Industrial harbour

[P Plates]

Yes, I really do want it to be picked to pieces. This is a blend of a couple of different exposures trying to tame the flame from the gas plants and the coal loader coming in from the left. It was the first time I've managed to get the coal stockpiles fairly well exposed which I was happy with. The horizon is in the centre but I wanted to keep the reflected lights and cropping some of the top meant chopping that one cloud in half.

[Gaz]

I'm not real confident doing this but I'll have try...

Great subject matter but as you have mentioned the horizon is too central for my liking as well.
I would be tempted top crop it just above that buoy in the foreground and below the curve of the land LHS (To me the buoy is a distraction) then the eye follows the reflection of the flame into the image.

I believe adding a small amount of contrast will remove some of the haze around the flame and the that cloud, but still keeping that soft focus and lighting which creates the overall mood.

Small easy adjustments I agree, but I feel the image will be a slightly stronger and will help hold the eye around the flame and cloud with the other lights as a bonus.

Hope that makes sense?

Cheers.......

[seaslug]

Gabby I really like what you are doing with these evening/night time shots and hopefully in time I can come to grips with blending images so I can get something like the light balance that you do.

For CC this image to me just looks a little out of kilter in a compositional sense, almost to the degree where it could be two quite seperate beautiful images.

In my opinion that cloud just seems to be in the wrong place and draws all of your attention away from the Harbour which of course is the title of the shot. Hard to write down a constructive description of what I think may improve it, so I've put in a couple of edits which indicate the way I'm thinking.

[P Plates]

Thanks guys. I will have another play with this later today and try different suggestions.

[sejac]

There is a lot to like in this image for sure. The colors, exposure, the light all good.

I think Greg is on the right track in mentioning the composition, and I also feel that you have tried to include too much in a way that doesn't quite work.

Taking the image as a whole, it lacks, for me, a center of interest, a focal point. That is not to say there is not interesting stuff in the image, but that it doesn't quite hang together from a compositional point of view. I feel the main problem here is the area of water. While there are some interesting reflections, it tends to dominate without offering any real interest to balance the rest of the scene. Sort of makes it look unbalanced as a composition. The wharf/jetty area are rather small and lacking in detail by comparison. My eye keeps getting drawn to the relatively featurless sea. Also, the sea area at the bottom and the rhs bottom does not have a frame, something to stop my eye from drifting off the page at the bottom right corner. OK, there is no rule that says you have to have a 'frame', but here I feel it would help with the composition.

Regarding composition, they say that the best landscapes consist of a foreground, a mid-ground and a background.

Hope this helped. Sorry if I rambled on a bit too much!

[P Plates]

Thanks Charles. Composition has always been a weak point with me. I think I just try to include everything in the shot - maybe I should just do panos.. Have had a look at different crops but still not happy. Think I'll go back and shoot it again.

[sejac]

Come on, where is everybody else - apart from Gaz and Greg? How about trying for a little feed-back, some CC for P Plates.

We are all photographers here surely.

[Eden]

I quite like it as it is ( I seem to like detail and busy captures more than most ) and the only thing I could think of that I would or may have tried also would be a long exposure to try and smooth the water out loosing some fine detail from the water,
I'm not sure if a larger aperture or ND filter would be best but I like trying both in night shots just for my trial and error style of learning.

I quite enjoy the flame and its reflection in the cloud and the first crop of Greg's really highlights that aspect well.

cheers Eden

[bill jolley]

I've been slack of late. Here is my 2 bob worth The cloud seems to out of place,scrolled down and took the cloud completely out to just above the flame. I liked the reflections and the highlights of the foreground holds my eye to the center of the shot. Others may not agree bit that's what nice about the forum you can say what you feel without being ridiculed Bill

[P Plates]

Thanks Eden and Bill. Have been wanting to go and shoot this again but we've been getting a lot of rain lately so haven't as yet. I'll try it with a ND filter next time Eden. This is a blended shot of a few different exposures to try and tame and flame which is incredibly bright but I could go even longer for the other shots. It does look good as a pano crop Bill.

[Phoenix]

PP I havn’t looked at anyone else’s critique yet. My impressions; the image has immediate impact with those lovely night colours and bright contrasting lights. Well done on the starbursts and sharpness kept on your long exposure.
I think my main criticism would be related to your lovely cloud that you needed to place high on the image it's also a little too central. It also means your horizon is high too. There isn’t a lot happening at the front. There may be a tad overexposure, but that's tricky to control when you have such a high contrast scene. I did a quick PP to move cloud, and to add a blit of black to the yellows. A trim from bottom also. Also added a tad of contrast using curves tool.

I really like how the cloud looks like its peering at the light. Nice juxtapostion! :-)

[HansE]

This was my immediate crop when I first saw the picture. I also like the reflections on the right. There is a whole new picture in there as a vertical, which will allow you to make use of the rule of thirds. Nice

[sejac]

I like your edit Jo. You did in one edit what I tried to say in half a dozen boring sentences.

[Phoenix]

Thanks Charles. You know the old adage about a picture painting a ...

[P Plates]

Thanks Jo, that does look good. I actually know how to do those steps but it's a case of not thinking of it until someone suggests it.

[Phoenix]

You are welcome, glad you liked it. :-)