Lighting - I think this is the weakest part of this image. The natural light in the front of the shot washes out a lot of the colors and detail as well as the textures. At the same time it makes the front bright, it makes the back of the image dark. You lose the path and detail in this area. A different time of day or angle to the sun would have helped this disparity between front and back.
Challenge requirements - even though narrow in its approach, this does meet the challenge requirements for a landscape in my opinion.
Overall/my opinion - a different time of day so the lighting worked for you instead of against you would have helped to make this a much stronger image. The path, whether intended or not, is a great leading line that also could have worked better to your advantage. This image does demonstrate your ability to see the shot. Overall it is a decent and appealing image.
Photographer found comment helpful.