newbie to photography

[kwc]

Hi ... just looking for a few comments about this photograph, taken at Cedar Lake (in NY) in June 2005.

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thanks!

 

[Mark Schaefer]

This is a well executed, clean composition, and pleasant early morning lake scene. You got there early enough to capture the mist rising from the lake and the low angle of the sun. Shooting toward the sun produced a nice silhouette. You found and came close to some nice foreground conifers and shore rocks, and these help to frame the photo. It looks like you used a starburst filter which adds to the misty feel of the picture. Such an effect can sometimes be produced by the pine needles and branches so it looks natural and enhances the scene.

If you are looking for a way to add additional interest you could add a subject to draw the viewer's eye. Examples might be water fowl swimming, a boat either tied up or out on the lake, a person on the shore (perhaps fishing). Even without such an element, I find this a pleasant scene to view.

 

[Grumpy]

Crop Aggressively ...

One of my favorite elements in this photo is the subtle sparkling on the water, in the left part of the frame, where it appears the reflected sun is obscured by a tree branch. Subtle and nice detail.

Nonetheless, it appears to me the main subject of interest is the reflected rise of land at the top, introduced by the misty glow on the left. Everything else seems superfluous. So I suggest you try some fairly aggressive cropping, on the horizontal right about at the top of that sun reflection, to eliminate the essentially blank lower portion of the photo. That will create a very different picture, but a much more compelling one, in my opinion.

G.