Sunset Over Hamilton Harbour

[joebranko]

Went taking pics with my Grandson last week at Hamilton Harbour. Took so many pics it was difficult to decide which to keep and which to toss. I felt this one was a keeper.

[Manfred M]

Joe - if there is one thing that a lot of photographers love is the funky colours one sees at sunset.

In my view, that is not enough. The image needs to be strong to begin with and should stand alone if the sunset were not happening. If you dig down and analyze this image; the bird appears to be the subject and that is what the viewer latches onto, but from there you have to visually guide the viewer through the rest of the image. Unless there is more, I suspect the viewer is just going to move on to the next shot.

[Wavelength]

This could be made a strong image, in spite of what Manfred has adeptly stated, by changing the title to something like "Time to roost" or like....

[Manfred M]

This could be made a strong image, in spite of what Manfred has adeptly stated, by changing the title to something like "Time to roost" or like....

Nandkumar - Just Google "Sunset Images" and you will find tens of thousands of images like this one, some will be better and many will be worse.

I have yet to see a sunset shot that is primarily of clouds do well in an exhibition or competition, regardless of the technical and compositional excellence. I have seen images that use sunsets to complement strong compositions do well in both.

[xpatUSA]

Joe, I played with it on my computer because I really liked the bird. I doubled the size of the bird and moved it up to the brightest part of the sky. Then cropped around the bird leaving in the dark clouds at the top and leaving space at right for the bird to fly into but cropped out the bottom dark clouds. The bird (seagull?) became THE subject against a somewhat toned-down background.

Could post it with your permission, if interested ..

[Geoff F]

I tend to agree with the others. A possible decent image but not quite perfect yet. I think I may try a slight crop from the left and top to concentrate more on the gull; then rename it something like Heading for home

[joebranko]

Joe - if there is one thing that a lot of photographers love is the funky colours one sees at sunset.

In my view, that is not enough.

Thanks Manfred: I confess to being one of those who loves the colours. This one was the most beautiful of all ( the many) shots I took that night. I was happy to see in post that I had caught a bird. Bonus!.

[joebranko]

Thanks Ted, I would love to see your rendition. I did not think the bird was large enough to be the focus of the shot, so your suggestion is very interesting. Look forward to seein5your take on it.

[Wavelength]

Nandkumar - Just Google "Sunset Images" and you will find tens of thousands of images like this one, some will be better and many will be worse.

I have yet to see a sunset shot that is primarily of clouds do well in an exhibition or competition, regardless of the technical and compositional excellence. I have seen images that use sunsets to complement strong compositions do well in both.

Actually my intention was that some times we are directed how we look at an image, by the caption we read before seeing the image; had no wrong intention; i definitely agree with your judgement

[xpatUSA]

Thanks Ted, I would love to see your rendition. I did not think the bird was large enough to be the focus of the shot, so your suggestion is very interesting. Look forward to seeing your take on it.

Quite right Joe, the bird was not really large enough, so posted simply from a compositional point of view:

[Manfred M]

Actually my intention was that some times we are directed how we look at an image, by the caption we read before seeing the image; had no wrong intention; i definitely agree with your judgement

There is an argument in some photographic communities regarding titles. There is a sizeable group that feels an image needs to stand alone and people should not be influenced by the title. There is another group that disagrees and feels that the title and "artist's comments" are more important than looking at the work itself.

I find I am somewhere in the middle. Sometimes the title and write up are important and at other times they are more of a distraction.

[joebranko]

Thanks Manfred. I have not put much thought /effort
into the titles I have been using. I guess I have not recognized their potential importance.

[joebranko]

Thanks Ted. I agree this is a more powerful composition. Thanks for sharing this,

[joebranko]

I think I may try a slight crop from the left and top to concentrate more on the gull; then rename it something like Heading for home

Thanks Geoff. I will try your suggestions on my desktop(currently on my tablet). Thanks,

Is this better?



I cropped left and top and also a bit from the right.

I also need to give it a new name. How about ; " Cloud Surfing"?