Margaritaville

[ajsmith]

This is a long exposure without much light. I used a small aperture to get the starburst on the lights. The light in the front of the photo is from the flashlight app on my phone. It is covered with a white translucent plastic lid to diffuse the light some.
C and C welcome.

f16, ss-30sec, iso-100, Canon 18-55mm

[Mike Buckley]

Very clever, Ali! It makes me think the scene is a restaurant bar that has the ambiance of an upscale shack.

[Donald]

Very well arranged and the lighting works really well. I wonder if we need all the space at the left-hand side? What would a crop just inside that upright post be like?

[Shadowman]

Nice image, I would crop out the lower edge of the bar or tone down the highlight.

[NorthernFocus]

Margaritaville indeed. I really like this shot. I agree with the prior comment to crop out the reflected light on the edge of the bar. Nicely done.

I feel suddenly thirsty...

[IzzieK]

Hmmm... me think that cropping the left side will lose the essence of the shot, Donald...I like the way it is. Just my old eyes looking at it though. I like the colours and the composition too. Well done.

[Mike Buckley]

I wouldn't change a thing. Making any of the changes suggested so far would remove too much of the rustic, wacky, kitschy ambiance of the scene for me.

[bnnrcn]

Great composition, colors and texture

[ajsmith]

Thanks everyone for viewing and commenting. I agree with all the comments... that there is too much empty space on left and that a crop my take too much out of the photo.

So I remembered a tool in Photoshop Elements called "Recompose". For those that aren't familiar with it, you mark areas on the photo you want to remove in red and areas you want to keep in green. Next you move the photo to the left, like you are resizing it by its right side middle handle. It is kind of like a crop and photo merge all in one.

So here is the result. I managed to remove some from the left side and move the two lights closer to the beam. I darkened the light at the bottom of the photo too. Now it suffers from "centeritis". What do you think?

I guess I could retake the photo... I will have to make the drinks again

[Mike Buckley]

Now it suffers from "centeritis". What do you think?

That's exactly what I think and is one of the reasons I alluded to when I suggested that you leave the original unchanged. When I send you the money for a print, please be sure to print the first one.

[rpcrowe]

Neat shot. I wonder how it would look if shot wide-open using selective focus to keep the glasses in focus and to knock the BG OOF?

[csa mt]

Hmmm... me think that cropping the left side will lose the essence of the shot, Donald...I like the way it is. Just my old eyes looking at it though. I like the colours and the composition too. Well done.

+1, I love it!

[NMarie]

Nice composition Ali and a nice rendering of the low light. The picture looks inviting for a nice cocktail for the night!