http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1399671

I suppose i am going to start things off (fitting since this thread was my idea i suppose):

The first thing that came to me when looking at this shot was that it was too busy.  You have the man on his boat coming out of the harbour and the bird coming in from the left. Also there is a row of boats, a row of surfboards/huts, and then a row of houses all on top of each other. In such a "cluttered" environment i think it is difficult to capture the entirety of a scene, concentrating on one aspect of the scene would be my prefered method of approaching taking a picture in this location.

I hope you dont mind, but to illustrate what i am saying i have cropped the image into a portrait shot with fewer elements. Also i think with long objects like masts a portrait orientation does seem to work better - although not all the time...

With the original shot there wasnt a single identifiable "subject" apart from the scene in question, with fewer things to look at via this crop the eye is drawn to the man in his boat on the bottom right but still has other points of interest in the picture. 

I hope that was helpful, and i wait to see what others have to say and hopefully have a discussion about different elements of the image.

I think these threads are going to be fascinating. Thank you Rich for the suggestion.

I really like the elements of this photo. The sky, trees, houses, wall, beach, boats and water are like brush strokes, to me, and are very appealling. But my eye is drawn to the man in the boat and he seems to be looking at something out of the frame. I probably wouldn't have asked him to jump out, LOL, so I think I would have cropped him and his boat out. Had he not been in the boat I think it and the bird are quite ballanced.

Thank you, Newleaf, for submitting your image. I'm looking forward to gaining knowledge from this thread also.

good point about him looking out of frame... i didnt consider that really, although i was thinking in terms of "him and the boat" as the subject :)  One thing i might add here is that (probably because i use an slr now) 4:3 crops for a landscape shot seems a bit too square to me for what you are trying to do with a landscape, which (as i see it) is take the whole scene in as the eye might see it - you only need to look at zacko's great landscapes to see what i am talking about.  Sometimes a crop from the top and/or bottom can make an image seem wider and display "more" of the image when really it isnt. 

Thank you for starting things off Rich and I see what you are saying about portrait shots and tall masts.  I also agree it is too busy,  I have cropped the harbour wall in a bit which the chap was starting to steer around.

Manning you have a good point about the man looking out of the frame. I had overlooked that point. A few minutes later and he had altered course and steered to the right as someone called to him from another boat.  That was the shot I should have taken. I think your crop works just as well as Rich's.

Thank you both, a good start I think.

Not much I can add to it, Rich and Manning pointed out a problem and fixed it with a clever crop. I would clone a seagull out from a left lower corner. Such a nice reflection somehow distracted by a bird. Also I would add a  wide frame in white to Manning's crop.  Took a liberty to do so...hope it is ok with You.

seeya  Tunde

I agree that, the biggest issue this image faces is composition. The cropped versions are decent..I kinda like the seagull, but I see your point. There is a lot of "stuff" in this image..

Here's another suggestion for cropping..

By the way, newleaf, I see the village as the subject of this photo. Correct me if I'm wrong.

It does seem to me that the man is the problem....LOL, isn't that always the way?
Not knowing what is to the left of the scene I wouldn't know if it would have been possible to step to the left a bit but I think that might have worked for me. 

@ inshalla, I see what you mean about landscapes, I think. A square shot of a landscape appears as more of a snapshot whereas a wider shot gives the effect of more continuity. Correct??

@ Tunde, Great job of clonning and of course I don't mind, hee hee, we're chopping this image all to pieces but they make for great illustrations. I think this is a great way to go about it.

This is tough for me. I've never really tried my hand at verbally critiquing. I think (hope) this will help me in my own photo attempts.

Manning - that is part of the point i have realised of doing this, we arent just giving ideas out to the person who put their shot up for crit, everyone reading can hopefully learn from it :)

Bruce with your crop, you created a kinda conection between a boats and a facing houses. From a houses you can see the boats from a boats the houses can be seen.  There is not realy an excact subject on a shot , all works in ballance. ( for me)

seeya  Tunde

I made a few mental notes about this image before reading the others comments, so some of this may be repeating...

I like the relatively wide angle of this shot the way it is as opposed to a narrow crop, just my opinion. So much so, in fact, that I think this would really make a great panorama. I'm sure this was only a small portion of the coast that was worth photographing.  With a wider panorama, I don't think a single seagull or a mis-placed boat would be "in the way". Instead, it would create a photo of all of the activity that occurs in a small harbour. With that said, and with the photo the size that it is, I think the foreground objects: the seagull, the pier, and the man in the boat take my attention away from the anchored boats and the town (I'm glad you said the man in the boat was talking to someone else, for a minute I thought he was taking a leak:blink:). On the plus side, I think the photo has great colors and contrast. It looks much more tropical that it probably really is. In the end, I find myself wanting to see more of what's out of the frame. Thanks for sharing.

Matt

I think Rich made a very good point about landscapes..They do tend to benefit from aspect ratios other than the standard 4:3..

All points made are good, here is another angle taken on my panasonic. This shows more of the shape of the harbour. A much photographed place and one to go to again, but at a different time and in less heat than this day was.  Thank you to those who have critiqued and those who havent it's not too late yet. Have a go.

Pat

Pat, I see great advantage on this shot. Crop a pier out from a right, cut half of the sky out put some more contrast. Frame it, title it, hang it up on your hallway.

seeya  Tunde

Just wanted to add another crop idea. These are rather severe crops, but you get the intent I think. I am torn between Manning and Bruce's crops, and like Tunde's postwork.

ah, that is a better shot to capture the entirety of the scene, there is room to breathe with the boats not coming to the edge of frame. There is more sky which gives a sense of space. I think if you do what tunde said it would look great (and that big white boat (a focal point) would no longer occupy dead centre - which is a no-no in pretty much every landscape shot you might take imo).

I think if you want to have a "busy" shot then i think geometry is a great way forward. There was a shot in the galleries about a week or two back where there were 4 farmers working in paddy fields with two huts behind them, everything was perfectly aligned and it looked great... i didnt add it to my favs, but i realise now i think i should have, anyone know the shot i am talking about  (it was in sepia as i remember it)?

It's a beautiful happy scene with some good attention points. In particular, I like the parallel between the row of houses and the row of boats. That's a very strong and graphical focus point, and it makes for a very nice composition. So, in order to make this the main subject or attention point of the image (because every image needs a main attention point), I think you have to give up some things that are distracting in the view. There are four main things that I find not suitable for the final image: the gull on the left, the wall corner on the right, the boat with the man and actually the whole empty foreground in the middle. Luckily, you don't have to clone anything out; just a good crop will do. Furthermore, it seems like a nice sunlit scene, that deserves a bit of a warmer and sunnier color temperature. As it is, the dominating blue and white colors make it look rather cold. So I would adjust the colors with a touch of a warm orange filter, and make it a bit darker, so that the warm and sunny whites become more pronounced. That's about it... thanks for sharing and starting off this feature..! Geert

Yes Rick I remember that shot  (made by Doug) It was a very good compo and did hold my attention on a picture. Few element placed in a right place.  oopps of  tread, sorry Pat!

seeya  Tunde

It is very interesting to me how different people see different crops in this photo. I am pleased with the response and comments generated. So thank you to Rich for coming up with this idea and to Bruce for putting it in action. I also notice it is all gentlemen who have responded, surely there are some ladies out there with an opinion to give?

Pat

Pat...snif ...snif...am ammm I am a lady!..LOL. (would a guy call himself babuci...yack...LOL well actualt it is my  cat name who is no longer with us)

seeya  Tunde

Blush! Oh dear, I am so sorry Tunde, I thought you were a fella. I do appoligise, and got to say in that case well done you for being the only lady to comment.

Pat

Chiming in!

First off - Newleaf - I wanna say hats off for shooting what would actually be a tough harbor! It seems like it would be easy as there's a lot to look at, but that's the problem - there's a LOT to look at, so it make this a challenge.

The scene has a lot going on, yet there is a lot of "dead space". Just because there are details (the gull, ripples in the water, etc.) doesn't mean it reads well for a final shot. Tackling that problem, my favorite crop above is Pushinfaders' really tight panoramic. By cutting out most of the water and most of the sky, your eye can go back and forth - this case doesn't need a specific subject matter to have imact - the left-right symmetry works great, and the change of scenery from up/down keeps the eye moving - you don't get bored in any part.

Another tough point with the scene is that there is nothing that "leads the eye in". Tackling this problem, my favorite crop above is TwoPynts' vertical crop - the reflection of the mast leads the eye upwards and into the 2 boats. By keeping it to 1 or 2 boats, you don't have to wonder where you're being led (kinda like a picture of a trail leading up to a mountain).

Girsempa - great point about it being light and hazy - by toning it down/darkening it is a much richer image.

When you go back to this place, try angles where the sun is not behind you - lighting that is more from the side is more dramatic, and by setting your exposure to the white buildings you'll get a really rich exposure.

What might also work well is try to either get lower or higher - more dramatic angles/POV.

Good luck, and thanks for the opportunity - and thanks Inshaala for suggesting this type of thread! Yes, I think it is wonderful to have a constructive critique!
-Lew ;-)

All comments have been positive and helpful. I would like to thank you all and just say I shall keep in mind all points raised here when I return to Mousehole. Maybe as early as next week.

Thanks
Pat