Standing Alone . . . but surrounded in Color CC welcome

[flashback]

Sorry, just me being a bit flaky today. I like them both, each for their own merits. #2 is cool, a *bit* saturated but still, very cool shot(s), so yes, I d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ like them very much

[Kathy O]

Sorry, just me being a bit flaky today. I like them both, each for their own merits. #2 is cool, a *bit* saturated but still, very cool shot(s), so yes, I d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ like them very much

It would have been okay if you didn't like them, everyone has different tastes

[Manfred M]

Thank you for the CC, but if I crop out the sky in #1, I would be cropping off the top of the tree wouldn't I? What am I not seeing?

Exactly. I don't see any issue with doing that. I feel you will have a much stronger composition that way.

[Kathy O]

Try it and see.....

Yes you will crop a bit of the trees but the interest is in the colours and reflections much lower down in the photo. You may even find a very little bit of burning in at the top would make the lack of tree tops go unnoticed.

I decided to take your suggestion and crop out the sky in photo #1, I also reposted photo #1 with the sky for comparison. Let me know what you all think.

Kathy

This is photo #1 with the sky cropped out


This is photo #1 with the sky left in

[Stagecoach]

Kathy, so many opinions already on these great images so I'll keep mine really simple and non contentious.

How about cropping the sky in No 1 and cloning out just the very top of that tree and pretending it snapped off in the wind........

Grahame

[flashback]

Just to thoroughly confuse, I think your first version of #1 is the better. To me (for whatever that may be worth) I like the blue sky and it's nearly equal in space to the water/reflection. I would keep the sky, it breaths life into the image.

[pnodrog]

I prefer the cropped version - but then I would....

Below is it again with a bit of burning on the top to try and avoid the light trunk disappearing too abruptly out the top. If you object to my crude (it is a bit overdone) tampering with your photo let me know and I will remove.

[Kathy O]

I prefer the cropped version - but then I would....

Below is it again with a bit of burning on the top to try and avoid the light trunk disappearing too abruptly out the top. If you object to my crude (it is a bit overdone) tampering with your photo let me know and I will remove.

No, that is fine. This is why I post on here to get different point of views . . . different ways to see things . . .

[Manfred M]

Much better now on #1. Just the suggested cleanup of the one tree and you've nailed it.

This composition is much more focused, now that the distraction added by the sky is gone.

[Kathy O]

Much better now on #1. Just the suggested cleanup of the one tree and you've nailed it.

This composition is much more focused, now that the distraction added by the sky is gone.

Wish I could see both photos side by side, I'm torn . . .

[Manfred M]

Wish I could see both photos side by side, I'm torn . . .

Okay - I've done a bit of cleanup to the retouched version.





Click on the image to see it in Lightbox. It helps.

[IzzieK]

I still prefer the original #1 -- maybe because the inclusion of the textured cloud has to do with it, plus the subtle colour of the whole shot, not overdone as in #2.

[JohnRostron]

I didn't think that cropping the sky would improve #1 until I actually saw the crop. Now, I do think that it is an improvement.

John

[Kathy O]

Such a tough choice for me between photo #1 and the photo with the sky cropped out, but I still think I am leaning towards the one with the sky -- something draws me to that photo. With that said it doesn't mean I don't like the cropped version -- I appreciated everyone's input!

[Manfred M]

The good news is that there is no right or wrong answer here. It all comes down to personal taste.

What is important, it to understand what you and others think about the image and why. To me that is an important part of the whole learning process.

[Stagecoach]

I suppose there's no rule that you can't produce two pictures from one image taken with the camera

Or is there?

[Brownbear]

Hi Kathy,

Just to say that I absolutely love the 1st image - beautiful! (I prefer the softer but still beautifully rich colours)

I like the image cropped but prefer it with the sky for the punch of blue and larger picture, truer sense of such a beautiful place and the height of the trees. I thought I'd share my preference just to add to the keep the sky image, but in the end what matters most is your personal preference.

[pnodrog]

I suppose there's no rule that you can't produce two pictures from one image taken with the camera

Or is there?

Some times I do. I crop a version for a club competition because I know it will have wider appeal but I keep a differently cropped version for my enjoyment. The problem is that you were there and the viewers were not so there are at least two different responses to the image. I have images I treasure but I know they would be fairly uninteresting to most people.

So crop for the audience..... You just have to work out who they are and what they like.

[Kathy O]

Some times I do. I crop a version for a club competition because I know it will have wider appeal but I keep a differently cropped version for my enjoyment. The problem is that you were there and the viewers were not so there are at least two different responses to the image. I have images I treasure but I know they would be fairly uninteresting to most people.

So crop for the audience..... You just have to work out who they are and what they like.

Good Advice.