ebino
Well-known
Please critique this image with no-holds-barred and complete honesty. Make me hate it, because I'm seduced by it for some reason.
sol33
Established
I like it. Maybe if you got a bit lower, the silhouettes of the boats would be clearer to see against the horizon.
antiquark
Derek Ross
Not bad, but seems excessively grainy for the subject matter.
jesse1dog
Light Catcher
I like the general feel for both photos although I don't know what it is in the sky of the second! The sea in the first looks very 'hard' to me and hasn't got the water like quality of the second. Yes - I can 'see' the grain too! Not knowing anything about the post processing that you have done, or understanding anything about it either, I'll as a 'daft' question. Has the first photo been oversharpened?
jesse
jesse
Silva Lining
CanoHasseLeica
Yep, I like the image but its a little grainy, all over, but especially in the area under the large cumulus cloud on the left. Doesn't spoil the image for me though.
Warren T.
Well-known
Ebino: I absolutely hate this image, it s*cks big time!!!! No, I'm just kidding! 
I really like it, and as others mentioned before, the only thing I would note is the slight graininess or noise which would probably make it difficult to enlarge the image, but works fine for viewing on online. The horizon position works for me because it accentuates the dramatic clouds.
additional: I looked a bit more at this, and conclude that the image can stand to be lightened just a tad.
--Warren
I really like it, and as others mentioned before, the only thing I would note is the slight graininess or noise which would probably make it difficult to enlarge the image, but works fine for viewing on online. The horizon position works for me because it accentuates the dramatic clouds.
additional: I looked a bit more at this, and conclude that the image can stand to be lightened just a tad.
--Warren
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Out to Lunch
Ventor
My two cents: I am happy with the grainy rendition but not with the light...too dark on the waterline as the boats appear as half sunk...
tapesonthefloor
Well-known
The clouds draw my eye from top-left down to middle-right, then the tops of the sails carry that line gently from middle-right down to lower-left.
I've always hated Snakes & Ladders.
This photo enrages me.
I've always hated Snakes & Ladders.
This photo enrages me.
hteasley
Pupil
Echoing other comments: just seems like the wrong subject matter for grain. Some pictures call out for it, but grain in this photo really flattens the space, and not in a cool abstract way.
daninjc
Well-known
I think it's a great image. I don't mind the grain at all - I feel it adds to the mood of the picture.
To me the only thing is the darkness of the horizon - it makes the sails too dark to discern. If at least one of them was light-colored or illuminated that would make it perfect.
To me the only thing is the darkness of the horizon - it makes the sails too dark to discern. If at least one of them was light-colored or illuminated that would make it perfect.
ramosa
B&W
I like the grain in the sky, but not as much in the waters. The photo seems to affect me in two ways—as a study of form and as a conveyance of mood. Having the sailboats so far away seems to take away from the first effect, sort of mitigating the sense of repetition of form. The mood is strong, though, with the distant boats, each cutting their own path, under the large bank of clouds. I seem to want a reflection off the water, but—of course—surface waters normally aren’t calm when there’s enough wind for sailboats.
Andy Kibber
Well-known
I think the photo is well composed. The spacing between the boats and between the horizon and the bottom of the clouds and between the top of the clouds and the top of the frame all work together nicely.
That said, the subject matter leaves me a little cold and I agree with others that the grain is a bit distracting in a photo like this.
Over all it is a very pleasant photograph but I don't have an emotional response to it.
That said, the subject matter leaves me a little cold and I agree with others that the grain is a bit distracting in a photo like this.
Over all it is a very pleasant photograph but I don't have an emotional response to it.
Sparrow
Veteran
The low horizon line focusses my attention on the sky and both the major construction lines there are depressive (top left/bottom right)
The subjects themselves, the boats, tend to intrude on on the composition's main lines and are rather a distraction to the overall composition than it's locus.. so
... I like it myself
The subjects themselves, the boats, tend to intrude on on the composition's main lines and are rather a distraction to the overall composition than it's locus.. so
... I like it myself
DougFord
on the good foot
are you being seduced by the rule of thirds
ironhorse
Joe DuPont
It is a pleasant image but not, for me, compelling in any way. My attention wanders all over the place with no clear focus.
Benjamin Marks
Veteran
Here is my best shot: It is a nice picture, but what keeps it from being a great picture is that there is no "there" there. I am not really sure what the subject matter is, the story that is being told.
And it is tough, because with distant subject matter you don't really have a lot of choice. It's "picture" or "no picture." So what to do? First, have a look at what makes the picture interesting. For me it is the pre-Raphaelite look to the clouds, the late-afternoon, directional quality to the light, the contrast between the implied power in the cloud-bank and the fragility or the recreational quality of the sail boats. I would want to see more of the boats and less of the water. When you know what your subject matter is, you can isolate it more effectively and better evoke an emotion in a viewer for whom it is the only impression he will ever have of a scene, rather than a memento of a pleasant afternoon. If I mentally crop the image to isolate only the boat on the left-hand side of the frame, I get more of the look I'd want.
Not meant to be harsh, and hope this helps.
Ben
And it is tough, because with distant subject matter you don't really have a lot of choice. It's "picture" or "no picture." So what to do? First, have a look at what makes the picture interesting. For me it is the pre-Raphaelite look to the clouds, the late-afternoon, directional quality to the light, the contrast between the implied power in the cloud-bank and the fragility or the recreational quality of the sail boats. I would want to see more of the boats and less of the water. When you know what your subject matter is, you can isolate it more effectively and better evoke an emotion in a viewer for whom it is the only impression he will ever have of a scene, rather than a memento of a pleasant afternoon. If I mentally crop the image to isolate only the boat on the left-hand side of the frame, I get more of the look I'd want.
Not meant to be harsh, and hope this helps.
Ben
oftheherd
Veteran
It does have an apearance of being over exposed (grain?), but that could just be my crappy monitor at work.
I like the composition even though others have not. I like the general scenic of the boats at play, but with the weather front moving in, and therefore, the big almost ominus clouds about to overshadow everything. That contradiction makes it interesting and enjoyable for me.
If you want to hate it, do so for the exposure, not the content imho.
I like the composition even though others have not. I like the general scenic of the boats at play, but with the weather front moving in, and therefore, the big almost ominus clouds about to overshadow everything. That contradiction makes it interesting and enjoyable for me.
If you want to hate it, do so for the exposure, not the content imho.
mfogiel
Veteran
I think this is an OK photo, and if it means something special to you, then it is a good photo. For the rest of the humanity, this photo is simply banal, that's all.
BTW, taking banal photos seems to be the favourite sport of most people, myself included.
BTW, taking banal photos seems to be the favourite sport of most people, myself included.
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Vobluda
Well-known
ebino
Well-known
Thank you all for your excellent feedback, i did learn a lot and as always i saw more than i had seen initially.
But I have to say, the seduction is still there, I agree its noisy, the color of the sky is a little strange, the boats are not close and not far enough, and Sparrow's arrow shows how the composition is not right, and i also believe if its printed it will not be as charming etc... but the reason i feel seduced by this image is that technically it has all the flaws but for some strange reason it works for me... Anyway, thanks again.
But I have to say, the seduction is still there, I agree its noisy, the color of the sky is a little strange, the boats are not close and not far enough, and Sparrow's arrow shows how the composition is not right, and i also believe if its printed it will not be as charming etc... but the reason i feel seduced by this image is that technically it has all the flaws but for some strange reason it works for me... Anyway, thanks again.