Summer Reflection

[photo203]

I was going through the photos that I took during the summer and I came across this one. I realized that this moment captured my eyes maybe because I saw the contrast between the light on the left and the darkness on the right. Anyway what do you guys think I should improve next time when i see a moment like this? By the way I'm a newbie

by Five-shot, on Flickr

Thanks,

Kevin

[Donald]

Kevin

The first question that came into my head was 'What is the main subject?'

I appreciate that say it's an exercise in looking at light and shadow. But even with that and unless it's a totally abstract image, I think it needs to be a photograph of 'something', if you see what I mean.

Now we could say that it's about the angle and juxtaposition of the rail running away from us on the left and the handrail running away from us on the right. But if so, there are a number of things interfering with that. There are those modern-day bollards at the left-front. They don't seem to have any role to play on the image. The there is that young tree growing up out of railing quite close to the centre. And then there is the person sitting on the stair. Is he/she meant to be there? If os, then he/she needed to be given much more prominence. If not, then the image really need to be taken without him/her in the frame.

So, it's a;; about constructing the image and being aware of everything that's in the frame. We can have great ideas, but if the elements don't come together and 'work' in that rectangle we're looking at through the viewfinder, then we're not going to get a good image.

The strength of this is your vision that saw the possibility of an image in the lighting situation that you saw. What comes next is the need to practice, practice and practice so that you start developing that critical eye that sees you asking your self, every time, 'Is this working? What's good@ What's not?'

Hope these thoughts help

[JPS]

Hi Kevin,
welcome to CiC.
Donald has made some good points and like the rest of us, we all need to practice, practice and practice. There are some good tutorials on this site, try and make the time to read as many as you can; putting what you read into action.
What else have you photographed?
Please post some more pictures, so our more experienced members can give you some more guidance on how to move forward.

Remember Photography is a lifetime hobby; no need for rushing, just small regular steps each day. Keep snapping & posting.

[speedneeder]

Kevin, I think it's great that you took a photo simply because you thought something looked interesting! Sometimes we can get caught up in the ideas of 'story telling' and such with photography. Personally, most of the photos I take are ... well... just for fun! Occasionally I take photos because I have an image in my head for some reason...
Donald's comments are spot on. While I do think the foliage on one side is interesting, and the man in the shadows is interesting, in the end I keep looking at the end of the hand rail coming down the stairs. It's the composition that makes this an interesting photo of a handrail - humor intended
Thanks for posting, go take some more photos.

[Reynold Mainse]

I appreciate the comments above and would agree. You picked a beautiful location to photograph and the man sitting on the stairs is interesting. There are also some very strong leading lines in the image. I think you just tried to fit too much into one image. If you photographed these two locations in this image separately I would love see them posted.
Keep shooting and sharing!!!!