This is the critique series where I will critique photos sent in by individuals. Submissions are voluntary and as anonymous as I can make them. If the owner of critiqued photos which to be known, they can post their comments below. For now, I may entertain some discussion around the critique via the comments section, but again, these are my opinions and I don’t know everything.
The Critique
This is the second critique for the same person. The photo is still a little small for me to really get in and really see detail, but I’ll give as much as I can.
The very first thing I notice about the photo is the great job at framing – a well used composition technique. The photographer has framed the landscape quite nicely. To complement the framing the horizon is level, which is a huge plus in my book, especially for landscape photos.
The criss-cross of Crow Hill, the North Shore, and the Lewis Hills create a nice vanishing point near the centre of the photo — in fact, there are some nice imaginary lines through the photo, going from element to element.
As you can tell, I really do like the composition of this photo. One thing I do find is somewhat missing is a sense of mood / tone. I feel the photo is sort of flat as it was a dull, grey day. I think that if the photographer could add some drama or something to the photo, it would give it a little more life — a bit of pop.
Many great landscape photographers (well any of the great photographers, really) scout their location and wait for the perfect light. Maybe waiting, or at least planning a better time for this photo, could have added some depth and mood to the photo. I feel that something like a nice warm glow from the evening sun, or a “god beam” on crow hill, or even a storm surge coming in the bay could really give this photo a bit of an edge. Another option for the photographer would be to do a little most post work on the photo and increase the saturation and/or blacks — maybe try to add some contract to the clouds?
As you can tell, I really like it when photographers “make images”. I don’t mean that they need to go and do a ton of post work, but they look for the composition, they wait for the light (or schedule for the light) or they wait for an event. I like seeing premeditated ideas put into a photo (not saying this photographer hasn’t), which is why I chose to get into portraiture where I try to control everything.
I feel this image was quite well done, but like all my critiques, I try to add something to the photo, so I had to mention the mood / tone. Great job!