Marlow in August

[ChrisH]

This was taken this afternoon when experimenting with my new Canon 50 mm 1:8 prime lens. The weather was typically drab for August in Southern England, so some imaginative editing was needed to try and bring this image to life.

I would be interested to know what you think.

[FrankMi]

Hi Christopher, you have the kind of a dramatic sky that I would love to have in some of my images! I have my own version of the 'rule of thirds', I look for something interesting in each third of the image. You have that nailed in the sky. The center third, in my vision, just needs a bit more pizazz. For the bottom third, I think all it needs is the cropping tool. That would leave the waterfront cleanly in the bottom third, the buildings in the center and that marvelous sky in the top third. Your thoughts?

[ChrisH]

Thanks for your thoughts - Frank, which are valid. My problem is the principal interest in this image is on the horizontal plane and is in fact ideally suited for a panorama or letterbox treatment. I was trying to keep keep these to a more standard size as my mounts etc are A3 and A4, but that means a substantial amount of water in the bottom third. Guess I am going to have to think this one through.

[FrankMi]

Hmmmmmm.... Clone in a kid's pond boat?

[KeithH]

A lovely image with a smashing dramatic sky Chris but there is just too much water, probably about 60% could go imho. If you are concerned about mounts then I would suggest that you spend some time looking at an A4 or an A3 sheet through the viewfinder and try to develop a mental picture where it fits in the frame. With a bit of practice you should be able to visualise the area when you are composing your image. Sadly, in my experience, very few landscapes fir within a standard format so there has to be a compromise on composition.

[ChrisH]

Thanks for your usual good advice - Keith.

[Geoff F]

Whatever, you do here, Chris, is going to be a problem.

Yes there is too much 'uninteresting' water but having any objects in the foreground is going to detract from the intertesting background.

I suspect there are really just two options here. Crop the water and lose a corresponding amount from the sides, which would be a pity, or crop to a different ratio and create a panorama effect.

One other small thing. There are a few small white blobs in the water, which may be birds. I think I would clone them out.

[ChrisH]

You have summed up my dilemma well Geoff. In fact I have decided to go for a "letter box" solution and ditch a chunk of the river. You can't see at this size but at the print size of 16.5" X 9" you can clearly see the white blobs are in fact swans.

[JohnC]

That's another lovely photo of Marlow, Chris. What a fine place to live.