It has not been busy on the forum for the last couple of days so I will post again.

I took these this morning. The sun did not cooperate with lots of colors.

Which post do you like better. Any suggestions appreciated.

1) Castle Mountain Wider 8s iso100 11mm f22 (woo thats high) shutter prior tripod, ndgrad,cp, mirror locked up, remote shutter
2) Castle Mountain 8x10 8s iso100 12mm f19 shutter prior tripod, ndgrad,cp, mirror locked up, remote shutter
3) Bridge at Castle Mountain Road 8s iso100 12mm f19 shutter prior tripod, ndgrad,cp, nd for flattening water, mirror locked up, remote shutter

I think I should have used aperature priority. 3 hours sleep made me forget how to set up. Fortunately the distortion of being above f16 does not seem to be that noticable since its a dark picture.

Composition on the second one is must better than the first one.First one appears to be darker and edges are distorted. If anything, perhaps its a bit on the cool side.

Since three of us have voted as of right, and three of us have chosen three different shots, it would be interesting if people would post why they liked one over the other. While I'm not the photographer, I'm curious as to what others are seeing that I'm not, which would persuade them to chose a different photo.

Robert

I am surprised that 2 is better than 1. I really like the colors in 1 and the colors in 2 are lacking and framing is less dramatic.

Because of the framing, horizon 60% on 2 (vs 50% on 1), the 2nd puts more emphasis on the river and I think it leads to more thoughts about the river. So maybe I should crop the sky off and lighten on 2.

I also am thinking about more sky in 1 and less rock (crop higher).

Thanks for the input.

OK Scott, here is my 2 cents:
All three seem technically good, but maybe a bit too dark in the trees/shadows.
I think the issue is to figure out what is the subject and what is complemtary to it.
I like the lines in the first, and it says to me, "distance". Mountain far away, my I start wondering where the river goes. Foreground offers some interest as the depth is excellent.
Second is also nicely captured. Here I feel there are two areas of focus, given equal importance by the framing. The mountain, the foreground rocks/pebbles. I suppose one could view this a "play" on rock in its many forms.
Third is also well-captured. The rock lower right points across the riverbed to the pale light in the sky. But wait, there is a bridge to take in and its well-captured as well. So there are competing draws for attention and interest. All in all, these images capture settings well, offer a few options for interest, but do not make a clear enough statement. (IMO)
Scott

I take back a bit of my comment on the third.
I think the pointing rock, light in the sky bring you across the stream with the bridge. It works!

Thanks Scott - good feedback - as I have said before I am working on matching the foreground to middle to background and obviously there is one last step to put it all together.

What about this view - any better - it is HDR'd and bit dark but more emphasis on river?

I like it. Wonderful lines leading downriver, with excellent framing by the trees and mountain. Still would like just a bit more in the shadows, but if its cold and dark, its cold and dark.
Scott

thanks scott

1) My favorite. With the sunlight peeking through and the clouds just lit, it has enough interest to hold my eye, and keep it wandering about the different elements of the photo. The stream is slightly below center and draws my eye into the picture.

2) Doesn't do it for me. The mountain is the dominating element, and the light on it is flat, flat, flat. Might be a good picture at a different time of day, with sunlight grazing across the cliff face highlighting its texture. The stream cuts across the picture in an almost centered position, creating the feeling of a barrier rather than an invitation.

3) This is a technically brilliant photo of an ugly bridge. I don't know any other way to put it. This is sometimes referred to as subject failure. Tastes may vary with other viewers, of course.

4) Classic nice photo, great leading lines. Light is still too flat on the mountain (the main subject.) You are on the right track with this one.

Nice job, thanks for sharing.

Scott Stoness wrote:
I am surprised that 2 is better than 1. I really like the colors in 1 and the colors in 2 are lacking and framing is less dramatic.



Hmmm. I like colors and and light much better in 2. 1 seems really flat to me.

just my $.02

Ron

Thanks Dark Slider and Matonanjin. I am rising at 3:45 to get out for 5:45 sunrise tomorrow.

Hopefully the light is better tomorrow then last week. All the tips are helpful.

Scott

1 and 2 have too much river rock for me; I like the foreground to anchor the vista to the sky, not dominate it. Dark Slider's comments on the bridge ring true to me: failure of subject. Like what you did with 4: the silky texture of the water, leading the eye to the wonderful blue of the sky. Also like how the rocks have taken on personality, but again, I'd crop out some of those rocks.

Thanks hotspur, i went out and retook but not much improved.

But then I looked at 7;30 in evening as I drove family to condo for weekend and discovered that 7:30PM is much better time. A learning for me - sometimes dawn is not right time.

Sundown is 9:30PM here but in mountains practicaly 8PM. Mountains to north but sun setting north of west.