Comments please Dog & Boats

[RicoC]

I took the two images below whilst out and about deliberately looking for photo opportunities. I like to shoot flat & raw. I liked muted colours for the first and black & white suited the second. Could I have some comments please, what do you think of the crop for the first? You may have to view full size because these are both high res.

[Polar01]

Rico I do not mind the muted colours or the images being flat. The B&W is a good strong image well done, to my way of looking is needs to be straighten. Now the dog image, not a strong image, if an object is moving thru an image then I have no problems with missing body parts, however this animal has stopped, it needs its parts. When an animal is stopped it's whole body tells a story, position of head, ears, legs, tail, and body together communicate something. You have done a nice job on getting a sharp detailed image, however it is not working for me.

Cheers: Allan

[rpcrowe]

I have just about the same ideas regarding the dog image as Allan mentioned. However, I think that a square crop could improve the image...



I also toned down the face and some of the coat a bit...

Is this a wolf-hybrid by any chance? It sure looks like there are some wolf genes in that dog...

[RicoC]

Thanks Allan. I do like the colour and detail but the crop puts me off and unfortunately, this is the whole image.

[RicoC]

Allan. Thanks, the crop works but I want to keep it rectangular and as large as possible. I prefer a brighter tone in the face because the dog looks more special this way and stands out a bit more.

I have no idea about it's background, if someone recognises this breed please help. It was very tame and friendly if it is a wolf-hybrid.

[Shadowman]

The first is an odd crop but not unpleasant, does leave you longing for more. Second is fine as is.

[DanK]

I think the second is in pretty good shape. In addition to straightening it, I would crop of some of the sky. There is no interesting detail in it, and it makes the detailed parts too centered.

I agree with Richard and Allan about the crop of the first. there are two problems, not one. One is the missing parts, as Allan pointed out. The other is that the overall composition does not seem effective, at least to me. Fully 1/3 of the image is in front of the dog, which is too much, and the detail on the left is not fully out of focus, so it is distracting. The same problem affects the top--less area, but even more distracting, because of the bright sky. (One very helpful suggestion by a judge at a competition I lost recently: in most cases, avoid bright irrelevant spaces near the borders, as they draw the eye.) Seems to me that the composition should be designed to draw the eye to the dog, minimizing distracting things, and this composition doesn't do that. All in all, it just doesn't look like a deliberate composition. Richard's crop does.

[NorthernFocus]

Similar to others' comments the boat image is well done. The crop on the dog is odd. Atypical crops are fine if they enhance the image but IMO that is not the case in this example. Either more or less of the dog is needed.

[bnnrcn]

I like the B&W image

[John 2]

It's all been said. Much prefer Richard's crop for the first because the interest is in the facial expression, particularly those eyes. Don't know about the breed but there looks to be a bit of wolf in there. The mono really appeals to me because of the angle of the boats coming straight at you. Do agree with Allen though. It needs straightening slightly.

[vaez]

my favorites b&W 2 and i agree with richard allan

[jcuknz]

Richard's crop makes it acceptable for me and the only comment is for small objects you should bend your knees or otherwise get down to the subject level. Using the advantage of the DSLR to put the background out of focus and not distracting
The canal scene is ho-hum and needs something in the foreground to give depth. The framing is off too and a slight movement to the left would give us all of the stern of that boat and loose the righthandside boat's stern ... in each case you are cutting something in a bad place. It ilustrates a lack of selection by the photographer who sees an interesting scene but has not exercised the selection of the essentials, often not possible with a limited range of lens angles.

[rpcrowe]

I have no idea about it's background, if someone recognises this breed please help. It was very tame and friendly if it is a wolf-hybrid.

Wolf hybrids can be very tame and extremely friendly. My Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, Wolf hybrid was one of the most gentle dogs in the world. UNLESS someone threatened my wife, our Maltese dogs or me (in that order). When she was in her protective mode, she was a very formidable 85-pound guardian...

The dog in your image has more wolf-like ears than my hybrid.

[IzzieK]

Rico...I like Richard's crop -- it truly put an emphasis on the dog. I especially like the pose of the dog and it is a shame if that expression cannot be captured.In Richard's crop, it has been. The second shot needs a bit of rotation...